Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin made a curious declaration during the July 6th City Council meeting. After numerous requests from the public that the City continue allowing residents to speak at meetings remotely (such as via Zoom), the Mayor has decided that doing so would violate the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
Mayor Marlin’s statement can be viewed here:
Marlin did not cite any provision of the OMA which would prohibit a public body from allowing public input via any remote or telephonic service, and Check CU cannot find any such provision in the statute. The creative interpretations of Mayor Marlin and the City Attorney (then James Simon, now David Wesner) have resulted in numerous investigations by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office over the past year as well as a lawsuit to which the City has conceded defeat. After multiple determinations of violation by the IAG, Marlin was forced to allow critical public input at meetings, but it seems that she is undertaking new creative efforts to quash public participation.