Ford Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
According to a news report by the Ford County Chronicle, the Ford County Board voted to elect a board member as board chairman – and they did it by using a “blind ballot” – which is nothing more than a secret ballot.
In Illinois, secret ballots violate the Open Meetings Act and have been unlawful for more than 90 years.
Illinois Attorney General Kerner, in 1933, addressed the secret ballot problem when he stated:
“Of what avail is an open door to the public if the proceedings are secret. The eye can see, the ear can hear, but secrecy conceals all. It is no advantage to the citizen to see a member secretly write a name on a ballot unless he is privileged to read what is thereon written. If the vote were taken by whispering in tones so low the attending citizen could not hear, how would he know what is being done. If no record is made of how the individual members vote, of what avail is the statute providing for an open meeting with open doors.”
See the AG PAC’s Binding Opinion from 2013 referencing secret ballots at the Edgar County Airport Board meeting (HERE) and our previous article on it (HERE).
The Ford County Board should immediately call another special meeting to redo the votes for board chairman, and any other vote conducted by secret ballot.
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