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Kane County commission debates ordinance scope, quorum and remote attendance under Open Meetings Act
Summary
Commission members discussed narrowing the panel's duties back to its original case-management focus, a proposed bar-association ex officio slot, and legal questions about quorum and remote attendance after recent state changes to the Open Meetings Act.
Commission members debated amending the ordinance that governs the Kane County Judicial and Public Safety Strategic Planning and Technology Commission to return the body to its original focus on court case management and to clarify appointment rules.
The chair said the commission was expanded years ago to include oversight of judicial campus buildings but recommended reconfining duties to the original ordinance. The chair asked the state's attorney's civil division to review a draft amendment and to advise on membership and quorum implications.
The discussion focused on two legal points. First, the commission's membership overlaps with a separate "justice managers" group that includes chief judge, circuit clerk, state's attorney, public defender and sheriff. That group has five members; the chair said that to avoid inadvertent Open Meetings Act violations the commission's quorum rules may require a larger overall membership so those five do not by themselves constitute a quorum of this commission.
Second, commissioners raised whether the commission may permit remote attendance. Several members said the state tightened remote‑attendance rules in May 2024; the chair said the county then adopted the state rule, which favors in-person quorums for most bodies. Commissioners asked for a formal legal opinion from the county's civil division (John Frank or equivalent) on whether this advisory commission qualifies for any advisory-board exception that would allow remote participation.
The commission also discussed a request from the Kane County Bar Association to make the association's current vice president the ex officio bar representative to the commission; the chair said that change would also be routed to the state's attorney's office for review.
No ordinance change or vote was taken; the chair asked staff to seek the state's attorney's civil-division opinion and to return the matter for a future decision.
