La Grange Housing Meetings Under Question; Attorney General Reviewing Matter

LA GRANGE, IL – A La Grange resident has filed a complaint that the village is violating the open meetings law with a new committee finding ways to increase low-cost housing.

The attorney general's office has agreed to look into the matter.

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In April, the Village Board unanimously voted for a committee on affordable housing after a tense debate.

Resident Jonathan Robinson, who has separately sued the village over a zoning issue, told the attorney general that La Grange doesn't plan to follow the state's open meetings law with its Affordable Housing Task Force.

Village President Mark Kuchler said as much at the first meeting in late June.

"If you choose to break up into small groups, you are able to do so," Kuchler said. "If some want to meet for a cup of coffee or beer, do so."

In his complaint, Robinson said the task force met without an appropriate notice or agenda, violating open meetings rules.

"Because this task force was formed by the Village to deliberate on public business and provide advisory recommendations, it functions as a subsidiary body," triggering open meetings requirements, Robinson said.

In a response, the village's lawyer, Ben Schuster, said the task force is casual and informal. It has no obligation to produce recommendations or do anything else, he said.

Village Board members, he said, decided that the village "should not co-opt what was an organic discussion group" by setting up an official village committee.

The committee, he said, has no appointed chairperson. And all applicants for membership were appointed, he said.

Robinson, who has been taking videos of village meetings and posting them on YouTube, was also able to do so with the task force's first session.

In his rebuttal to the village, Robinson cited a comment at the first meeting from Kuchler, who told the task force, "It would be great if you shared your thoughts or recommendations with the board."

Robinson also pointed out Trustee Beth Augustine's comment at the committee. She said, "We're looking forward to what you find and what you think we should do."

Robinson said the village "explicitly" instructed the committee to deliver recommendations, thus prompting open meeting rules.

The next step is for the attorney general's office to decide whether the village followed the requirements. That could take a while, given the thousands of complaints it receives every year.