Open Meetings suit filed against Clark County Park District –

CLARK CO., IL. (ECWd) -

A Verified Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief naming the Clark County Park District as Defendant was filed in Clark County Circuit Court on 02/18/2015.

This stems from the February 17, 2015 meeting where the Board approved "Lease Rates" and "Amended Covenants" but kept the contents of those documents secret from the public.

A public body is required, among others, under the Open Meetings Act "to precede the votes by a public recital of the nature of the matter being considered and other information that would inform the public of the business being conducted..."

Obviously this did not happen, and even when an audience member asked what the lease rates were that they just approved, the Acting Chairman, Ron Stone, stated that "as soon as this gets recorded at the courthouse then they will be available for public inspection” and that “we got to record them at the courthouse first.”

We believe this violated the principles of open government and transparency that are embodied in the Open Meetings Act.

This Clark County Case Number 2015MR4 is below:

[gview file="https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ccpd-2015-mr-4.pdf"]