River Forest officials learned that the Illinois Attorney General’s Office ruled that they did not violate the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) when holding a quarterly “Casual Conversations” event, as was alleged by village resident Deborah Borman in a complaint filed in December.
The OMA complaint is related to a series of “Casual Conversation” meetings held by Village President Cathy Adduci on Aug. 31 and Nov. 23. The meetings invited “all community members” to attend and “get answers to any questions they may have at [the] information and informational event,” Borman’s complaint states.
In her complaint, Borman alleged that at the Aug. 31 meeting, Adduci and two village trustees were in attendance, qualifying the “Casual Conversations” event as a meeting involving the majority of a quorum.
Under the Illinois OMA, public bodies are required to conduct their business in public, which involves providing advance notice of meetings, the posting of an agenda, allowing public comment at meetings and maintaining written minutes.
Because the “Casual Conversation” meetings involved the majority of a quorum and failed to post agendas and maintain minutes, Borman alleged that they took place in violation of the OMA.
In her complaint, Borman also claimed that at the Nov. 23 “Casual Conversations” meeting, three village trustees attended, along with Adduci. Prior to the meeting, Borman alleges Adduci approached at least two of the trustees and requested that they not speak at the meeting for fear of creating an OMA violation.
This month, the Attorney General’s office notified the village that a determination was made that the board did not violate the OMA.
In her letter to the village and Borman, Shannon Barnaby, senior assistant attorney general in the Public Access Bureau, said the matter is closed.
“The public access counselor has determined that resolution of this matter does not require the issuance of a binding opinion,” she said in the letter.
Borman declined to comment for this story.
The next “Casual Conversation” event will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 in the River Forest Community Center, 8020 Madison St.
Term limit referendum vote delayed one meeting
River Forest officials will push back slightly a vote on a planned term limit referendum to satisfy a requirement of the Illinois Election Code.
Village Administrator Matt Walsh said village trustees original plan was to vote at the Oct. 27 village board meeting to place the referendum question on the November 2026 election ballot but learned that action would not meet an election code requirement.
“During preparation and review of the draft term limit resolution, it was noted that the Illinois Election Code states that no resolution can specify placement on an election ballot more than one year ahead,” he said. “Oct. 27 is a few days prior to the selected election date (Nov. 3), so the resolution can’t be placed on that meeting agenda.”
Walsh said the vote would be rescheduled to the next village board meeting, which will be held Nov. 17.
