The City of Galesburg, accused of violating the Illinois Open Meetings Act, says it was justified to conduct a recent closed session meeting in order to discuss a federal discrimination complaint against the city.
Galesburg City Council will be investigated as a body and not as individuals in the case of the Attorney General's Public Access Bureau's looking into potential Open Meetings Act violations. That's according to the Illinois AG's Deputy spokesperson Drew Hill, who says the language of the Act "imposes legal responsibilities on public bodies." Hill says that means the AG's Public Access Bureau will be reviewing whether the City Council – not any individual people identified – violated OMA. The Request for Review was filed by Galesburg Ward 1 Council member Bradley Hix and Ward 7 Council member Larry Cox. WGIL obtained copies of Hix and Cox's letters to the AG's Public Access Bureau in which they infer that Mayor Peter Schwartzman and City Manager Gerald Smith were responsible for the alleged violations. Also, Hix and Cox issued a press release on Jan. 13 announcing that they filed OMA violations against the Mayor and City Manager specifica