The elephant in the room

With all the stink being raised about the probably-illegal "pre-meeting" of the McHenry County Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on May 26, no one is talking about the elephant in the room.

Certainly, someone has noticed the elephant, but no one is talking about it.

Plenty has already been written about it elsewhere. The Office of the McHenry County State's Attorney has weighed in, offering that it might not have been illegal but was contrary to the spirit of the Open Meetings Act.

The Attorney General's Public Access Counselor will examine the meeting for the possibility of violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Five County Board members were involved: Chairman Ken Koehler, Vice Chairman John Jung, Jr., and board members Marc Munaretto, Nick Provenzano and Tina Hill.

So who was the elephant? The big question is - who should have exercised control? Who should have said, "We can't do this."

The Board Chair, Ken Koehler? Absolutely.
The Vice Chair, John Jung, Jr.? If Ken didn't, John should have.
Marc, Nick or Tina? You bet. They are all experienced public officials.

Playing "You come out; I'll go in" deserves more than a "Naughty, naughty" from the State's Attorney's Office. It deserves more than a slap on the wrist, if that's what comes from the AG's office, with a "You shouldn't have done that."

Should there be sanctions? Fines? And not paid by the taxpayers, either!

Whoever came up with that lame-brained idea should admit it. Whose idea was it???

What response would come from a direct question to each of the five? What if I asked, "Was it your idea to pull that rotation scheme?" What answers might I hear?

No. No. No. No. I don't remember.