Hoffman village meeting packed beginning to end

Three in one: They cracked jokes about sleeping bags and pillows Monday night at Hoffman Estates village hall.

That's because Monday's meeting stretched from 7 p.m. to almost 10 p.m., a result of canceled committee meetings from the last two weeks. Monday's meetings were three weeks of village business stuffed into a single night, followed by the regularly scheduled board meeting.

Trustees Cary Collins and Gary Pilafas told colleagues they couldn't attend meetings the last two weeks, so that forced the board to cancel the meetings due to a lack of quorum, despite having the four remaining trustees and mayor present. Pilafas on Monday wasn't inside village hall. He was out of town and participated via intercom.

Hoffman Estates officials discuss and vote on measures at the committee meetings, which happen twice a month, or every other week. The measures usually become ordinances the week after the committee meetings when the village board - made up of the same members who meet at committee meetings - officially convenes and votes on the matters.

Each committee, like Public Health and Safety, Finance or Planning, Building and Zoning, was made up of three members. And even though the entire village board votes on committee matters, having two of the three trustees listed as committee members absent prevents that committee from meeting. That's despite having the majority of the board present.

So on Monday the village board voted to expand the committees. Now all trustees and the mayor will officially serve on the committees. That means if two members are absent in the future, the groups can still convene to discuss village business. However, it may decrease the number of jokes about slumber parties. Hide the Ouija boards, please.