Executive Report

Attorney General Opinions

Constitutional amendments
S-1486: A proposed amendment to the state constitution must be read in full on three different days in each house of the legislature. If an amendment to the resolution proposing the constitutional amendment creates a resolution that is substantially different from the original, then the amended resolution must be read in full on three different days in each house. If the amended resolution differs from the original in phraseology only, then additional readings of the proposed amendment to the resolution would not be required (Illinois Constitution, Article XIV, Sec. 2(a)).

Branch banking for trusts
S-1488: State banks may not establish branch offices for their trust departments, even though a trust company may have branch offices within the municipality of its home office. The distinction is present because of separate statutes on banks. Since trust department activities are considered a part of a bank's regular business, a branch office of the trust department would be a branch bank, which is prohibited by statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 16 1/2 sec. 102 and 106).

Foreign bank trust departments
S-1487: A bank of a foreign country may not do trust business in Illinois because foreign banks are specifically authorized only to conduct general banking business (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 16 1/2, sec. 103 and 503) which, according to Illinois Supreme Court definition, does not include executing trusts. While statutory provision has been made for banks of another state to have offices and execute trusts in Illinois if the other state grants the same right to Illinois banks, no provision exists for banks of foreign countries to enjoy the same privilege.

County police contract
S-1485: A county has the power to enter into a contract to provide specified police service within the corporate limits of a city or village. The sheriff is required to provide the services called for by the contract, so long as the county board provides the requisite funds and authorizes enough deputies to enable the sheriff to fulfill the conditions of the contract.

Public employee records
S-1484: A public employer is not required to release confidential information contained in personnel files to the news media or to any other member of the general public. The attorney general said that, though public employees' personnel records are public records, they are not necessarily subject to public inspection, and that interests — such as confidentiality, privacy and the need to protect sources of information — may qualify the public's right to know.

28/July 1980/Illinois Issues