Watchdog group calls police about U-46 meeting

Members of a tax watchdog group called police to an Elgin Area School District U-46 meeting Monday night to complain of Open Meetings Act violations. Their claims interrupted the regular school board meeting, which was live streaming on YouTube. Elgin police officers responded. "The watchdogs arrived before the meeting went into closed session," U-46 spokeswoman Mary Fergus said.

Group members wanted to speak at that point but were told they would have an opportunity for public comment when the board came out of the closed session, she added. A call was made to the police commander and the Kane County state's attorney's office, which did not weigh in on the matter, Fergus said.

"We were asked to just delay the start of the meeting because the state's attorney was reviewing the documents. Police stayed on the premises throughout the meeting," said Fergus, adding that it was the district's general counsel who offered his opinion when the meeting restarted. Fergus said the school district has run meetings in this manner for the past 20 years where the board goes into closed session after opening a meeting. She refuted other claims by the watchdog group that meetings were not posted appropriately. "The agenda is posted online and at our headquarters," she said.