"Clerk's summaries are biased, incomplete"
A side effect of Victor Wogen's aldermanic campaign last spring is interest in the activities of the city clerk. In my opinion Donna Johnson has never shared a satisfactory reason for failing to notify Steve Kapitan, per the privacy provisions of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, before handing over personal information that may have benefited his political opponent.
My focus has since landed on DeKalb City Council meeting minutes. Here are Johnson's summaries of citizens' comments made at the May 29 meeting:
“Ms. Kay Shelton, 1006 N. 15th St., DeKalb, expressed her opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election in which she was a losing candidate.”
“Mr. John A. Duerk, 310 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, expressed his opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election.”
“Ms. Lynn Fazekas, 422 Lucerne Lane, DeKalb, expressed her opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election. Further, she addressed Ordinance 07-49, and stated she could not understand why it was not sent back.”
While I did not expect Ms. Johnson to write, “expressed utter revulsion with Mr. Wogen's campaign and distrust of his representing the Third Ward,” clearly these summaries are meaningless to anyone who didn't actually attend the meeting. It's dismaying to think that this is the one official written record of the proceedings.
It's even more dismaying to detect a bias. Here is a tiny excerpt from the minutes of the Feb. 26 council meeting, during the Third Ward campaign:
“Mr. Steve Irving, developer of the project, came to the podium to speak on the issue. Mr. Irving stated that Ald. Kapitan ... has badgered the residents of Colonial House ... used abusive behavior to his wife while in her office ... Kapitan planted some evergreens at his home that are planted too close together, but that is not his concern.”
Of what possible value are personal remarks about Mr. Kapitan's shrubbery?
Then there's the matter of timely access to minutes. The Illinois Open Meetings Act requires them to be posted at the city's Web site no later than seven days after council approval. The May 29 minutes were approved June 11 but not posted until June 21 - after a citizen called to ask about them. The June 11 minutes were approved June 25 and, as of this writing - July 12 - have not yet appeared.
It's time to discuss how we might manage accurate, complete and unbiased records of council business, produced within the lawful deadlines.
A side effect of Victor Wogen's aldermanic campaign last spring is interest in the activities of the city clerk. In my opinion Donna Johnson has never shared a satisfactory reason for failing to notify Steve Kapitan, per the privacy provisions of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, before handing over personal information that may have benefited his political opponent.
My focus has since landed on DeKalb City Council meeting minutes. Here are Johnson's summaries of citizens' comments made at the May 29 meeting:
“Ms. Kay Shelton, 1006 N. 15th St., DeKalb, expressed her opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election in which she was a losing candidate.”
“Mr. John A. Duerk, 310 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, expressed his opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election.”
“Ms. Lynn Fazekas, 422 Lucerne Lane, DeKalb, expressed her opinion regarding the recent 3rd Ward election. Further, she addressed Ordinance 07-49, and stated she could not understand why it was not sent back.”
While I did not expect Ms. Johnson to write, “expressed utter revulsion with Mr. Wogen's campaign and distrust of his representing the Third Ward,” clearly these summaries are meaningless to anyone who didn't actually attend the meeting. It's dismaying to think that this is the one official written record of the proceedings.
It's even more dismaying to detect a bias. Here is a tiny excerpt from the minutes of the Feb. 26 council meeting, during the Third Ward campaign:
“Mr. Steve Irving, developer of the project, came to the podium to speak on the issue. Mr. Irving stated that Ald. Kapitan ... has badgered the residents of Colonial House ... used abusive behavior to his wife while in her office ... Kapitan planted some evergreens at his home that are planted too close together, but that is not his concern.”
Of what possible value are personal remarks about Mr. Kapitan's shrubbery?
Then there's the matter of timely access to minutes. The Illinois Open Meetings Act requires them to be posted at the city's Web site no later than seven days after council approval. The May 29 minutes were approved June 11 but not posted until June 21 - after a citizen called to ask about them. The June 11 minutes were approved June 25 and, as of this writing - July 12 - have not yet appeared.
It's time to discuss how we might manage accurate, complete and unbiased records of council business, produced within the lawful deadlines.
No comments:
Post a Comment