Both the Northwest Herald and Daily Herald reporters covering the tutorial on the open Meetings and Freedom of Information Act concluded their stories with the same thought.
It was from Illinois Assistant Attorney General Terry Mutchler and was reported in two slightly different versions:
“You’re either for open government or you’re not,”
wrote the Northwest Herald’s David Fitzgerald.
“…either you are for open government, or you’re not,”
was Daily Herald Emily Krone’s version.
The meeting was set up by McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi, who said, according to Fitzgerald,
most violations of the acts happen simply because officials don’t know the ins and outs of the laws. In nearly three years, Bianchi said his office has not discovered an intentional violation of the laws.
But, let’s get back to the philosophical question.
Which local governments are committed to transparency and which have shown they don’t want the public to know what is going on?
I warn you in advance that this may take a couple of articles and will probably turn into a series.
In the case of McHenry County College, we already know the answer.
And it will take at least two articles.
MCC is not for open government.
The evidence is overwhelming.
They may have hidden the baseball stadium idea for well over a year.
After reading Tim Kane’s February 2nd article mentioned below, I found the first reference to its “Master Plan” being submitted on January 26, 2006, to the City of Crystal Lake by local attorney Sandy Kerrick. You can see the letter here, which can be enlarged by clicking on it. There is no mention of a baseball stadium.
I did find out about a September 27, 2006, contract with Mark Houser’s Equity One. It had the most amazing clause:
At the completion of the feasibility study and independent review, if the College elects to proceed with the project, the College will contract with EquityOne or it’s (sic) assigns to develop the project on the College’s behalf.
Naturally, I filed a Freedom of Information request asking for a copy of the $70,000 study.
The contract called for Equity One to do a “feasibility study for the development of baseball stadium/indoor sports center complex on the McHenry County College campus.”
The reasons?
Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated…
and
Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or information are proprietary, privileged or confidential, or where disclosure of the trade secrets or information may cause competitive harm…
February 2, 2007, Chicago Tribune reporter Tim Kane wrote an article about the master plan.
It mentions the $90 million expansion, but not a baseball stadium.
In the article MCC spokesman Len Walker said he expected the plan to be in front of the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission by April.
McHenry County Blog ran a story about the baseball stadium on March 12, 2007.
The next day, March 13th, the Northwest Herald told the public of MCC’s plans. Mayor Aaron Shepley apparently knew all about it.
Tomorrow, the second part about McHenry County College’s non-transparent governance, numbered Part 1B.
When I was elected to the city council, one of our watch dog residents gave everyone a state copy of the open meetings act and the foi law. He didn’t give us a test on the material, but boy, we knew we better have a handle on it or we’d hear from him in letters to the paper, at the city podium and on his own cable produced city politics tv show.
“You’re either for open government or you’re not” You could pose that as a question, but of course, it would be a trick question. If we have any government employee, elected or hired, they shouldn’t be given the choice. This is arrogance pure and simple.