Thursday, April 8, 2010

When will Boone County post minutes as required by law?

The school districts posts their minutes on their websites.  Rock Valley College does it as does the City of Belvidere.   [See Belvidere’s at:  http://www.ci.belvidere.il.us/bodyframeset.htm].   Since 2006 most units of government are required to place the minutes on their website for 60 days. [See the law shown in blue below] Boone County Health Department does it. But the Boone County Board does not do it.  

Boone County can post  agenda for all its subcommittees and the committee of the whole [See: http://www.boonecountyil.org/] .  A hundred page budget and CPA audit are posted on the county website.  The county code is 573 pages and is on the website. But minutes are not posted and the county refuses to do so.  The minutes from the  committee of the whole are often less than ten pages long—but the county refuses to have them available on the internet even though such is mandated by law.

Here is the written explanation I received from the County Administrator, click on the photocopy to enlarge.

minutes on internet

Here is the body of my March 8th letter:

Dear Mr. Terrinoni:

I understand that you are the freedom of information officer.  I have been unable to determine who was appointed the open meetings officer and therefore have made the assumption that you have been appointed to that post as well.

Back in early February 2010, I emailed the County Board Chairman, Robert Walberg, requesting that county board minutes be publish on the county’s web site.  To date I have heard nothing from him or the county board.  Based upon these facts I am contacted you today.  I respectfully request that you respond to this inquiry within thirty days.

I request that Boone County begin posting the minutes of its minutes on it website as prescribed by law.  I believe the appropriate legal citation is:   5 Illinois Consolidated Statues 120/2.06 b. 

(5 ILCS 120/2.06)
Sec.2.06.
Minutes.
(a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) the date, time and place of the meeting;
(2) the members of the public body recorded as either present of absent and whether the members were physically present or present by means of video or audio conference; and

(3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.

(b) The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available for public inspection within 7 days of the approval of such minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, at the time it complies with the other requirements of this subsection, a public body that has a website that the full‑time staff of the public body maintains shall post the minutes of a regular meeting of its governing body open to the public on the public body's website within 7 days of the approval of the minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, any minutes of meetings open to the public posted on the public body's website shall remain posted on the website for at least 60 days after their initial posting.

Illinois Review: Kirk calls for permanent embryo experimentation funding

the Republicans' candidate for U.S. Senate emphasized his support for using embryos in his introductory "Independent" political ad by emphasizing he was one of the few Republicans that opposed President George W. Bush limited experimentation on cell lines to those already existing at the time.

In 2005, legislation backed by Congressman Kirk (H.R. 810) passed the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, authorizing federal funding for expanded pluripotent stem cell research.  President Bush vetoed the legislation.  In 2007, similar legislation passed the House with no action in the Senate.

Click on the following for more details:  Illinois Review: Kirk calls for permanent embryo experimentation funding

Congressman: GOP will roll out new 'Contract' as early as late summer - The Hill's Ballot Box

new version of the "Contract with America" closer to the fall midterm elections , as early as the late summer.

would contain provisions related to small government and fiscal discipline, as the GOP plans to run primarily on the economic issues in the fall.

Click on the following for more details:  Congressman: GOP will roll out new 'Contract' as early as late summer - The Hill's Ballot Box

Medical Marijuana Is Already Legal in Illinois-- Chicago Reader

In addition to an update on current legislation to legalize marijuana, this analysis of the current law is very interesting.

In 1978 the Illinois legislature passed a Cannabis Control Act to try to bring common sense to the state's drug laws….

the act gave the Illinois Department of Human Services permission to "authorize" licensed physicians to use it to treat "glaucoma, the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy in cancer patients or such other procedure certified to be medically necessary."

But there were two catches. The first was that Human Services was merely allowed to give doctors this authority—not required to. The second was that it could act only "with the written approval of the Department of State Police."

In other words, two state departments had to create new policies before medical cannabis could actually be prescribed and provided. To this day neither has

Medical Marijuana Is Already Legal in Illinois | Politics | Chicago Reader

Nice to see this time around.

Heath Department Ad

Heath Department Ad