Cook Co. board axes ban on Twitter

The Cook County Board Rules Committee voted overwhelmingly today against a proposed ban on the use of Twitter and other social-networking websites during formal meetings.

The vote was 5-1, with only the measure's sponsor and committee Chairman Joseph Mario Moreno, a Chicago Democrat, in favor.

Elmwood Park Republican Commissioner Peter Silvestri at first defended the constitutionality of the proposed ordinance, which would have banned commissioners, the president and anyone formally on the floor of a county meeting from posting messages through "publicly accessible instant-messaging platforms." He also said it would benefit board "decorum." Yet, in the end he sided with the majority in deciding they were on "dangerous ground" in abridging freedom of speech.

"We are trying to limit First Amendment access," said Evanston Democratic Commissioner Larry Suffredin. "It is important to protect all our accesses to the public."

According to Moreno, the proposed amendment grew out of a county Ethics Board report after Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Chicago Democrat, filed a complaint against Riverside Republican Commissioner Tony Peraica late last year for a Twitter post filed during a meeting and calling for Sims to be voted out for defending President Todd Stroger's sales-tax increase. Peraica later apologized for using the board's publicly funded wireless network for what was perceived to be electioneering, but has persisted in posting tweets during meetings.

Peraica, who is not a member of the Rules & Administration Committee and did not attend the meeting, came in for ample criticism, with Orland Park Republican Commissioner Liz Gorman saying, "I've been the target of erroneous tweets by the twit in question." Yet even Gorman decided, "This is more of a behavioral issue," than one of free speech, and voted against the ban.

Although she is a member of the committee, Sims did not attend the meeting.

The amendment was widely perceived as one last way for Moreno to nettle Peraica, as they've had numerous public clashes at meetings in the past. Moreno lost his bid for re-election in the Democratic Primary, and predicted Peraica would meet the same fate in the general election next month. When the motion was defeated, he said, "It's really a moot question, because he's not going to be here next term, anyway."

While defending the right to tweet during meetings, Bartlett Republican Commissioner Timothy Schneider questioned the whole issue. "It's interesting that we have a budget deficit of $300 million upon us," Schneider said, "and we're taking time to debate whether we can tweet or not tweet."

During public comment, Chicagoan George Blakemore chided the board for defending free speech after banning public comment during board meetings and limiting it to committee sessions, saying, "All of you are nothing but hypocrites."