'Skeptical' Of Content Rules: Elmhurst Watchdog Group

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst School District 205 board lists its rules for public comments on its website. None of them regulate what people can say.

The rules are part of the board's policies, which attorneys vet.

In recent weeks, board President Athena Arvanitis has added what appear to be rules to the ones on the website – without a board vote.

At the July 25 meeting, she asked that commenters "please" do not mention district employees by name.

On Aug 8, she expanded that to "individuals."

In an interview, Jack Bentley, executive director of the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, said all the rules for public comments should be in writing and available on the website.

He advised against regulating public comments in an arbitrary fashion based on the whims of the presiding officer.

"These rules should be enforced equally and standardized," said Bentley, a lawyer. "Don't do rules ad hoc once the meeting is underway."

Told about the center's advice, Arvanitis said in an email to Patch that the suggestion for putting the new rules on the website was a good one. She said she would look into updating the website.

At the Aug. 8 meeting, one speaker mentioned the name of York High School teacher Kelly DeLoriea, whom the board reprimanded later that night.

Another speaker criticized Elmhurst conservative leader Tom Chavez by name.

Arvanitis did not try to stop them.

But when Chavez mentioned the name of one of his progressive critics, Marsha Baker, who is also president of the Elmhurst Public Library board, Arvanitis interrupted him and told him not to say people's names.

When Chavez started talking about the library, Arvanitis tried stopping him again, asking him to talk about district issues.

She never outright ordered Chavez to stop speaking.

Asked about it later, Arvanitis, who took the helm in the spring, said in an email to Patch, "The interruption was an attempt to encourage the speaker to focus on district business and/or listed agenda items and to refrain from naming specific community members or their roles in other organizations."

Hinsdale High School District 86 was sued a few years ago when the board president blocked speakers from discussing an assistant superintendent's position on an educational issue. The president said the speakers couldn't talk about specific personnel.

After spending tens of thousands in legal fees, the district agreed to settle in 2020. Under the agreement, the district paid the speakers' legal fees and underwent training from the Citizen Advocacy Center.

At the training, Maryam Judar, a lawyer and then the center's executive director, said public comment rules must be content-neutral to meet constitutional muster.

Asked about rules prohibiting the use of names, Bentley said this week that there isn't a clear legal answer yet. He said the center plans to look into that issue through an effort that will include surveying many public bodies.

"We're very skeptical about content regulation," he said.

Bentley said it's clear that people can utter the names of high-level officials such as the president or governor.

"That will always be protected speech," he said.

The Elmhurst school board's next meeting is Tuesday.