PAC Finds Village Board Meetings Were Not Open or Convenient Under OMA
The Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General's Office issued its 10th binding opinion of 2024 in PAC Op. 24-010, finding a Village Board in violation of the Open Meetings Act for failing to make its meetings open and convenient to the public.
Multiple requests for review were filed against a Village relating to meetings held in June and July of 2024. Specific complaints included allegations that there was insufficient space in the meeting room for members of the public who wanted to attend and many were turned away from each of these meetings because of limited seating capacity,, and that police department measures impeded public attendance.
The PAC analyzed the various requests for review and concluded that the two Village Board meetings at question were neither "open" nor "convenient" as required by the Open Meetings Act.
First, the PAC determined that the Board had adequate notice that its meeting space would be inadequate as there had been significant public interest in the Village Board's activities and controversies. The PAC stated that the Board should have foreseen the public interest where the Board and Mayor were engaged in a number of conflicts and disputes at previous meetings of the Village Board. The PAC noted that the Board could have moved its meetings to a larger venue, offered standing room or overflow capacity in another room, or offered a remote option for members of the public to ensure members of the public could be accommodated in some fashion.
Second, the PAC rejected the Police Chief's argument that heightened security concerns justified curtailing attendance by the public, including street closures, parking barricades, and excessive police presence that physically impeded members of the public from attending the meetings.
Finally, the Board acknowledged that while public bodies are not required to ensure that every single person who wants to attend a meeting is able to do so in "full comfort," the "open and convenient" requirement of the OMA required the Board to implement measures to better accommodate the public, which it failed to do at both the June and July meetings.
The PAC concluded by directing the Village Board to take actions to ensure that future meetings are open and convenient to the public, including holding future meetings at alternative locations, if necessary, to accommodate the public.
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