From The Chicago Tribune

Closed-door meetings to be taped
Law adds check on public officials

By Christi Parsons Tribune staff reporter
Published August 13, 2003

SPRINGFIELD -- Elected officials will have to make either video or audio recordings of the meetings they conduct behind closed doors, under a change to the Illinois Open Meetings Act signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday.

Authors of the law say it will serve as a valuable check on government, by keeping public officials honest about what they are discussing in meetings that are closed to the public.

Officials are only allowed to exclude citizens from their deliberations in a few select instances, involving pending litigation, land sale and personnel decisions, for example. The tape recordings will give courts a way to review the closed meetings to make sure that public bodies aren't abusing the rules.

"The public's right to know is something that's good for our country and good for our state," Blagojevich said of the measure. "I don't think it's that much of a burden to ask a local municipality to when they're having closed-door meetings to simply record those meetings. In fact, I think it will go a long way toward helping give the public more confidence in the way their elected officials govern."

As a result of the new law, public bodies will have to make audio or video recordings of all executive session meetings and keep them on hand for no less than 18 months. The recordings can be kept secure in locked filing cabinets or other secure areas, bill sponsors say.

The measure had engendered the ire of many local public officials, who fear that it will place too heavy a burden upon them. Some complain that the storage of the tapes will be onerous, even though the micro cassette tapes don't take up much space.

Of greater concern to others was that the requirement would inhibit public officials from speaking their minds on the sensitive topics of closed meetings, out of fear that recordings of the private discussions would get out and become public.

"Usually when there's a closed meeting, it's about something that's controversial," said Ken Alderson, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League. "What we're concerned about is the damper that recording puts on free speech among the parties concerned."

The municipal league had made some suggestions to the governor for changes. For instance, members had suggested that the presence of a municipal attorney -- who could cut off conversation when it veered into an area not covered by the executive privilege -- could cancel the need for recording.

But Blagojevich signed the measure as the legislature passed it. That's as it should be, said Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago), the Senate sponsor of the measure.

"This is an issue that people who are interested in open government have been working on for a number of years," said Obama. "We have an Open Meetings Act, but unfortunately it has been difficult to enforce. There's no way for the public to know whether public bodies are acting appropriately when they go into closed session."

The measure requires recording of all closed meetings, but does not permit public access to the tapes unless a lawsuit is filed. Even then a judge must review the sealed record and determine that the recording or a transcript of it may be released.

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