As we announced on our blog last week, Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 disaster proclamation ended on May 11. This signals the end of optional remote attendance at meetings and a return to pre-COVID era requirements for remote participation under the Open Meetings Act (OMA). Thus, members of public bodies who are absent from a meeting may only participate remotely so long as they follow the requirements for remote attendance under Section 7 of the OMA (5 ILCS 120/7(a)-(c)) and subject to their public body’s policy.
As a refresher, the OMA requirements for remote attendance are as follows:
- The public body member must be prevented from physically attending a meeting because of: (1) personal illness or disability; (2) employment purposes or the business of the public body; or (3) a family or other emergency.
- If the public body member wishes to attend a meeting by video or phone, the member must provide advance notice to the secretary or clerk of the public body before the meeting unless advance notice is impractical.
- A quorum of the public body must be physically present at the meeting, and a majority of the public body may allow a member to attend subject to the public body’s policy.
Public bodies should ensure that they follow these procedural requirements carefully. In a recent non-binding decision from the Public Access Counselor (PAC), the PAC is of the opinion that a public body must take some action at each meeting where an absent member wishes to participate, be it by formal vote or asking if any in-person members have objections. Public bodies should consider reviewing their current practices and policies to reflect this clarification by the PAC.