OMA and FOIA Electronic Training Now Available on PAC’s Website!
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The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) provides the required electronic training for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officers, and Open Meetings Act (OMA) compliance for elected and appointed members and OMA Designees. Due to a ransomware attack on the Attorney General’s computer network, electronic training has been unavailable since April 2021. The PAC’s website is back up and running again – including the OMA and FOIA electronic training, but the process is slightly different based on the PAC’s new security enhancements.
If you need to take the OMA or FOIA training, you will need to register to the new site. You can access the site and register at: https://foiapac.ilag.gov/. Look to the top righthand corner for the link to register and to login to the training portal.
The following individuals should complete the training as soon as possible:
- FOIA Officers should register and complete the FOIA Electronic Training. This needs to be done on an annual basis. Newly appointed FOIA officers must initially complete the training within 30 days of designation and on an annual basis thereafter.If an individual was newly designated on or after April 2021, we recommend that the training be completed by January 31, 2022.
- Members of a public body that were newly elected or appointed in 2021, or those that have not previously completed the training during their most recent term of office should register and complete the OMA Electronic Training. Technically, this needs to be completed no later than the 90 th day of taking the oath of office or assuming responsibilities as a member of the public body. Since the electronic training was not accessible following the election last year, we recommend that individuals subject to the training complete the training no later than March 31, 2022. There is no annual training requirement unless a member is also an OMA Designee (see below).
- OMA designees need to complete the OMA Electronic Training on an annual basis. Note that the OMA requires that all public bodies designate employees, officers or members to receive training on compliance with the OMA and submit a list of designated persons to the PAC. Newly appointed OMA designees must initially complete the training within 30 days of designation and on an annual basis thereafter. If an individual was newly designated on or after April 2021, we recommend that the training be completed by January 31, 2022.
Once completed, please provide the certificate of completion to the designated individual for your respective public body. Questions may be directed to any Robbins Schwartz attorney.
