Governor Quinn signed into law House Bill 5232 on July 21, 2010; this legislation becomes effective December 31, 2012.
The measure, supported by the Illinois Press Association (IPA), provides that whenever notice is required by law, order of court, or a contract to be published in a newspaper, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to government, place the notice on a statewide website established and maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices. The legislation also adds language to the definition of a "newspaper" by requiring that the newspaper have the capability of uploading notices on a daily or weekly basis to the statewide website.
In recent years the IPA has become increasingly involved in fighting off attempts by units of local government to remove public notices from newspapers. Newspaper publication of notices would be replaced by publication on government websites. In order to prevent this from occurring the IPA launched a statewide website - PublicNoticeIllinois.com, designed to be the central database for all Illinois public notices. As an added measure of protection the Illinois Press Association board voted to initiate the introduction of legislation requiring that all public notices be uploaded to PublicNoticeIllinois.com; today, that legislation officially became law.
The journey into an increasingly digital era requires that the newspaper industry demonstrate to lawmakers a willingness to offer online access to public notices. Newspapers must present a united front to promote the future viability and readership of public notices. The industry is off to a good start. More than 400 Illinois newspapers currently upload their notices to the Public Notice Illinois website.
The IPA is willing to assist and to facilitate the technology needs of any newspaper that is not currently uploading public notices to the statewide website. The IPA staff currently assists newspapers that are unable to upload by uploading notices for the newspaper.
It is imperative that newspapers remain the primary provider of vital government information. The IPA board of directors believes passage of HB5232 will help further establish this role. Your support of this measure is vital to the future of public notice publication in newspapers. |
