MCC violated Open Meetings Act, state's attorney says

McHenry County College violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act in February when security guards removed four people from a building where its board of trustees was holding a public meeting, according to a formal complaint filed today by the McHenry County state's attorney's office.

The complaint does not seek any specific punishment against the college or its board, but instead asks a judge to rule it violated the act and order it to make future meetings open and convenient to the public.

State's Attorney Louis Bianchi today called the MCC's actions "an egregious violation," but said he decided not to seek punishment because college leaders publicly apologized and pledged to prevent it from happening again.

"It wasn't an intentional violation, and they took immediate steps to correct it," Bianchi said.

Those steps include training of school employees, including security officers, on the Open Meeting Act requirements and changes in board policy to make its meetings more accessible to the public, said Christina Haggerty, the college's director of marketing and public relations.

"We are completely committed to public access of our meetings," she said.

The complaint stems from a February meeting in which the board went into closed session, as it is allowed to do, to discuss real estate and collective bargaining issues.

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

According to court documents, security guards later approached the four people and demanded they leave the building. When they protested, security warned them they would be cited for trespassing if they did not leave immediately and 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.

The complaint is not clear on whether the security guards were acting on their own or on orders, but school officials later said the officers were not aware that their actions violated the Open Meetings Act.

Among the four people removed was former state representative and current Internet blogger Cal Skinner.

"This is outside confirmation that this board is not a transparent board," he said of the complaint. "Maybe it's not as much as one might hope for, but it's a step in the right direction."