Politics & Government

Burke Pushes for Mandatory Open Meetings Act Training

State Rep. Kelly Burke plans a new bill designed to increase transparency and ethics in local government.

State Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th) is pushing for a measure to ensure greater transparency in open meetings conducted by local and municipal public bodies.

Illinois House Bill 1670 would require elected and appointed public officials to undergo mandatory training in the Illinois Open Meetings Act within 90 days of taking office.

The Open Meetings Act defines public bodies as any legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the state, county, township, city, village, incorporated town, school district or other municipal entity that is supported in whole or in part by public tax money.

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State law requires public bodies to deliberate and act openly when conducting the people’s business, as opposed to doing business in a smoke-filled back room. The act spells out such requirements as informing citizens in advance of public meetings, as well as their right to attend and participate in open meetings and their “right to know.”

“I believe that most open meetings act violations are inadvertent,” Burke said, “at least that’s my understanding and what I have observed.”

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The Open Meetings Act currently requires public bodies to designate one or more employees to receive training on compliance with the act and does not stipulate a need for training of elected officials. With changes in the law in January 2010, Burke believes that training and a greater awareness of new developments in the law are necessary.

“I took the training myself and thought it was great,” Burke said. “It was really eye opening and very helpful to people serving on public bodies and understanding what their obligations are.”

Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office currently offers free training in the Open Meetings Act that is available online to all residents of Illinois. Burke believes that unintentional violations of the act that may lead to costly litigation at the expense of the taxpayer to correct slip-ups can be avoided by a thorough understanding of the act by elected and appointed officials.

“By having people better informed, you avoid the problems you read about,” Burke said. “It avoids the time of investigating possible problems and incurring the costs of an attorney to investigate and defend public bodies, and boosts public confidence as well.”

Burke recalled her first job as a public official, when she was elected to the Evergreen Park library board.

“The board was in the beginning stages of planning a new library building. It was a wonderful learning process,” she said. “It started from a schematic design to an optimal plan and eventually to an actual building. A lot of time was spent by board members from hiring general contractors to looking at tile samples, while at the same time trying to run the library.”

Burke said that no added costs will be incurred by House Bill 1670 because the training, which takes about 40 minutes, is already available free of charge through Attorney General Madigan’s office.


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