In a binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) found that a school board violated the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) by holding an improper private meeting. The PAC found that the board violated the OMA by allowing a majority of a quorum of its members to attend a third party’s informational presentation about a proposed energy project without providing public notice or following any of the OMA’s other procedural requirements.
The presentation was held at a local restaurant with drinks, dinner, and a PowerPoint on the project’s scope, anticipated tax revenue, and economic effects. Seven board members, more than a majority of a quorum, attended and actively questioned the presenters and exchanged information. The OMA defines a “meeting” as any gathering of a majority of a quorum of a public body “for the purpose of discussing public business.” The PAC emphasized that the OMA’s requirements apply not only to gatherings where public bodies vote or deliberate on pending matters, but also to gatherings where members collectively acquire and exchange information in preparation for future action. Despite the board calling it informal, the PAC held that this collective inquiry into a large county project was “public business” under the OMA because the presentation involved discussion of public business.
This case reinforces that while having a majority of a quorum present does not make a gathering a meeting, but if members discuss public business (which is broadly defined), the OMA requirements apply. For school districts, this means that even informal meetings and presentations discussing matters not before the board may require compliance with the OMA.
Public Access Opinion 2025-011
