The Illinois Attorney General (IAG) has determined that a publicly funded “Coalition” of two dozen public officials who meet on a monthly basis to discuss public business is not a public body.
In September of 2020, Check CU asked the IAG Public Access Counselor (PAC) to review several meetings of the Champaign County Community Coalition (CCCC) after noting a failure to post and approve meeting documents and a lack of opportunity for public comment at their meetings. Some meetings of Coalition subcommittees took place without any notice or public inclusion at all.
Check CU also noted that within the Coalition meetings there sometimes existed sufficient numbers of public officials to create quorums of other public bodies, such as the Champaign City Council.
The CCCC was first conceived by the City of Champaign in 2010, the year after Champaign Police officers shot and killed an unarmed 15 year old boy. On August 24th, 2010 the Champaign City Council voted unanimously to direct City staff to create and fund the Coalition.
The Coalition was tasked with improving the police complaint process, increasing police/community communication, and researching and advising on the deployment of youth development programs.
By February 2012, the City of Champaign had spent $8,500 just to get the Coalition started. In 2016, the Champaign City Council passed a resolution reaffirming that the City is the “lead agency” for the CCCC.
Champaign places Coalition meeting dates on their City Calendar, City staff members are utilized to organize and run the meetings, and Champaign Government Television staff attend the meetings to create meeting videos which are provided on the City website.
The CCCC does have its own website, but the site lists communityrelations@champaignil.gov as their email address and 102 N. Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820 (the Champaign City Building) as their physical location. The phone number listed, (217) 403-8830, is that of the City Manager’s Office. The same contact information is provided at the top of every CCCC meeting agenda.
Check CU cannot located any evidence which suggests that the CCCC is independent of the City of Champaign.
In response to the PAC review, Champaign Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Bannon argued that the Coalition is not a public body, and that even if it were, she said their meetings comply with the Open Meetings Act.
More than four months after Check CU requested a PAC review, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Boggs ultimately concluded that the Coalition was not a public body. In his opinion letter, Boggs concluded that the CCCC did not have to follow the Open Meetings Act.
AAG Boggs: “The Coalition does not have any bylaws or an authorizing statute or ordinance, and it does not appear to have any investigative or formal deliberative functions. Although the Coalition serves a significant public purpose in advancing various objectives pertaining to youth and police-community relations, such initiatives have no binding authority on the City or any other local public body.”
More than a dozen public bodies in the Champaign-Urbana area (listed at the end of this article) each pay $5,000 annually to have their names displayed as “executive” members of the Coalition. Though the CCCC is funded by taxpayer dollars, Boggs said that source of funding was only one consideration for his determination:
“The staff and elected officials from various local public bodies who serve as Coalition members do not receive compensation for participating…the receipt of public funding also does not transform a private entity into a public body.”
Boggs’s conclusion would seem to strain the definition of “compensation”. Nearly every member of the CCCC is a paid public official, and the Coalition planning and meetings take place during normal work hours.
Bannon also argued that the City’s creation of “Community Civic Event” meeting minutes served to absolve the Champaign City Council of OMA concerns. However, two months ago Check CU showed in an article that the Council had neglected approving and posting those meeting minutes for more than seven years.
Since he concluded that the CCCC was not a public body, AAG Boggs declined to comment on OMA compliancy.
A list of public bodies and public officials currently associated with the Champaign County Community Coalition are provided below. The January 22nd, 2021 PAC opinion letter from Assistant Attorney General Boggs, along with the opposing party arguments, are provided as well (click on the image for the full 21 page PDF).
Funding for the Champaign County Community Coalition comes from:
City of Champaign
Champaign Police Department
Champaign Park District
Champaign Unit 4 School District
City of Urbana
Urbana Police Department
Urbana Park District
Urbana 116 School District
Champaign County
Champaign County Sherriff’s Office
Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
Champaign County Mental Health Board
United Way of Champaign County
Housing Authority of Champaign County
University of Illinois
Parkland College
Champaign County Community Coalition “Executive Committee”
Chairperson: Dorothy Ann David – Champaign City Manager
Community Coalition Facilitator: Tracy Parsons – Champaign Community Relations Manager
Members:
Alice Cary – UIUC Police Chief
Thomas Petrilli – Interim Champaign Police Chief
Bryant Seraphin – Urbana Police Chief
Carol Mitten – Urbana City Administrator
Dalitso Sulamoyo – Regional Planning Commission, CEO
Darlene Kloeppel – County Executive
Lily Walton – The Housing Authority of Champaign County, Executive Director
Dustin Heuerman – County Sheriff
Jameel Jones – Champaign Parks Director of Recreation
Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum – Urbana Schools Superintendent
Joan Walls – Champaign Deputy City Manager
Joe DeLuce – Champaign Parks Exec. Director
Julia Rietz – State’s Attorney
Julie Pryde – CUPHD Administrator
Lynn Canfield – Champaign County Mental Health Board, Exec. Director
Orlando Thomas – Champaign Schools Director of Achievement and Student Services
Robert Flider – University of Illinois, Director of Community and Government Relations
Sue Grey – United Way of Champaign County, CEO
Shelia Boozer – Champaign Schools Superintendent
Dr. Thomas Ramage – Parkland College President
Tim Bartlett – Urbana Parks Exec. Director
Dr. Wanda Ward – University of Illinois, Exec. Assoc. Chanc. for Administration and University Relations
