Open Meetings Act - covers all?

Up until today I would have bet all your money that the the Open Meetings Act covered the legislature. But then, today, somebody popped this bubble. So I had to re-read the Act.

Here's the first part of the law:

5 ILCS 120/1) (from Ch. 102, par. 41)
    Sec. 1. Policy. It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business. In order that the people shall be informed, the General Assembly finds and declares that it is the intent of this Act to ensure that the actions of public bodies be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

Here it is again, with certain words emphasized:

5 ILCS 120/1) (from Ch. 102, par. 41)
    Sec. 1. Policy. It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business. In order that the people shall be informed, the General Assembly finds and declares that it is the intent of this Act to ensure that the actions of public bodies be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

Then the Act goes along and defines "public body".

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof.

Now look at some of the key words:

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof.

Now look again at the last nine words of that section: except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof.

So it appears that "public bodies" - those about which the legislature wants us to be informed and whose actions are to be taken openly and whose deliberations are to be taken openly do not include the Illinois General Assembly - that being the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate and their committees.

Why am I surprised by this? Why didn't I expect that those high-and-mighty public servants would figure out a way to pull a fast one on the public? A clue was given to me on Friday, when one Representative on the House Judiciary Committee said, "We are all lawyers up here."

So there is has been, all the time, for us to know the truth. That the General Assembly does not exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business and people do not have a right to be informed of the conduct of their business. It is the intent of the General Assembly that its action shall not be taken openly and that their deliberations will not be conducted openly.

Business as usual... Ahhh, now I remember ... this is Illinois ...