Illinois Appellate Court Finds that FOIA Allows Access to Original Recordings of Public Meetings

The Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires a municipality to allow persons who make a request under the Act to listen to original audiotapes of City Council meetings free of charge. In DesPain v. City of Collinsville, the plaintiff requested that the City allow him to listen to tape recordings of two City Council meetings. The City responded that it did not have facilities for the public to listen to audiotapes and that inspection of the tapes could only occur if copies were made after payment of a fee. On appeal, the City argued that the FOIA does not require public bodies to allow access to original public records because the Act never refers to "original" records. The Court rejected this argument, finding that access to a "public record," as that term is used in the Act, means the original record. The Court went on to hold that lack of facilities for the public to listen to audiotapes is not a valid basis on which to deny a request to inspect a tape-recording. Additionally, because FOIA limits the charging of fees to copying or certifying public records, the City could not charge a fee to inspect the original audiotape.

It is not entirely clear whether this decision applies to closed meetings. However, it is highly unlikely to apply to audio tapes of closed meetings because the FOIA specifically exempts from disclosure records of meetings closed under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Finally, it should be remembered that nothing in the opinion requires a public body to tape an open meeting.