Tag Open Meetings Act

New Binding PAC Opinion Finds a “Meet and Greet” to be a Meeting Subject to the 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 →

Better Take Note…Proper Notice is Required for Hybrid Meetings

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 →

A Reminder that Closed Meetings Require a Verbatim Record Under the Open Meetings Act – A Draft of the Closed Session Minutes Will Not Suffice

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 →

PAC Issues New Binding Opinion on Muting Sidebars During Remote Public Meetings

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 →

Violation of OMA Stemming from Closed Session Personnel Discussions

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 →

Does FOIA Require Maintaining Records As Well As Providing Them?

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 →

Illinois Supreme Court Rules Against Attorney General in Open Meetings Act Case

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 →

Court Finds OMA Violation by Board for Failure to Provide Sufficient Public Recital of Key Facts of Agenda Items Before Vote

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 →

Court of Appeals Rejects Attorney General’s Expansive Interpretation of the Open Meetings Act

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 →

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