The 96th Illinois General Assembly convened on January 14, 2009 and adjourned sine die on January 11, 2011. Over that period, the Illinois Senate was in session for 144 legislative days, and the Illinois House was in session for 165 legislative days.

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., is an Illinois statute that grants to all persons the right to copy and inspect public records in the state. The law applies to executive and legislative bodies of state government, units of local government, and other entities defined as "public bodies". All records related to governmental business are presumed to be open for inspection by the public, except for information specifically exempted from disclosure by law. The statute is modeled after the federal Freedom of Information Act and serves a similar purpose as freedom of information legislation in the other U.S. states.