(Edgar County Watchdogs)
Bloomington, IL. (ECWd) –
I recently conducted a survey of cities similar in size to Bloomington, IL., including cities with a population of between 58,000 and 108,000 residents. Bloomington has 76,610 according to the 2010 census, and fall in the middle range of this survey. So this is a good sample of various municipalities.
The public comment rules below indicate what was written and established in their posted city codes, and what is annotated in the meeting agendas. Please notice the complete absence of the restriction(s) currently employed by Bloomington, Normal, and McLean County.
Of the 12 municipalities surveyed, eight had a three minute per speaker time limit, three had a five minute per speaker time limit, and one had no time limit.
Five municipalities had public comments at general comment time and at each agenda item, and none (other than Bloomington) asked for advanced notice of any kind.
Only two municipalities stated any total comment time limits, Decatur (15 min) and Evanston (45 min).
Although not noted below, only one municipality restricted comment subjects, and it was stated as no “political candidate advocacy” during public comment time.
Elgin – 3 min. – sign up prior to meeting
Waukegan – 3 min.
Cicero – 3 min.
Champaign (City) – 5 min. (on a topic) AND 5 min. during open comment session
Decatur – 3 min. – 15 min. time limit (general comments) AND 3 min. agenda item comments
Arlington Heights – 3 min. (general comments) AND 3 min. at agenda item
Evanston – 3 min./15 min. total if 5 or fewer speakers – if > 5 speakers, then 45 min. total
Schaumburg – 3 min. – may modify rules to PROMOTE participation
Bolingbrook – 3 min.
Palatine – No time limit – Anyone on agenda item AND general comments
Skokie – 5 min.
Des Plaines – 5 min. non-agenda AND 5 min. agenda item
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Mclean County and the City of Normal were not surveyed as they did not fall within the municipality population similar to Bloomington, and even if they were, they would be considered outliers, and are in violation of the Open Meetings Act with the stated restrictions imposed that are not designed to enhance public participation.
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Now to the June 22, 2015 Bloomington City Council Meeting:
Keep reading: http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2015/07/bloomington-a-survey-of-public-comment-policies/
Every time I see Renner’s photo the first thing I think of is a monkey or small ape. I want to see a birth certificate to know if it was a hospital or zoo where the birth took place at. No joke there is a lot of resemblance to primates.
Note to Tari: I had NOTHING to do with this comment!
Lol, he probably threw his banana at the screen when he read that! (I guarantee he can’t stay away from this site)
LOL!
I’ve watched videos of the council meetings and I have one suggestion for Mr. Renner.
Please leave your glass’s on and that alone may shorten you’re meeting times, or do you just like to hear the snap as the magnets snap together?
And he’s a professor!!?? I pity the poor students that have to take ANY classes from him. Bet he’s just a REAL joy to take classes from. It’s a GREAT argument AGAINST tenure.