SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The Sangamon County Board is saying “wait a minute” to a proposal to change the board’s monthly meeting date from the second Tuesday of the month, to Wednesday, or some other day.
The board Tuesday night rejected waiving procedures for the proposal, and instead gave the proposal to an ad hoc committee.
At issue is their meeting and an almost-weekly Springfield City Council meeting happening at almost the same time, for a long time.
“We should not have two of the most important public bodies in Sangamon County meeting at almost the exact same time,” said member Sam Cahnman (D-Dist. 18), a former Springfield City Council member. “We used to meet at 7, which was a little bit different than 5:30. Now, we meet at 6. The council meets at 5:30 twice a month. We meet once a month.”
The Springfield City Council meets, generally, four times a month — twice as a Committee of the Whole, twice as the City Council.
Other proposals by Cahnman and others in the recent past have also failed, partly after questions by County Board members about attempting to waive the ten-day filing period for their ordinances and resolutions. In this case, that wasn’t the only concern.
“I understand that, historically, the change and the conflict in terms of the scheduling of both meetings had more to do with the city changing their schedule,” said member Gina Lathan (D-Dist. 22). “As we move through this process, we need to at least see if there’s consideration on the side of the city and their willingness to adjust their schedule as well.”
Several members of the public can often be heard and seen participating in public comment at both City Council and County Board meetings — residents like Don Hanrahan.
“Open meeting laws aim to assure that the public can attend and participate. Clustering meetings does the opposite,” said Hanrahan. “It circumvents the oversight that the public should have over a public body.”
Cahnman claimed much the same, and he also cited the somewhat dwindling news media, who would often have to choose which meeting to cover.
There is no word from the city or any council members as to what their preferences may be. There’s also no word on how long an ad hoc committee might take researching the matter.
An effort by Cahnman to amend his proposal so that it takes effect January 1, instead of immediately, failed.
