No Vow To Unveil Secret LTHS Recordings
LA GRANGE, IL – The head of the Lyons Township High School board on Monday acknowledged the attorney general’s recent finding that the board held eight illegal closed meetings in 2022 and 2023.
The attorney general requested the board release all but 12 minutes of the closed-session recordings. They were about a controversial effort to sell the school’s 70 acres in Willow Springs to an industrial developer.
During a brief statement at Monday’s meeting, board President Jill Grech made no promise that the board would release all but 12 minutes of the recordings.
Find out what's happening in La Grangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Audio from those meetings is being compiled and reviewed to meet the redaction needs related to setting the minimum bid price,” Grech said.
She also noted the board had three new members, one seated on Monday, who took office after the closed meetings took place. Those members, she said, “needed an opportunity to get up to speed.”
Find out what's happening in La Grangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Grech said the board also planned to discuss the recordings at its next meeting in two weeks and possibly more after that.
“It is an opportunity for the board to discuss further and ask questions before making a final decision about how to meet the attorney general’s requested course of action,” she said.
None of the other members spoke about the attorney general’s letter. The board is not required to follow the state’s request, but many public bodies do in such situations.
In spring 2023, the attorney general issued a binding opinion on two closed sessions, which were before and after an open meeting in January 2023. The agency ordered the board to release the recordings, which were about the land. The board did so.
By that time, the board had abandoned its effort to sell to an industrial developer. That was after Willow Springs and nearby towns objected to it, noting that industrial uses violated zoning. The land in question is next to houses and an elementary school.
In the January closed meetings, board members generally agreed an industrial development would hurt neighbors. They also strategized about keeping the village of Willow Springs and the Pleasantdale school board out of the loop.
During the closed meetings, board members insulted Willow Springs officials, while one member came up with what he called a conspiracy theory about the opposition to the land sale.
Behind closed doors, the board’s then-attorney advised the board that it had a good shot to get an exception to the zoning rules. The lawyer was also present during the illegal closed meetings. The board later hired a new law firm.
In Illinois, all government board members must take Open Meetings Act training.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: rugby jerseys
