... should there be consequences? Recently I filed an Open Meetings Act violation against the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission, after the Chairperson (Janelle Crowley) directed me not to take photographs during the June 13th meeting.
For your background information, Illinois State law permits photography within meetings of "public bodies", so long as it is not disruptive.
The Merit Commission did not respond to the Public Access Bureau (PAB) (of the office of the Illinois Attorney General) within the initial required seven-day period, and the PAB made a second request. Finally, on July 23, Attorney Susan Connor responded to the PAB on behalf of the Merit Commission.
When I received that letter from the PAB late in August, I blew my stack and called my attorney for an opinion of what I considered defamatory statements in the letter. I shall address the false and misleading statements in separate articles here. Read on.
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
7 comments:
This is going on at various city, county, and state levels all across the country. People should really be concerned about it. We either have people that are accountable to the people who elected them or we don't. Which do you prefer? Accountability, to me, doesn't just mean at the end of their term you can vote for or against them. Accountability means they make themselves accessible, they let us know how they voted,they let us know what they are voting on, they let us know where and when they are having meetings.
It goes beyond public meetings. There are places where the authority is saying "no you can't take pictures of city hall". The crackdown on photogrophy is happening across the country and it's to protect those in power. The government is even talking about instances where it would be ok to shut down wireless communication. Think about that for a second. They are trying to justify all this with "safety". That's typical. They're protecting allright. They're protecting themselves from answering to the people!
Joe, you should run for Woodstock City Council - right now. With your radical (sensible!) ideas, I'll vote for you.
Thanks for the endorsement Gus. haha. I don't know about City Council. That seems ambitious. I might run for Precinct Comitteeman next time around.
Hey, are you going to be an Election Judge again? I just got my approval from the County Clerk. I didn't know that if you are an Election Judge you HAVE to vote in the primary for the party you chose to represent as a judge. If I read that right that means I am locked into one party for the next two years. I guess I can deal with that.
Joe, you could make a difference as a City Councilman or as a Trustee for MCC.
Be a bigger cog in the wheel than Precinct Committeeman. You have good ideas and would bring a fresh perspective to any board or commission you would be on.
I'm not sure about the locked-in part, Joe. Call the County Clerk's office (815.334.4242) and ask. I can't see any reason why you would be "locked" into anything.
DECLARATION OF PARTY AFFILIATION _DEMOCRAT _REPUBLICAN
I state I am affiliated with the above stated party and during the term of my office as Judge of Eleciton, I shall request the primary ballot of the party I represent.
I am fully aware the County Board or the Board of Election Commissioners, as the case may be, has the right, at any time, to remove any Judge of Election for failing to vote the primary ballot of the political party he represents, at a primary election at which he served as such Judge.
Under penalties as provided by law persuant to Article 29 of the Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this declaration are true and correct.
They sent me a letter and that is part of it. By the way, you never said if you were going to be a Judge or not.
Joe, when I saw your comments to this article, I hadn't yet opened all my mail. Then I did and found my appointment as an Election Judge. Yes, I'll be serving as an EJ.
The wording on the Commission concerns me a little - the part about "...shall to serve to all elections for a two year period until my successor has been duly appointed as provided by law."
I don't like the word "shall". What if I will be out of town or otherwise unable (or unwilling) to serve? The party affiliation commitment is not a problem for me.
Before I sign and accept the Commission, I'll have to call the County Clerk.
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