Board Violated OMA By Discussing Public Business at Private Energy Event
A member of the public submitted a request for review to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC), claiming that a majority of a quorum of a county board held an improper “meeting” in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it discussed public business at an informational event hosted by a private energy company. In its 11th binding opinion of 2025, the PAC concluded that a county board violated OMA by holding an improper private meeting in violation of Section 1.02 of the OMA. PAC Op. 25-011.
In this case, the board did not dispute that a majority of a quorum of the board attended the event. However, the board argued that the event was an informational presentation by a private energy company to discuss a proposed renewable energy project, and not a “meeting” where a majority of the quorum of the board discussed public business. The PAC disagreed, finding that board members engaged in a question and answer session with energy company’s representatives about their proposed operations in the county, which pertained to county business since the discussions centered around business or community interests impacting the county.
The board also argued that the event was not a meeting because there were no specific items concerning the energy company pending before the board. While the board did not reach an accord on any specific matter at the time of the event, the PAC determined that the event was nonetheless a meeting subject to OMA’s requirements, because a majority of a quorum of board members engaged in the collective inquiry phase of deliberations by gathering and exchanging information concerning the renewable energy project in anticipation of possibly taking future action.
This is a good reminder to members of public bodies that a meeting could be triggered even in informal settings where a majority of a quorum of the public body discusses public business.
Post Authored by Eugene Bolotnikov, Ancel Glink
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