Fines for Island Lake trustees may not be fine

A proposal to fine any Island Lake village board members who reveal information from closed sessions fell flat Thursday after trustees learned the rule might violate state law.

Village attorney Scott Puma said fining people for talking about private board discussions could open up the village to lawsuits challenging the ordinance.

"That person could appeal that fine," Puma said. "We're spending money and fighting a fight that could get expensive."

Trustee Donald Verciglio said he added the item to the agenda after hearing from a member of Puma's law firm at a Lake County Municipal League Forum that the board could draft such an ordinance.

"I believe the nature of a closed meeting is that you can freely talk about anything you like," Verciglio said. He said there should be something in place that discourages talking about private matters publicly.

Puma said he believed his colleague erred in suggesting such an ordinance would be appropriate, though he said the board could likely find a way to censure a board member for discussing closed session topics.

"I'm not real sure where this even came from," Trustee Rich Garling said before the meeting. He added he's known for some time that punishing a trustee for talking about executive session might violate the Open Meetings Act.

The Open Meetings Act was created to keep government in the open and lays out rules for how and when public bodies like the village can talk about matters in private.

Terry Mutchler, public access counselor for the Illinois attorney general's office, said the law concerning punishing people for discussing closed-session topics was settled more than a decade ago.

"A public body cannot sanction its members for discussing what happened in closed session," she said. "It basically provides them a shield, or provides opponents of open government a shield, to hide behind."

Meg Marcouiller of the Lake County state's attorney's office said any such punishment could also hurt investigations. A trustee complying with a state's attorney or attorney general investigation who answered questions about closed-session matters could technically be fined, she said.

"It's not to say it's a good idea for board members to publicly discuss matters which they have only discussed in closed session," Marcouiller said.