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Maywood trustees reject tighter rule for placing items on agendas after OMA concerns
Summary
A proposed rule that would have required two trustees' written support and limited agenda items to two per trustee failed 4–3 after trustees and the village attorney warned it could create an Open Meetings Act conflict. Trustees later approved a separate procedure to place items on the agenda for discussion.
Maywood trustees voted down a proposed revision to the board’s agenda-submission rules on April 21, 2020, ending efforts to require two other trustees’ written support and a two-item-per-trustee cap.
The motion to adopt the stricter rule failed 4–3. Trustees A. Sanchez, K. Wellington and N. Booker voted in favor; Mayor Edwenna Perkins and Trustees I. Brandon, M. Jones and M. Lightford voted against the proposal.
Trustee N. Booker argued for a narrower requirement and proposed an amendment to require written support from only one or more trustees and to allow up to three agenda items per trustee. Village Attorney Michael Jurusik cautioned the board that the three-trustee support approach had a strong likelihood of running afoul of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, which governs when public bodies must hold public sessions and how a quorum may conduct business.
After the failed motion, trustees approved a separate procedural change allowing a trustee to secure majority support during Board comments to place an item on a future agenda for discussion; the amended rule removes a prior explicit requirement that the Mayor and Village Manager approve placement.
The debate highlighted board concerns about transparency and procedural efficiency. The attorney’s OMA caution was a key factor cited by members who opposed the stricter written-support threshold.
