East Central Reporter

Within seconds of gathering for an electoral board meeting, Shelbyville Township officials encountered intervention from the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), whose principal dropped in to hear a petition -- then discovered improper meeting notice procedures.

 

Upon his arrival, ECW’s John Kraft observed that neither a notice nor an agenda had been posted on the premises — out of compliance with Illinois’ Open Meetings Act (OMA).

 

“The electoral board is a public body,” Kraft said when the meeting opened. “As defined in the Open Meetings Act … in order for a public body to conduct a public meeting, it must first give at least a 48-hour notice and post an agenda for 48 continuous hours prior to the meeting at the location of the meeting where people can read it and know that there’s a meeting coming up.”

 

Citing the law, Kraft advised the group that they should reconvene after at least 48 hours.

 

“There’s nothing out there that people can read,” he said. “For these reasons of failure to properly post a notice and an agenda, … I ask that this meeting be immediately cancelled and rescheduled.”

 

After board officials confirmed that the meeting was indeed public, one member proposed that because there was no urgency in any matters before the board, “there’s no problem resetting it.” When a participant with business on the agenda argued that rescheduling would be inconvenient, the member reiterated that the board had to comply with the law.

 

“If he’s making an objection (that) he wants to make sure the public is notified … we should accommodate that,” the board member said.

The group adjourned after agreeing to reschedule for the following week at 9 a.m. on Jan. 3.

 

Kraft stated that the board did the right thing.