No Charges For Open Meetings Act Accusations, But Hard Feelings Remain

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office chose not to prosecute four Lake Zurich village trustees for the accusations of the violations of the Open Meetings Act, but the issue is still a heated one.

The discussion continued at Monday’s Village Board meeting.

In the two months since Mayor Suzanne Branding accused Trustees Jeff Halen, Rich Sustich, Tom Poynton and Jonathan Sprawka of communicating village business outside of board meetings, relationships have been damaged and opinions on both sides remain strong. 

"When the allegations were made, I asked Mayor Branding for an apology for bringing this up in a public meeting, and I feel that the mayor still owes the board and the residents an apology," Halen said.

“The Lake County State’s Attorney decided not to file criminal charges, and though I don’t agree with some of their conclusions, another news outlet reported Trustee Dana Rzeznik, Mayor Branding and former Trustee Jim Johnson had also participated in violations,” said Halen.

Rzeznik countered the claim.

“I have never received any communications from the state’s attorney’s office about violations of the Open Meetings Act,” Rzeznik said. “It is inappropriate to make personal attacks in this forum.”

Branding leveled the accusations of Open Meetings Act violations at the March 7 board meeting and included the accusation that four trustees created "shadow minutes." The minutes supposedly summarized topics brought up at previous meetings and directed village staff to take action on a number of issues. 

“The allegations of violations made in this public forum, which were labeled as ‘shadow minutes,’ has undermined this board,” said Halen. “It was reported that Mayor Branding and the lawyers warned us, but no one ever talked to me about this.”

Another of the trustees accused of Open Meetings Act violations offered a straightforward explanation for their actions.

“We were attempting to enhance the function of this board and improve follow-up on important issues, which we felt was not occurring,” said Sustich. 

In duplicate letters dated May 27 and sent to all four trustees by Lake County Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Daniel Jasica, the reasons for the decision not to prosecute in part stated, “For the moment, we will take as true your statement that you did not ‘gather’ while you prepared the ‘shadow minutes.’”

The letters also stated that at this time, the state’s attorney will presume the trustees will hold future discussions about public business in public, and no longer use emails, which potentially could lead to future violations. 

The issue appears to have stemmed from emails sent by one trustee, which in certain instances were copied to other board members when the “reply all” button was hit. In some cases, three or more board members received the emails, which included information about village business. 

A quorum for a seven-member board, such as the Lake Zurich Village Board, is three members. The Open Meetings Act requires that a quorum be present for any type of meeting – whether it is in person, through email or on the phone – that pertains to public business.

According to the state’s attorney's letter, the entire board had received previous warnings about potential violations of the Open Meetings Act by village attorneys, and this instance would be considered the fourth, and final, warning. 

“If any of the trustees were to continue to email and it led to a violation, such as emails leading to a quorum discussion of public business, they will be prosecuted,” said Janelle Christensen, Lake County assistant state’s attorney.

Open Meetings Act violations are a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to 30 days in jail.

There was also an assertion of political undertones as reason for the accusations coming forth less than a month before the April 5 election.

“It was clearly planned and politically motivated," Sustich said. "How else did the then-trustee candidate Mark Ernst seek the very document through a Freedom of Information Act request 10 hours before it was publicly presented by the mayor at the March 7 meeting?”

Ernst did not respond to the question. Poynton and Sprawka also chose not to engage in discussion about the accusations or the state’s attorney’s decision. Branding was not present and was excused from the meeting.

After the discussion wound down, the village board was urged to move forward. 

“We need to move the village in a healthier direction,” Halen said.