Tag Open Meetings Act
On March 14, 2023, the Illinois Public Access Counselor’s (PAC) Office issued a binding PAC opinion finding a public body in violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) by holding an improper private meeting. A copy of the PAC… Continue Reading →
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued PAC Opinion 22-003 where they found a City Council in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) for its remote meeting practices. An individual filed a request for review with… Continue Reading →
In March 2021, the Personnel Committee of the Board of Directors of the South Central Illinois Mass Transit District closed a portion of the meeting to the public, according to the Attorney General’s Public Opinion 21-006. A Request for Review to… Continue Reading →
A few days before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued its seventh binding opinion (PAC Opinion No. 20-007) in 2020 regarding the conduct of remote public meetings during a public health emergency. The PAC found that a… Continue Reading →
A constant question for boards is whether discussions are best suited for an open or closed session. The Open Meetings Act requires that all meetings of public bodies be open to the public. 5 ILCS 120/2. However, there are multiple exceptions… Continue Reading →
On the last day of 2019, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) released its last binding opinion of the year. In PAC Opinion 19-013, the PAC found the City of Bunker Hill in violation of Illinois’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for… Continue Reading →
The Illinois Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in The Board of Education of Springfield School Dist. No. 186 v. Attorney General of Illinois, holding that the Attorney General’s interpretation of the Open Meetings Act’s public recital requirements is incorrect…. Continue Reading →
The Open Meetings Act (OMA) requires that a board provide a sufficient explanation, referred to as a “public recital,” of agenda items before voting on them (5 ILCS 120/2 (e)). What this exactly means is open for debate as shown… Continue Reading →
An Illinois Court of Appeals followed the clear language of the Open Meetings Act (the Act) and reversed a recent Illinois Attorney General (AG) Public Access Counselor’s (PAC) opinion that would have expanded the amount of information required to be… Continue Reading →