On May 23, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 2135, which in part amended the Open Meetings Act to permit, and set conditions for, conducting board meetings by audio or video conference without the physical...more
In a recent order, the Circuit Court of Will County joined the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) in supporting public boards’ ability to hold virtual board meetings during the coronavirus disease 2019...more
As we discussed in alerts on March?16 and March 18, a recent Executive Order by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker suspended certain Open Meetings Act (OMA) requirements to allow flexibility on issues of quorum and remote...more
As with most issues relating to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), expectations regarding the holding of public meetings have been evolving rapidly over the past few days. ...more
In the face of mandated school closures beginning on March 17, 2020, Illinois school districts are assessing their ability to comply with sunshine laws, including the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Illinois Freedom of...more
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor was once again busy during 2019, issuing binding decisions of interest to public entities governed by the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act....more
12/11/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Binding Precedent ,
FOIA ,
Non-Residents ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Entities ,
Public Meetings ,
Request For Information ,
School Boards ,
State and Local Government
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, a taxpayer unsuccessfully challenged a school district’s guaranteed energy savings contract. School Board members should be aware of this decision because the favorable outcome...more
11/6/2019
/ Change Orders ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Delays ,
Dismissals ,
Energy Conservation ,
Laches ,
Liability ,
Municipalities ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Bidding ,
Public Projects ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
Sunshine Laws
Effective August 26, 2019, the Illinois Open Meetings Act has been amended, expanding the closed meeting exception to include discussion of personnel matters of independent contractors or volunteers in a closed meeting. ...more
In a recent decision, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC), which enforces the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA), found that a school district violated the OMA when it limited the public comment period...more
In a recent nonbinding letter, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor reportedly requested that public boards allow members of the public to speak about concerns with the conduct of specific board members. ...more
Boards try their best to avoid it, but you hear about it time and again—a board goes into closed session and the conversation turns away from the subject matter the board identified in open session as the reason for the...more
With November elections right around the corner and April board elections not far behind, it’s a good time to brush off the rules governing campaigning by school employees and board members. ...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a rare binding opinion finding that the City Council of Bloomington violated the Open Meetings Act when it held a closed meeting to discuss potential litigation that the PAC...more
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, the Court held that a public body was in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) where the public body failed to include the key terms in its public recital approving two action...more
One of the most legally perilous jobs of a school board is to preside over the public participation portion of a meeting. The key for a board is to balance its need to run efficient and orderly meetings with the ability of...more
The Public Access Counselor (PAC) division of the Attorney General’s Office recently held that the reduction in force joint committee (the “Joint Committee”) was subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Act (OMA)....more
Last year, an Illinois Circuit Court overturned a Public Access Counselor opinion that found that the Board of Education of Springfield School District No. 186 violated the Open Meetings Act when it voted on the separation...more
In October, the PAC released a written response to a FOIA request that it denied because it would be unduly burdensome under Section 3(g) of FOIA. 5 ILCS 140/3(g). The request asked for “Public Access Counselor determinations...more
The PAC recently issued a binding opinion ruling against a local village board for failing to provide proper notice and state a valid exception to enter closed session in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
In PAC...more
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two non-binding opinions in July related to the Open Meetings Act (OMA). In one opinion, the PAC found that a school district did not violate the OMA when...more
In a non-binding opinion, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) held that a school district violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when the board’s negotiations team, which included three board members, held a meeting to discuss...more
In June, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a non-binding opinion holding that board members of a school district did not violate the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when partaking in intermittent private email exchanges...more
An Illinois Circuit Court recently overturned a Public Access Counselor opinion. The Court held, contrary to the PAC, that the Board of Education of Springfield School District No. 186 did not violate Section 2(e) of the Open...more
The Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the Illinois Attorney General’s office recently issued a binding opinion regarding public participation in meetings held by public bodies.
Section 2.06(g) of the Open Meetings Act...more
Recently, an appellate court in the Fifth District upheld a countywide sales tax implemented through the School Facility Occupation Tax Law. In doing so, the Court denied relief to an Open Meetings Act (OMA) challenge due to...more