In International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4646 v. Village of Oak Brook, a village board’s closed session discussion of budget proposals violated the Open Meetings Act because it exceeded the scope of both the “collective negotiating matters” and “probable or imminent litigation” exceptions. A union sued the board, claiming that it held a closed meeting in violation of the OMA and improperly denied its request for records pertaining to that meeting in violation of FOIA.
The court found that the closed session discussion did not fall within the scope of the “collective negotiating matters” exception because, although the budget decision could impact collective negotiations, the village was not engaged in active or imminent collective bargaining at the time of the discussion.
The court also found that the closed session discussion did not fall within “probable or imminent litigation” exception because there was no reasonable ground for the village to believe a lawsuit was more likely than not at the time the board entered the closed meeting. The mere possibility of litigation arising from the board’s decision on the budget proposals was insufficient.
At the same time, the court found that attorney-client privileged information contained in the closed session recording, transcript, or minutes could be properly withheld in response to the FOIA request, pursuant to Section (7)(1)(m) of the FOIA.
As this case shows, closed session exceptions are construed narrowly. In particular, public bodies should only rely on the closed session exception for “collective negotiating matters” when collective bargaining is active or imminent. Moreover, this case is another example of how narrowly the exception for “probable or imminent litigation” is construed. Not only must there be a reasonable basis for the public body to believe litigation is more likely than not, that belief must exist at the time the public body enters closed session, not after it closes the meeting.
Source: Int’l Assoc. of Fire Fighters Local 4646 v. Village of Oak Brook, 2024 IL App (3d) 220466
