by:  Diane Benjamin

Yesterday at 4:30pm around 7 members of the Bloomington Library Board met illegally.  The Open Meetings Act requires all meetings to be posted in advance and open to the public.  The agenda must also be posted.

The only reason the Pantagraph and WJBC attended was because they were tipped off to the meeting.  Evidently they didn’t realize they were attending an illegal meeting.

The Library Board meets in an Executive Conference room that is not accessible to the public unless you are escorted by a security guard.  This is also illegal.  A public room is available on the lower level and should be used for all meetings since all meetings are required to be open to the public.

An Open Meetings Act violation has been filed with the States Attorney, even though the States Attorney (Lisa Madigan’s office) has failed to rule on 2 others still outstanding.  One has been outstanding since July of 2012 after being heavily investigated by their office.

Nobody has been watching what government is doing for decades.  Yes, it is illegal for a group appointed to oversee the library to scheme behind closed doors for more tax money from you.

Of course, when only 20% of voters bother to vote in local elections, what do you expect?