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State's attorney warns mass emails could violate Open Meetings Act
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By Lisa Hammer, correspondent@qconline.com
By Lisa Hammer, correspondent@qconline.com
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CAMBRIDGE -- Public officials need to be careful they're not violating the Open Meetings Act with emails, said Henry County State's Attorney Terry Patton. In answer to an inquiry from a county board member, Mr. Patton said public officials can receive mass mailings from other officials without running the risk of violating the Open Meetings Act -- up until the point where they hit the "reply all" button. Mr. Patton said, "You don't stop and think about the Open Meetings Act when you're shooting off an email," he said, adding that public officials need to be doing so. He said that, after a mass email has been sent, if just one person hits "reply all," then all of a sudden a meeting is taking place. He said two people can go back and forth with emails all day, but mass emails with "reply all" messages would constitute violations of the Open Meetings Act. "If everybody's having a conversation with everyone else, then you're discussing in an open meeting," he said. Don Craven, general counsel to the Illinois Press Association, agreed that officials need to be careful. The issue of mass emailings is an evolving legal topic, he said. He noted the Open Meetings Act does not require all members of a body to be present, only a majority of a quorum. The list of who is on the email string needs to be less than a majority of a quorum to avoid the risk of violating the law, he said. "I take the position that if a string of emails shows an effort to build a consensus without public discussion, the Act is violated," Mr. Craven said. "So, even a discussion A to B to C to D could be a violation if the subject is public business and you get to a majority of a quorum." 
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Today is Saturday, May 25, the 145th day of 2013. There are 220 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: The annual review of the fire department of this city took placeyesterday and made a fine showing with machines and hose carts in tip-top order.
1888 -- 125 years ago: Last night's prayer meeting at Central Presbyterian Church wascalled off due to water in the basement, residue of last week's flood.
1913 -- 100 years ago: The junior class of Rock Island High School will hold a riverexcursion on the steamer St. Paul next Tuesday.
1938 -- 75 years ago: The 75th Anniversary of the Rock Island Arsenal today finds thenation's largest ordinance manufacturing plant filling many important orders for the army.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Miss Patrice Daly, Rock Island, a senior at Rock Island HighSchool, won second place in the recent state public speaking contest held in Peoria underthe auspices of the Knights of Pythias.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Hampton's sesquicentennial committee and the Hampton HistoricalSociety have scheduled a full slate of activities, which will be held throughout the year, to celebrate the village's 150th birthday. The first celebration will be the Memorial Dayprogram at 10 a.m. May 30, at the Brettun and Black Store Museum on River Road. Therewill be a sesquicentennial display.
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