Deerfield, Ill. (ECWd) –
This article has absolutely nothing to do with the content of any of the speakers. It has everything to do with complying with established laws related to public meetings.
During its April 10, 2025, Board of Education Meeting (video here), the school board chairman violated the board’s own policy #2:230 on public comment, and by extension violated the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2.06 (g) “Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body.”
The board chairman made the decision to force nonresidents to the back of the line for public comment, forced speakers to reveal where they lived, and reduced each speaker’s time to 2 minutes.
Policy 2:230 is the school district’s policy on public comment. The board cannot change to fit its wants from meeting to meeting. It is a policy that must be followed.
Nothing in the board’s policy permits the board to:
- segregate public speakers based on residency status
- give preference to speakers who are residents of the district (See this article from 2013, where the Attorney General found the Vermilion County Board violated the Open Meetings Act for this exact issue)
- reducing speaking time from 3 minutes to 2 minutes, and especially reducing it without a board vote (if paragraph 4 holds muster)
- force speakers to reveal where they live
- prohibited at least one speaker from finishing reading another speaker’s comments, but permitted speaker to read letters from “residents” not present at the meeting
We suggest any person who’s speaking rights was violated at the April 10, 2025, meeting to either file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor, of file a lawsuit in circuit court alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act and the board policy.
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