New law clarifies Open Meetings Act
A law that Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed last week changes the way the Illinois Open Meetings Act applies to five-member public bodies.
The measure, known as House Bill 1670 when it passed the General Assembly, is the reason a Springfield Airport Authority board member asked Blagojevich to eliminate Springfield-related provisions on two other pieces of legislation.
"I called the governor's office and said: If you think you're going to sign House Bill 1670, please amendatorily veto us out of House Bill 4 and Senate Bill 38," Springfield Airport Authority vice chairman William Foster said Monday.
The governor used his amendatory veto powers Friday on the latter two bills, deleting from each of them a provision that would have added two members to the five-member Springfield Airport Authority board. The legislature could vote to accept the governor's recommended revisions, override his veto and restore the deleted items, or do nothing.
Senate Bill 38 originally was written to allow the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority to expand from five to seven members, and Blagojevich left that part of the bill intact. But a couple of Springfield-area lawmakers wondered on Friday why the governor treated the two airport authorities differently, and Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, speculated that the capital city was being snubbed.
Foster said that was not the case. House Bill 1670 addressed the Springfield Airport Authority's concerns with operating as a five-member public body, he said.
HB1670 revised the Open Meetings Act so that two members of a five-member panel are allowed discuss public business outside of a public meeting without violating the Act. The revisions becames law immediately when the governor signed the legislation.
Another provision of the new law requires at least three members of a five-member panel "to adopt any motion, resolution, or ordinance."
Previously, two members of a five-member public body could take action on the body's behalf if only three members attended a meeting. That's because three members constitute a quorum for a five-person panel, and formal action required approval from a majority of the quorum, which would be two.
The Open Meetings Act is intended to ensure that public business is conducted in public. Specific exceptions to the Act allow discussion on some matters -- such as those involving personnel -- to take place behind closed doors.
The Illinois Press Association routinely opposes efforts to narrow the scope of the Open Meetings Act. The IPA did not object to the new law because it requires three people on a five-member public body to authorize any action and because it applies to all governmental units, said Beth Bennett, director of government relations.
Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or Adriana.colindres@sj-r.com