The Illinois Attorney General’s office issued a ruling on Aug. 21 that found a Collinsville City Council rule restricting who can speak at meetings is a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Collinsville City Hall / Photo by Roger Starkey
At question was if the City Council could restrict speakers to city of Collinsville residents, business owners in the city or someone interested in an agenda item in that meeting. On Feb. 25, 2013, Jim Sparks, who has a Collinsville address but does not live in the city limits, attempted to address the Council and was told by Mayor John Miller he could not.
“Do you live in the city limits, sir?” Miller asked Sparks.
When Sparks acknowledged that he did not, Miller told him he could not speak at the meeting.
“Our rules specifically state that you must live in or do business in the corporate limits of Collinsville,” Miller said.
Sparks told Miller he disagreed, but would accept it.
Sparks said had spoken at an earlier meeting, criticizing the City’s debt, and was later told by Miller that he would no longer be allowed to address the Council because he did not live within the city limits. Sparks’ attempt to speak at the Feb. 25, 2013 meeting was to challenge the rule, which he believed to be in violation of the open meetings act. He filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s office three days later.
Nearly 16 months after the complaint was filed, the Illinois Attorney General’s office issued a non-binding opinion that the City Council must revise it ordinance.
“… (T)he Council’s rule limiting public comment to city residents, business and property owners, and those with a direct financial interest in real estate would deprive numerous other individuals who could potentially be affected by the Council’s actions from addressing the Council,” the ruling stated.
The fact that the Illinois Attorney General’s ruling is non-binding means the City Council is not compelled to modify the ordinance, City Attorney Steve Giacoletto said. However, the Council will make immediate changes.
While reviewing the existing ordinance for possible changes, the Council will no longer restrict input to city residents or city business owners, City Manager Scott Williams said.
“We want to encourage public input, not discourage it,” Williams said.
Sparks said he did not expect the City to act so quickly.
“I expected them to drag their feet,” Sparks said. “I guess they decided that they were wrong and they were going to go ahead and right it.”
The 10 rules in the ordinance were put in place years ago, Williams said, in an effort to ensure decorum and not allow large groups of non-residents to derail the meetings. Rules include a four minute time limit, instructions that speakers must “conform to conventional social manners in speech, writing, dress, and behavior” and that the “audience shall refrain from conduct that disrupts the meeting in any way such as clapping, booing, loud talking or outbursts.”
The rule restricting input to city residents, business owners or interested parties in a particular agenda item does not, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office said, serve any governmental interest in conserving time or ensuring that each interested participant has an opportunity to speak.
Sparks, who said he was made to feel like a criminal, would like more than just a change from the City.
“I’d like someone to apologize,” Sparks said. “I don’t expect it, though.”
The next meeting of the Collinsville City Council is at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the City Hall Council Chambers at 125 S. Center St.
