La Grange Closed-Door Minutes On Land Deal Kept Secret

LA GRANGE, IL – The La Grange Village Board has the opportunity under state law to disclose the minutes of its closed meetings.

Over the years, though, the board has declared the need for keeping the minutes secret, even after the village has resolved matters.

A couple of years ago, the village called for keeping minutes from closed meetings from a decade earlier under wraps.

Under the state Open Meetings Act, public bodies are required to review closed-session minutes twice a year and determine whether the need for secrecy still exists.

Some public bodies release selected minutes, while many others, like La Grange, determine the need for seemingly perpetual confidentiality.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, the board was set to vote on keeping the latest batch of closed-session minutes secret.

Beforehand, resident Jonathan Robinson questioned the need to keep secret the closed-door minutes related to buying a West End parking lot for nearly $1 million.

Because the deal has closed, the information can be released, he said. He suggested the secrecy in that case violated state law.

"The public has the right to know how the village justified the decision, determine the price and what logic was used to proceed with this purchase," he said.

However, the village's lawyer, Ben Schuster, said the village complies with state law. He said the minutes contain attorney-client privileged information.

"At some point, there may be a reason we can release them," Schuster said.

Without comment, the Village Board approved the recommendation to keep the minutes secret.