Urbana City Council Ordinance 2020-09-049, New Public Input Rules (First Posted 2020-10-19), & Associated Legal Citations

This is a full document suite concerning Urbana’s new public input rules which were established in October of 2020. Despite having already exercised her new rules at the September 14^th City Council meeting, Mayor Diane Marlin first brought an ordinance proposal to the Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole on September 21^st, 2020. Then Marlin brought a modified proposal to the October 5^th, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting. Urbana City Council passed an amended version of the 2^nd proposal on October 12^th (against the urging of Urbana residents). Urbana City Attorney James Simon claimed that a number of PAC Open Meetings Act opinions and court cases supported the City’s speech restrictions. Those cases were finally cited in the public input rules posted for the October 19^th Urbana City Council meeting, and all of those cases and opinions are included here as well. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is currently investigating likely Open Meetings Act violations associated with Urbana’s new public input rules, and James Simon cited the same PAC opinions and court cases in his response letter for that investigation.

Urbana City Code Section 2-4 Public Meetings

Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code, Chapter 2, Section 2-4 (abandoned in committee – replaced with Section 2-5 proposal)

Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code, Chapter Two, Addition of Section 2-5 (Electronic Virtual Public Meetings) 2020-09-049 (2020-10-05)

Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code, Chapter Two, Addition of Section 2-5 (Electronic Virtual Public Meetings) 2020-09-049 (2020-10-12)

Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code, Chapter Two, Addition of Section 2-5 (Electronic Virtual Public Meetings) 2020-09-049 Final, Passed

Urbana Public Input Rules Derived from Ordinance 2020-09-049 (posted for 2020-10-19 City Council Meeting)

Illinois Open Meetings Act Request for Review 2019 PAC 59187

Illinois Open Meetings Act Request for Review 2018 PAC 55462

Illinois Open Meetings Act Request for Review 2016 PAC 45349

Illinois Open Meetings Act Request for Review 2015 PAC 38037

Milestone v City of Monroe (Complaint)

Milestone v City of Monroe (Order)