[Adopted 2-22-2010 by Ord. No. 10-1]
To the extent and as required by Public Act 96-542, this municipality
shall designate employees, officers or members to receive training
on compliance with the Open Meetings Act and shall submit a list of
those designated trainees to the Public Access Counselor and update
the list as needed. Each designated person must complete a training
curriculum developed by the Attorney General's Office by July 1, 2010,
and annually thereafter. The Attorney General's Office will provide
the training curriculum in an electronic format free of charge.
Pursuant to Public Act 96-542, as an additional option to the
Act's current judicial review procedures through a civil action brought
by an individual or the State's Attorney, the Public Access Counselor
may review alleged violations of the Act. A complainant may request
a review by the Public Access Counselor if he or she believes an Open
Meetings Act violation has occurred by presenting said request in
writing, signed by the complainant and containing a summary of the
facts supporting the allegation within 60 days after the alleged violation.
Public Act 96-542 provides for an investigation by the Public Access
Counselor and issuance of an opinion by the Public Access Counselor
within 60 days after the initiation of the review. The sixty-day period
for issuance of the opinion may be extended by 21 business days by
the Public Access Counselor. Said Act provides for binding-opinion
process or resolution through mediation or other means, but does not
set forth any procedures or requirements for the alternative process.
Said Act provides for enforcement, administrative review, abandonment
of the Public Access Counselor's review and advisory opinion procedures.
