City of Peoria, Peoria Public Schools, State Legislation, State of Illinois

Legal loopholes make a mockery of the Open Meetings Act

6 Comments

I have had further correspondance with an attorney who spoke to me on condition of anonymity. Here’s a transcript of what we talked about regarding the school district’s actions and whether or not it violates the Open Meetings Act (OMA).

Real Lawyer:

C.J., I regret that there has been some misinterpretation by others about the OMA as it applies to the actions of Dist. 150. Just to clarify, the OMA and caselaw interpreting it do not (unfortunately in my view) prohibit ratification by the board after an action has been taken. What the OMA prohibits is the board taking official action on anything in closed session. Whether the board decides to approve something in advance or ratify it afterwards, it must take that action in open session.

Me:

Thanks for the follow-up. I am confused, however. If they can take final action in closed session, then approve it post facto in open session, doesn’t that make the prohibition against closed-session final action in the OMA meaningless?

Lawyer:

The board cannot take final action for the property purchases in closed session. I think Matheson may have made a remark at their last meeting stating they could do so; if he did say that, he was wrong. And “final action” doesn’t necessarily mean a formal vote; anything constituting approval can be a final action.

I don’t know what if any action the board took prior to the Prospect property purchases. But the fact that they ratified the purchases at their last meeting, in the open, was likely sufficient under current case law. This is what I think is unfortunate, but until the case law is overturned that’s what we have.

This is all sort of splitting hairs, but I wanted to try to clarify it.

Me:

Sorry I’m not grasping this. It sounds like you’re saying this (not you personally, but case law): If the school board approves in closed session the acquisition of property, it constitutes “final action” per the OMA, and is therefore illegal. But, that illegality is nullified if the board subsequently approves the purchase in open session. Am I understanding that right? They can perform an illegal act and then magically turn it into a legal act by approving it publically after the fact?

Lawyer:

In essence you are right; that’s the clear implication. And the way you phrased it helps, I think, to demonstrate why post-action ratification should not be permitted, at least in situations like the one we have with the property purchases. By allowing a board to “cure” a mistake via ratification afterwards, the courts have made it too easy to evade the intent of the OMA’s requirement for openness.

Is that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard? What we have here is a legal loophole for the school board or any other public body to skirt around the Open Meetings Act and take secret action, away from public scrutiny, even though it involves spending (in this case) $877,500 of taxpayers’ money! All they have to do to make it “legal” is approve it after the fact in open session. Big deal. The money’s already gone! How could they not approve it? The contracts are already signed. Talk about violating the spirit of the law….

If the case law does indeed allow for this loophole, it should not be allowed to stand. Senator Shadid, who has expressed concern about the secrecy under which this action was taken, should work with his colleagues in Springfield to immediately propose an amendment to the Open Meetings Act that specifically prohibits such “post-action ratification” by a public body.

6 thoughts on “Legal loopholes make a mockery of the Open Meetings Act”

  1. makes me want to move to dunlap sch dist. At least they approve big spending in public. 150 should be ashamed of this.

  2. CJ, You are looking at this with only onr monocle instead of glasses. Your lawyer confident stated hr/she didn;t know what if anything the School Board may or may not hsvr done. As that :previous” action is critical to the entire process, someone needs to determine where the money came from . . .. . . . . . As “Deep Throat” stated “Follow the money”, so is it necessary to understand if the $877,750 was part of the APPROVED BUDGET for acquisition or if the money was in the budget for some other purpose such as “Life safety modifications” or some other capital line item. If the money was in the budget FOR THE STATED PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING LAND, then maybe the board just made a very bad PR move. If on the other hand, there was no money in the budget for property acquisitions, then perhaps the acquisition, purchase and later open meeting vote is merely the tip of the iceburg that belies the intent of the open meeting act and the exceptions for executive session and creates a greater violation than a simple PR move.

    I also don’t understand how a public body ie School administration or City adminstration can/could enter into a contract with the real estate egency for grater than $10,000 without open meeting Board approval of that contract.

    Follow the money, Grasshopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  5. PREDICTION: In the end, the Park District is going to get this property the School Board bought in a land swap between them, because theSchool Board has more respect for the wishes of the public they serve then does the administration of the school board. There is no wlay in heaven they can justify their actions under the table as demonstrated by these dealings. Wait until a real lawyer gets their hands on this case!!

  6. It’s like stealing a car and then giving it back. Giving it back doesn’t nullify or rectify the previous crime…it just doesn’t make it look so bad.

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