Public speaker challenges board’s use of closed session, questions district email and litigation hold

At a May 1 special meeting of the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education, public commenter Dale Clever accused the board of potentially violating the Illinois Open Meetings Act by failing to cite an exception on the agenda before entering closed session and criticized a district email the commenter said labeled allegations "unfounded" and was distributed to students and parents.

Clever, who identified himself as a Hinsdale resident and attorney, said the agenda did not cite which Open Meetings Act exception authorized closed deliberations and that doing so is required. “If you go into a closed meeting right now, you'll be doing so unlawfully,” Clever said, and he later criticized a public statement the board released to student and parent email addresses as “colossally bad judgment.” He questioned who authorized the statement and argued sending it to all students and parents was inappropriate.

Clever also discussed a litigation-hold letter and said a search term used in the hold — “Leventhal” — would capture multiple students with that surname and appeared intentional; he called the use of the name “an intent to intimidate.” He referenced a recent demand amount in the matter, saying “the last demand was $75,000.” Clever told the board he had previously raised similar concerns about closed meetings in August 2022 and said the attorney general later found that meeting unlawful.

Board counsel Felicia Frazier of Olson Murphy Frazier responded to procedural questions during public comment, saying the board can state the reason for going into executive session at the time it enters executive session if the exception was not listed on the agenda. “If executive session is not on the agenda, but the board states, when they're going in, why they have to go in … and they may say, ‘I forgot to tell you this litigation matter,’” Frazier said, “and then you come back out and you continue with your agenda, as long as you're not taking action … you are okay.”

Later in the meeting the board moved to adjourn into closed session under the cited exceptions from the Illinois Open Meetings Act for collective negotiating matters and litigation. Member Waters moved; Member Ramon seconded. The board approved the motion by roll call, seven votes to zero (Member Greenspan — aye; Member James — aye; Member Akris — aye; Member Cardzunas — aye; Member Ramon — aye; Member Walker — aye; Member Waters — aye). The board stated it would not take action following the closed session as detailed on the agenda.

The transcript records no board vote or formal public explanation of who authorized the district’s earlier public statement criticized by Clever; Clever asked the board to explain that process and the choice to send the statement to district email addresses.