SPRINGFIELD – As the statewide association representing all 1,294 cities, villages and towns in Illinois, the Illinois Municipal League (IML) is advocating for municipalities to have the option to fulfill public notice mandates electronically. Public notices are an important and beneficial service provided to citizens. State law imposes a significant number of mandated posting requirements for communicating governmental information to the public via print. Requirements to post municipal notices in newspapers cost municipalities and their resident taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually throughout the state. As a way to expand awareness and accessibility to posted municipal notices in the public forum, IML has created a dedicated website, LocalPublicNotices.org (available via this link). The website provides Illinois municipalities, only, the ability to post public notices easily and efficiently online. LocalPublicNotices.org is a free, searchable, public database where notices can be posted via text or PDF to the dedicated webpage at no cost. Posting on this website allows municipalities to reach more residents where they are most likely to look, as the page is accessible to the public online. “People receive news and public information online or on their cell phones,” said IML President, Mayor Mark T. Kupsky, City of Fairview Heights. “LocalPublicNotices.org places public information right in the hands of our constituents and has the added benefit of increasing public awareness about important municipal issues.” SB 61 (Sen. Castro, D-Elgin) and HB 3154 (Rep. Ford, D-Chicago) would allow municipalities to fulfill statutorily-mandated newspaper posting requirements by providing notice on the municipality’s website and on a publicly-available, searchable online database operated independently from the municipality. Only 32 out of 102 Illinois counties have a daily newspaper in circulation, while 47 counties rely on just a single weekly newspaper. When a community loses access to local newspapers, residents have to rely on regional news outlets in nearby counties for coverage. ABOUT THE ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE The Illinois Municipal League is the statewide association representing local communities throughout Illinois. Founded in 1913, IML has worked continuously for the benefit of all 1,294 municipalities in Illinois to provide a formal voice on matters involving common interests. | 