The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion, finding a school board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it improperly discussed school curriculum during closed session....more
Governor Pritzker recently signed into law Public Act 103-0311 (previously HB 2447), which amends two key provisions in the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) effective as of July 28, 2023....more
The Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) recently issued its Annual Report, which provides an overview of binding PAC opinions and non-binding determination letters issued in 2022, among other topics. We reported on several of the...more
The Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) requires Ohio’s public entities to conduct all deliberations and make all decisions in meetings that are open to the public. However, a public body can meet in executive session to discuss...more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued a binding decision, PAC 22-012, regarding the Open Meetings Act (OMA), finding that a board of education’s closed session discussions violated the OMA at separate...more
After years of representing and advising various public boards subject to the Open Meetings Law (Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the North Carolina General Statutes), I have repeatedly witnessed a very common mistake – voting...more
In its fourth binding opinion of 2020, the Illinois Public Access Counselor found that a Chicago Public School’s Local School Council violated Section 2(a) of the Open Meetings Act by improperly discussing the timing and...more
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
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
• The Illinois Attorney General (the AG) has concluded in a binding opinion that Western Illinois University's Board of Trustees (WIU Board) violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) by improperly discussing budget issues...more
On April 12, the Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) issued a determination finding that a School District did not violate the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) by holding a closed session to discuss the actions and interactions with an...more
On April 12, the Assistant Attorney General (“AAG”) at the Public Access Bureau issued a letter finding that a School District did not violate the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) by holding a closed session to discuss a board...more
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued a binding opinion concerning action taken by the City of Bloomington City Council. The binding opinion further limits the attorney general's interpretation of the Illinois...more