OMADetermination Letter (non-binding)Closed no further actionClosed Sessions

Village of Wayne Board of Trustees allowed unsworn official to attend closed session

The attendance of an unsworn, newly elected official at a closed session meeting of the Village Board.

Date issued: May 23, 2023
Request number(s): 76564
Public body: Village of Wayne Board of Trustees
Statute(s): 5 ILCS 120/2(c)
Outcome: No violation found

Plain-language summary

A citizen complained that a Village Board allowed a person who hadn't been officially sworn in yet to sit in on a private, closed-door meeting. The Attorney General's office reviewed the law and found that the Open Meetings Act does not actually list who is allowed or forbidden to attend these private sessions. Because the law gives the Board discretion on this matter, the PAC closed the case without finding a violation.

Legal question

Does the Open Meetings Act prohibit a public body from allowing a third party, such as an unsworn official, to attend a closed session?

Holding

The PAC determined that no violation occurred because the Open Meetings Act does not restrict who a public body may permit to attend a closed session.

Summary

A requester alleged that the Village of Wayne Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act by allowing an unsworn, newly elected official to attend a closed session. The PAC determined that the Open Meetings Act does not prohibit public bodies from allowing third parties to attend closed sessions.

Issues decided in this letter

Each question the Public Access Bureau decided, with the rule it applied. Extracted automatically from the letter; the source PDF is authoritative.

No violationOMA section 3.5(b)
Resident attendance at closed session
Rule applied: OMA does not specify who may attend closed meetings, and no provision prohibits a public body from permitting any particular individual to attend a closed session.
Authorities cited: Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 35792, issued June 22, 2015

closed sessionmeeting attendanceelected officialsOMA

Reading view (472 words)

This reading view follows the source PDF's positioned text blocks. Page headers, repeated office furniture, and lower-margin notes are kept out of the narrative; source notes are available below. Reconstruction is automatic and imperfect — the PDF is the authoritative version, and it's linked on this page.

Dear

This determination is issued pursuant to section 3.5(b) of the Open Meetings Act OMA) (5 ILCS 120/3.5(b) (West 2020)). For the reasons set forth below, the Public Access Bureau has determined that no further action is warranted as to your allegation that the Village of Wayne Board of Trustees ( Board) permitted a resident to attend a closed session discussion.

Section 3.5(a) of OMA (5 ILCS 120/3.5(a) (West 2020)) provides:

A person who believes that a violation of this Act by a public body has occurred may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the alleged violation. * * * The request for review must be in writing, must be signed by the requester, and must include a summary of the facts supporting the allegation. ( Emphasis added.)

Your Request for Review alleges that the Board allowed an individual who appears to have recently been elected to the Board to attend the closed session portion of its April 20, 2023, meeting. You assert that doing so violated OMA because the election has not been certified and the individual has not been sworn in or completed OMA training.

Section 2(c) of OMA 1 authorizes public bodies to enter closed session to discuss certain enumerated topics. However, " OMA does not specifically identify who may or may not attend a closed meeting[,] * * * [ and] no provision of OMA prohibits a public body from permitting any particular individual from attending a closed session." Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 35792, issued June 22, 2015, at 1. Because public bodies have discretion to permit third parties to attend closed session discussions, this office will take no further action in this matter.

This file is closed. If you have any questions, please contact me at (312) 814- 6756 or steven. silverman@ilag. gov.

Very truly yours, STEVE SILVERMAN Bureau Chief Public Access Bureau 76564 o no fi war mun mailto:e.phipps@ cc: The Honorable Eileen Phipps Board of Trustees Village of Wayne 5N430 Railroad Street Wayne, Illinois 60184 e.phipps@villageofwayne. org

Notes from the original PDF (1)

15 ILCS 120/2(c) (West 2021 Supp.), as amended by Public Act 102-813, effective May 13, 2022.