Eric Stock / WGLT
Originally published on April 29, 2021 6:06 pm
An Illinois appellate court has ruled the City of Bloomington violated the Open Meetings Act in 2017 when the city council convened behind closed doors to discuss terminating a tax-sharing agreement with Normal.
The appellate court ruled the city council did not follow the rules for a closed session because it did not discuss “probable or imminent litigation,” which was the stated reason for convening the meeting. Bloomington was exploring whether to end the Metro Zone agreement, a west-side tax-sharing pact the city ultimately terminated.
According to the court, there was no pending litigation for the city to discuss. Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner told reporters after the closed session the city didn’t anticipate a lawsuit. That prompted then-McLean County State’s Attorney Jason Chambers to ask the AG’s office for a ruling on the legality of the meeting.