McHenry Co. College settles lawsuit, admits Open Meetings Act violation

McHenry County College formally admitted violating the Open Meetings Act Thursday as part of an out-of-court settlement to a lawsuit filed after college security officers removed four citizens from a building where its board of trustees was holding a public meeting.

Under the settlement approved by McHenry County Judge Maureen McIntyre, the college will not pay any fine for the Feb. 28 violation, but agrees to make all future meetings open and convenient for members of the public.

"We've made an admission that there was a violation and we've taken significant steps to make sure it doesn't happen again," MCC attorney William Caldwell said.

Those steps include training for college security staff about the Open Meetings Act, the designation of a building entrance that will remain open if a public meeting goes past the time college buildings normally close for the night and a public seating area for times trustees are in closed session.

The lawsuit, filed in April by the office of McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi, stemmed from a Feb. 28 meeting in which the board went into closed session about 9:32 p.m. to discuss real estate and collective bargaining issues, as is permitted.

As trustees met behind closed doors, four people present for the public portion of the meeting stood outside the boardroom, waiting to be let back in when open session resumed.

Around 10 p.m. -- the Crystal Lake campus' closing time -- college security officers approached the people and demanded they leave the building. When they objected, security officers warned them they would be cited for trespassing if they did not leave immediately, then escorted them outside the building.

The board re-adjourned to public session about 2½ hours later without any members of the public there to view their actions.

In a statement released Thursday, Bianchi said a lengthy investigation into the incident determined that security officers were acting on protocol to close the buildings at 10 p.m. Trustees, according to court documents, did not instruct and were not aware of the security officers' actions.

"Based upon our investigation, we believe it was a violation of mistake, not intent," Bianchi said.

Caldwell said the security officers were acting on the orders of their supervisor, who was off campus and unaware of the board meeting.

"It was right after the Northern Illinois University (shootings), so they were very sensitive about people in the buildings," Caldwell added.