Tazewell County Veterans Assistance Commission Bylaws Violate State Law –

Tazewell Co., Ill. (ECWd) –

The Veterans Assistance Commission of Tazewell County (“VACTC”) is operating outside of the state’s Military Veterans Assistance Act (“MVAA”), the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”), and the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act, and they are apparently perfectly happy doing so.

For several months, we have been asking the VACTC to amend its bylaws to bring the commission into compliance with state laws as required under Section 9(f) of the MVAA:

(f) Each Veterans Assistance Commission shall establish and maintain bylaws that outline the framework, policies, and procedures for conducting the business of the Commission and for the rules and regulations that apply to its members. Those bylaws shall reflect compliance with all relevant laws at the time they are established and shall be revised as necessary to remain in compliance with current law. The establishment of those bylaws, and any revisions thereafter, shall require a minimum two-thirds majority vote of approval from a majority of the full Commission membership.

On January 9, 2026, the Superintendent responded via email stating that “the commission determined that no revisions to the by-laws are required.” This makes us wonder if they know how to read and comprehend simple sentences like “shall reflect compliance with all relevant laws.”

One point of interest in this VAC is that the Superintendent is retiring from his almost $88,000/year job, and the chairman of the board appears to be stepping into his vacated role – they are both related.

The current VACTC bylaws (here) and how they violate state law – please note that although these bylaws indicate a date of August 8, 2025, and there are no meeting agendas or minutes indicating board approval or adoption of these bylaws:

• the bylaws state there must be a 2/3 vote to remove the VAC Superintendent – while state law (MVAA Section 9(e)) provides the process for removal of a Superintendent:
  • 9(e) A superintendent may be removed from office if, after delegates from no less than 3 different veteran service organizations file a written request calling for the superintendent’s removal, there is a vote from a majority of the full Commission membership in favor of such removal.
  • these bylaws remove the voting rights of the majority of the commission members in violation of state law
• the bylaws indicate the chairman and vice-chairman of the board are two-year positions, while the MVAA requires all delegates and alternates to the commission to be a one-year term of office by mandating the annual nomination of all delegates and alternates. The term of office of chairman or vice-chairman simply cannot exceed past that of their own term of office as delegate or alternate.
• the bylaws state there is a secret ballot to vote for chairman and vice-chairman. This violates the OMA’s requirement of a public vote on every measure – secret ballots have been prohibited for almost 100 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 bylaws indicate the Superintendent has a 4-year contract and is appointed by secret ballot – this violates Section 9(c) of the MVAA and violates the OMA’s restrictions on secret votes, and unlawfully restricts the powers of the commissioners:
  • “(c) The superintendent of the Veterans Assistance Commission, selected, appointed, or hired by the Commission, is an at-will employee who shall be answerable to, and shall report to, the Commission.”
• the bylaws indicate that if there is bad weather or other reasons a quorum of the board cannot make it to a meeting, then those who can make it can vote and approve items as if there were a quorum present. This violates the Open Meetings Act and cannot be permitted. A quorum is required at any public meeting, although a majority of a quorum can meet without voting.
• the bylaws indicate that the board chairman shall assume all duties of the superintendent when there is no superintendent. This violates the MVAA, Section 9(a)(6) which prohibits any delegate or alternate from retaining their seat on the board when in the position of employee of the commission. This is a clear conflict of interest as a board member cannot discuss or vote on their personal employment with the commission.