The Rhubarb reports on Boone County’s compliance with Open Meeting Act Training

 

The Rhubarb

1 hr ·

Is it okay to break the law as long as you do not get caught?
Opinion/Editorial
By Lisa Rodgers Publisher/Editor of The Rhubarb

BOONE COUNTY-We are all subject to laws whether Federal, State or Local. Without laws we would have anarchy. I pose several questions to you. As an elected/appointed public official in Illinois are you breaking Illinois law by not completing the mandatory Open Meeting Act training within the 90th day? Is ignorance of the law an excuse? Can you simply ignore the law since there is not a consequence associated with its violation? Is it okay as long as you don’t get caught?

The Rhubarb wishes to inform that the factual information for this Opinion/Editorial piece was obtained legally using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The documents obtained are all public records and would not have been provided by the Illinois Attorney General or the Illinois Public Access Counselor had they not been available. Due to tech issues with Facebook, I am unable to attach the actual documents. However, I am willing to email them to anyone who questions the authenticity or factual statements I am in possession of. Anyone may submit a FOIA to either the Illinois Attorney General or to Boone County directly and may obtain the same information as contained in this Opinion/Editorial. Many journalists/reporters publish FOIA results in their articles or on T.V. news programs. The purpose of a FOIA is to allow for transparency and accountability in our government and its officials.

In 2009 Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan together with Illinois Legislators and advocates of open government drafted and passed Senate Bill 189, Public Act 096-0542 on January 1, 2010. The purpose of this updated legislation was to increase transparency and accountability for every level of government in the State of Illinois. Up until 2010, the public did not have the resources, provisions of the law or tools that would assure the public timely access to public records, meetings or allow the review of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) concerning a public body. These updated provisions are intended to strengthen the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act in Illinois.

“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. - Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/1.

Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest. Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan believes that an open, honest and accountable government, the cornerstone of a democracy, can be achieved only through the free and open exchange of information between government and the public. In Illinois, our most important transparency laws – the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA) – endeavor to open the workings of government to the public, shed light on government actions and, in the process, strengthen our democracy,” http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/Default.aspx

“TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, AND MEMBERS

Who needs to complete the Public Access Counselor’s electronic OMA training?

Each public body must designate employees, officers or members to receive training on compliance with the Open Meetings Act. The Public Access Counselor must provide an electronic training program for these individuals to take. These individuals must complete the Public Access Counselor electronic training annually.

In addition, beginning January 1, 2012, all elected or appointed members of a public body subject to OMA must also complete the electronic training and file a copy of the certificate of completion with the public body once during their term of election or appointment as follows:

Any person who is an elected or appointed member of a public body subject to the Act on January 1, 2012, must complete the electronic training between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2013. Any person who becomes an elected or appointed member of a public body subject to the Act after January 1, 2012, must complete the electronic training no later than the 90th day after taking the oath of office or, if not required to take an oath of office, after otherwise assuming responsibilities as a member of the public body.

Elected or appointed members need not complete the electronic training on an annual basis thereafter unless they are also designated to receive training on compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

What does the public body need to do if it designates additional individuals to take the Public Access Counselor training? At any time, a public body may designate new or additional employees, officers or members to receive training on compliance with OMA. If a public body designates new or additional individuals, those individuals must complete the training within 30 calendar days of their designation.”Page 3 http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/pdf/faq_oma_government.pdf

In December of 2015, The Publisher/Editor of The Rhubarb was reporting on the Boone County Health Department and the Boone County Board of Health for the Belvidere Daily Republican. Questionable Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act violations had come into question. An initial FOIA to the Illinois Attorney General revealed that two Boone County Board of Health members had not completed their mandatory online Open Meetings Act training as required by Illinois Law. This information then raised the question as to whether Boone County Board members had completed their OMA training. The FOIA results from the Boone County Board of Health and the Boone County Board prompted two Open Meetings Act Requests for Review be submitted to the Illinois Public Access Counselor in January 2016. A list of names for the Boone County Board of Health members and Boone County Board were submitted along with the FOIA results provided by the Illinois Attorney General.

In a letter dated January 20, 2016 and addressed to The Honorable Robert Walberg, Chairman, Christopher Boggs Assistant Attorney General wrote…

“Dear Mr. Walberg,

The Public Access Bureau has received a Request for Review under Section 3.5(a) of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) (5ILCS 120/3.5(a) (West 2014), as amended by Public Act 99-402, effective August 19, 2015) from Ms. Lisa Rodgers alleging that the Boone County Board (Board) has failed to comply with the requirements of OMA. Specifically, Ms. Rodgers alleges that various Board members have failed to complete the required online training provided by the Public Access Counselor. This office has determined that further action is warranted. Ms. Rodger’s Request for Review is enclosed for your reference….”

The Public Access Counselor’s investigation prompted the following officials to complete their mandatory OMA training which they had failed to do within the 90 day requirement after taking office.

Boone County Board Members

Dist. 1 Chairman Robert Walberg- Elected official completed OMA Training February 2, 2016

Dist. 1 *Denny Ellingson- Elected official completed OMA Training February 1, 2016 and is currently a candidate for Boone County Board in Dist. 1

Dist. 2 Karl Johnson- Elected official completed OMA Training February 8, 2016

Dist. 3 Craig Schultz (deceased) - Elected official completed OMA Training February 5, 2016

Dist. 3 Sherry Branson-Elected official that resides on the Boone County Board of Health and is a current Boone County Board member. Completed OMA Training January 27, 2016 for the Boone County Board which covers both public bodies.

Boone County Board of Health

On January 15, 2016 an OMA Request for Review was submitted to the PAC in regards to Marshall Newhouse and Sherry Branson.

Dist. 1 *Marshall Newhouse-Appointed official completed OMA Training January 28, 2016. It should be noted Mr. Newhouse was a Boone County Board member in 2012. Based on FOIA information provided by the Illinois Attorney General, Mr. Newhouse did not complete the training in 2012. “Any person who is an elected or appointed member of a public body subject to the Act on January 1, 2012, must complete the electronic training between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2013.” Page 3 http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/pdf/faq_oma_government.pdf Based on information provided by the FOIA’s Mr. Newhouse never completed the OMA training in 2012. Mr. Newhouse is currently a candidate for Boone County Board in Dist. 1.

The Rhubarb wishes to note that Kenny Freeman, Paul Larson, and Cathy Ward who were on the Boone County Board in 2012 completed their OMA training within the required deadline. These same individuals were current 2016 Boone County Board members at the time of the Request for Review in January 2016. Cory Lind was appointed to replaced Paul Larson who resigned. Mr. Lind completed his training within the 90th day of holding office.

Certificates of Completion for each member and board were provided by the Illinois Public Access Counselor.

“Members of Public Bodies - One-time Training Requirement

OMA requires that each elected or appointed member of a public body subject to OMA must successfully complete the electronic training curriculum developed and administered by the PAC, and file a copy of the certificate of completion with the public body. 5 ILCS 120/1.05(b). New members of a public body subject to OMA must complete the training not later than the 90th day after taking the oath of office or otherwise assuming responsibilities as a member of the governmental body.

If you are a member of a committee or subcommittee of a public body, or a member of more than one public body, taking the training once fulfills the requirement for each position you hold. A member is only required to complete this training one time during his or her term of office, not annually, unless that member is also an OMA designee, in which case annual training is required. The OMA electronic training curriculum is updated each year, therefore public body members may wish to periodically review the training to stay abreast of the law.
Taking the OMA electronic training is a requirement imposed by law. Therefore, any member of a public body who should have completed the training by now but has failed to do so for any reason should complete the OMA training as soon as possible,” page 1 of the 2016 OMA training.

We are now only days away from the November 8 election and our newly or re-elected officials will be taking office. In January 2016 five of the twelve Boone County Board members including our current Boone County Board Chairman and one Boone County Board of Health member were informed they had failed to be compliant with the law. The question The Rhubarb has is will the individuals (if elected or re-elected) abide by the law this time or will they ignore it again? Is it okay to break the law as long as you do not get caught?

Above is from:  https://www.facebook.com/lisa.paulsenrodgers/posts/10210825146445350

 

 

Below are a number of documents which Mrs. Rodgers referenced in The Rhubarb.

 

Marshall Newhouse completes OMA training January 31, 2016

Denny Ellingson complete OMA training on February 5, 2016.

Chairman Bob Walberg completed OMA training on February 5, 2016.