Unusual Western Springs Practice Questioned

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — The boards in many towns only take action if they alert the public beforehand through their meeting agendas. But that's not necessarily the case in Western Springs.

On the advice of its attorney, the Western Springs Village Board takes what officials call "consensus votes" in some instances. This happened several times at the board's meeting Aug. 16 — a practice that a watchdog group advises against.

At the meeting, Trustee Heidi Rudolph presented a number of items for consideration that she said a board committee had discussed. Probably the biggest ones were for long- and short-term drainage solutions for the Springdale neighborhood in the village's southeastern corner. That is among the village's most flood-prone areas.

After flooding in late June, many Springdale residents showed up at a meeting to express outrage, with many accusing the village of doing little to solve the problem.

At the August meeting, trustees took a consensus vote to direct staff to seek proposals for the second phase of design work for a major drainage project in the subdivision. They also agreed to seek proposals for the design and construction of more inlets. These items were not listed on the meeting agenda, as the state's open meetings law generally requires when votes are taken.

The village's attorney, Michael Jurusik, told the trustees such votes are legal because the board was not taking final action, noting the issues did not involve the spending of money.

"It's really a direction to staff to implement these programs," he said.

But Ben Silver, a lawyer with the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, disagreed.

"Directing staff is final action," he said in an interview Friday. "It will take substantial time and resources for staff to prepare a (request for proposals). It's a very big decision."

He said the issue may be considered a bit of a close call legally. But he said good government would dictate that the board should let the public know before it takes action, particularly on an issue as big as flooding.

Patch left a message last month with Village President Alice Gallagher about the issue, but she did not return it.

At this week's Darien City Council meeting, an alderman proposed the board vote to send an issue to a council committee for a closer review. But the village clerk advised against it. She said the issue was not on the agenda and that the council should refrain from voting on issues unless they are on the agenda. Darien's mayor agreed.

Consensus votes are not a common practice. They are not used in Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, La Grange or Darien.