While there are several things wrong with the city’s new Freedom of Information Act policy when it comes to direct violations of FOIA as a law, there is also something larger and more insidious at work here. What I’m talking about is that the FOIA policy item was placed as a resolution on the consent…
Tag: Open Meetings Act
Here’s What’s Wrong with DeKalb’s New FOIA Policy
DeKalb’s city council both introduced and passed a Freedom of Information Act policy last night. Yes, there was a rush to put into place a FOIA policy written by city attorney Dean Frieders, who is proven to have trod upon the Open Meetings Act previously. As you might well guess, there are also problems with…
DeKalb Violated the Open Meetings Act in Approving Settlement Agreement
The determination arrived Friday. Find it here. The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) has found that City of DeKalb violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) in two ways when it approved a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on January 12: The city misused the exception to open meetings having to…
Council Needs New Counsel
Sometimes we believe things that are completely false, and a lot of times belief holds strongest when it comes to having faith in professionals who, by definition, are supposed to have your back. That’s what I think is happening with the DeKalb city council: They are trusting that what city attorney Dean Frieders says about…
You CAN Comment at Committee of the Whole Meetings — Here’s Why You Didn’t Know That
Here’s an excerpt from a memo included with next week’s council meeting agenda: The City of DeKalb maintains Chapter 2 of the City Code which governs the City Council and meetings thereof. Old versions of the City Code included provisions which purported to prohibit public comment at certain meetings of the City Council or Committee…
AG Investigating Possible Open Meetings Act Violations by City of DeKalb
Early last month, DeKalb’s city council considered whether they should waive the usual bidding process and immediately sign a contract with a website designer who appears to be “besties” with the city manager. The reason for wanting to waive bidding? Staff claimed the city had a crisis foisted upon it by the U.S. Department of…
DeKalb’s Freakishly High Sales Tax Rate Might Actually be Good for Something
**Update** 1/26. Related: “Sales tax coffers could get boost with new law”. Discusses the Marketplace Fairness Act and its impact (if it ever passes the U.S. House) on state revenues. **Update** 1 p.m. Related: “Now comes the Internet Sales Consultants”. It provides more food for thought on this scheme, as well as a description of…
College Town Partners Agreements are Kind of Cray, but Still Important
I’ve read the College Town Partners documents that were leaked to the Preserve Our Neighborhoods (PON) group. (Want copies? Send an email to preserveourneighborhoods@gmail.com.) The agreements, which were never signed, lay out a corporate partnership between City of DeKalb, NIU, a local developer and two banks. They strike me as kind of nuts, actually, being…
Bloomington Alderman Alleges Open Meetings Act Violations
Via The Pantagraph today: Ward 4 Alderman Judy Stearns on Dec. 6 filed a request for review with the Illinois attorney general’s public access counselor, which has since asked for more information from the city. She alleged the council during a Nov. 15 closed session discussed issues not exempt from the state’s Open Meetings Act,…
An Example of DeKalb’s Default Secrecy
A link to this city council special meeting agenda for Wednesday dropped into my inbox October 9. I am 99.9% sure the closed meeting is about creating a short list of candidates for city manager, which is important to us and by no means a secret. But unless you recognize the significance of the timing,…