It’s Time to Modernize Illinois’ Public Notice Laws
Illinois law still requires public notices — city meetings, bids, ordinances, and budgets — to be printed in newspapers.
But what happens when those newspapers no longer reach the public they’re meant to serve?
Here in Geneseo, the so-called “local paper” is gone, and the county publication reaches only a few hundred subscribers.
Meanwhile, The Geneseo Current connects with more people in a single day online than those legacy papers reach all year in print — over one million monthly impressions from real, local readers.
That’s what public really means.
Outdated laws shouldn’t stand in the way of transparency. It’s time for Illinois to recognize digital, community-based platforms as the modern public square — where information is:
✅ Free to access
📱 Searchable and shareable
🌎 Truly public
Public notices belong where the public actually is — online, in the open, and accessible to everyone.
Join us in calling on legislators to bring Illinois’ public notice laws into the digital age.