A key transparency law is partially suspended. Some meetings have been canceled, others have moved online. Here’s what we know so far.
By Bettina Chang
A recent Chicago Board of Education meeting (Photo: Helena Duncan)
The closures started in early March. As coronavirus cases started to stack up in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared a state of emergency, then shuttered K-12 schools, bars and restaurants and eventually all nonessential businesses. But that’s not the only part of public life that ground to a halt—public government meetings have been canceled, postponed or moved online.
Since March 9, at least 85 out of 143 public meetings based in Chicago have been canceled and at least 16 meetings have been moved to the digital realm. The public health crisis has also galvanized government agencies into action, which begs the question, how can the public keep tabs on the government during this time?
One key change came with Gov. Pritzker’s executive order 2020-7: It suspended portions of a state transparency law (the Open Meetings Act), relaxing requirements for in-person attendance so agencies could hold meetings remotely. Agencies were “encouraged” to provide public access via video or audio and to update websites and social media with information, but there were no formal rules to enforce this.
Since 2017, City Bureau has trained our corps of diligent Documenters to attend and take notes at public meetings. This mission has not changed; with local newspapers shuttering rapidly and governments limiting public records requests, it has become more urgent. But at the same time, new public health measures have upended open-government laws and the impact of these changes may not be fully revealed for months.
Documenters have taken notes or live-tweeted 10 remote meetings since March 9. Here are some key takeaways we’ve seen so far.
Technical issues
For anyone who’s been working from home in the last few weeks, it should be no surprise that digital meetings come with technical hiccups. The new phenomenon of Zoom-bombing aside, there are more mundane but important hurdles here: Documenters have reported that conference lines have been hard to hear and that without video access it’s hard to know who is speaking. The Cook County Land Bank Authority shared an audio-only feed even though the officials had video access, a move that puts members of the public at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding what’s happening in the meeting.
One Documenter struggled to call into a Chicago Police Board meeting held via teleconference line because his cell phone plan didn’t include that feature. If public meetings are going to be truly accessible during this digital-only age, officials should consider lowering technological requirements to be as inclusive as possible.
Communicating with the public
Before the coronavirus pandemic, public agencies already had trouble adhering to legal requirements in the Open Meetings Act, such as posting the location, times and agendas of meetings at least 48 hours before they happen. In a November 2019 analysis dubbed the Open Gov Report Card, City Bureau found that 19 percent of public agencies in Chicago do not post their meeting schedules online.
During this turbulent period, agencies have struggled to keep websites up-to-date with meeting cancellations, rescheduling and details for remote participation. Agencies have posted cancellations or details for remote participation with less than 48 hours notice or not at all. And, Documenters have reported that dial-in numbers and links for video calls have been incorrect or changed at the last moment without notifying the public. If there’s no physical meeting and the agency’s website is not updated, we might not know if a meeting has happened at all. City Bureau has been reaching out directly to agency heads when this happens, but these inquiries rarely get responses.
The more things change...
… the more they stay the same. Last year’s Open Gov Report Card showed that 61 percent of agencies had overly restrictive policies for “public comment,” or the time during each meeting where any member of the public can make a statement in front of the agency. At least two of the digital meetings covered by Documenters did not have a designated public comment period.
Other notes
Through these meetings we are seeing the flexibility of local government. For instance, we’ve seen at least two Special Service Areas (mini tax districts) redirect money from planned street festivals to supporting small businesses in their jurisdiction.
There was no full City Council meeting in March, and the Illinois General Assembly’s legislative session was canceled, limiting these bodies’ ability to pass legislation. Meanwhile, executives like Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Governor J.B. Pritzker have taken extraordinary measures and consolidated power.
Since City Bureau hosted a Public Newsroom about the Open Gov Report Card last year, we’ve been talking to folks (both inside and outside of government) about digital meetings and whether they would improve civic engagement by allowing more people to attend and provide feedback. With that in mind, we’ll be keeping an eye on how public perceptions around digital meetings evolve.
If you want to find details on upcoming public meetings, look at agendas or browse Documenters notes, check out our full database at Documenters.org.
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