By: Diane Benjamin
Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/01/25/illegal-meeting-normal/
Introduction to the Open Meetings Act Law:
(5 ILCS 120/1)(from Ch. 102, par. 41) Sec. 1. Policy. It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business. In order that the people shall be informed, the General Assembly finds and declares that it is the intent of this Act to ensure that the actions of public bodies be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The General Assembly further declares it to be the public policy of this State that its citizens shall be given advance notice of and the right to attend all meetings at which any business of a public body is discussed or acted upon in any way.
Laws only apply to citizens, since government writes the laws they don’t include penalties for themselves. Normal’s failure to post the agenda for today’s meeting obviously violates the spirit of the law, very few would have known about this all day meeting if I hadn’t posted their failure to comply.
The Town of Normal loves the Illinois Municipal League when what they write justifies their actions. They ignore the IML when they don’t. IML published this fact sheet for complying with the Open Meetings Act:
Town staff is too arrogant to admit somebody screwed up, after all they are the “professional staff”.
Chemberly Cummings is not at the meeting, Koos said she was out of town. Stan Nord is there, I have no idea why. Most of the 1st hour was the finance director talking. Huhn stated water rates will be going up. Stan then stated they should not after the Council voted to take $81,018 out of the water fund to buy snowplow equipment. The water department will be used as Public Works which takes even more money out of the fund, silly you thought it was for water.
Chris Koos immediately lectured Stan and warned him not to bring up any past actions of the Council again. The Town doesn’t care about the opinions of Trustee Nord or the people who support him.
I don’t know why he wastes his time talking to brick walls.
If you want to tune in:
It seems the citizen voters LIKE the way Mayor Koos and Consigliere Pam do as they please . FOIA and Open Meetings Act be damned – the edicts issued from that swank dias are just the way things are gonna be it . Elected aldermen chosen by the people are treated as court fools , subjected to the whimsical moods of the Mayor and Manager. Can’t anyone see these elites have no clothes ?
I wonder what would happen if someone who lives in the “brown water” area refuses to pay their water bill. How could the Town every justify turning off their water for non-payment, when they don’t get what they are paying for? Secondly, I’m just flabbergasted that they have not filed suit to make the Town fix the problem.
The only advanced public notice required is for the agenda to be posted at town hall. Posting on the town website is merely a courtesy. I am disappointed staff decided not to post the meeting on the website as is customary for other meetings. I believe having the meeting without public notice being posted on the website goes against having open and transparent government. However, I am only one council person and is regularly outvoted. The meeting was going to happen despite my principles telling me even though this meeting was likely legal it is still wrong. This is just another consequence of elections.
Stan Nord – Normal Town Council
Time for Stan to file civil rights charges against KING KOOS. It would be must see TV to see federal marshals cuff and drag Koos away.