PAC Finds Public Body in Violation of OMA Because Agenda Description Was Not Sufficient
In its 7th binding opinion for 2026, the Public Access Counselor for the Illinois Attorney General (PAC) found a public body in violation of the Open Meetings Act by taking final action at a board meeting without setting forth the general subject matter of the item on the meeting agenda. PAC Op. 26-007. The PAC did find the board provided an adequate public recital prior to voting on the matter, however.
A reporter filed a complaint with the PAC alleging that a public body voted on the creation of new employment positions without adequately describing the proposed action on its meeting agenda or providing a sufficient public recital prior to voting. The vote to create the new positions was taken under the agenda item "Approval of Supervisor's Report." The PAC watched the video recording of the meeting and noted that the Supervisor suggested adding five new employment positions during his Supervisor's report, and that a motion was made to approve the necessary hires, the motion seconded, and then a vote taken by the board to approve that motion.
The board defended its actions, stating that no formal action had been taken by the board since these hires were within the Supervisor's authority, and that the board's vote was not final action but "merely a formality." The PAC rejected that argument, stating that the board's vote "resolved the question of whether the Board approved of the creation of those positions," which constituted final action under the OMA. The PAC then determined that the agenda listing did not comply with Section 2.02(c) of the OMA, which requires that a meeting agenda set forth the general subject matter of any ordinance or resolution that will be the subject of final action at a meeting. (Note that the PAC opinion does not state that the action taken by the board even involved the approval of an ordinance or resolution, and instead only references a motion being made, seconded, and voted on at the meeting).
As for the reporter's claim that the board did not provide an adequate public recital prior to taking a vote, the PAC rejected that argument, finding that the Supervisor described each of the positions involved in the motion and detailed the justification for the proposed new hires. The PAC noted that a discussion of the financial impacts of the new hires was not required, and that the discussion prior to the actual vote complied with Section 2(e) of the OMA.
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