No Pictures at McHenry County Board
As I wrote before, on Wednesday I was in the building where the County Board has its new digs, which are quite impressive and well designed.
That day while I was out raking leaves, I got this phone message:
Chairman Koehler requested I call you back to let you know at this time he cannot grant permission to take pictures as the county board members he polled have stated they would feel uncomfortable and that it would be a distraction to them during their meetings.I called back and asked if it could be put in writing.
He said he will let you know for future meetings.
On Friday when I was shoveling my driveway, I got this letter, dated November 29 and mailed teh 30th, 2006:
Dear Mr. Skinner,Assistant Attorney General Scott Sievers, who is Assistant Public Access Counselor,
This letter is in response to your request to take pictures at the County Board Meetings beginning December 4, 2006. After discussions with several County Board Members, it was decided to deny this request at this time. Several individuals have indicated they would appreciate pictures not be taken as they felt this would cause a distraction and they would therefore be uncomfortable granting this request.
Discussions regarding this request will continue with a possible approval in the future.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Kenneth D. Koehler, Chairman
McHenry County Board.
pointed me to Section 2.05 of the Open Meetings Act (click on image to enlarge the print.):…any person may record the proceedings at meetings required to be open by this Act by tape, film, or other means.The letter and state law seem to disagree.
Monday's meeting at 9 AM, by the way, is the meeting when the newly elected or re-elcted county board members will be sworn in at the building north of the jail.
3 comments:
They can't prevent you from taking pictures, Cal. You have a right to do so under the Open Meetings Act. What they CAN do is "regulate" the activity (i.e. they can require everyone taking pictures to stand in a certain area for example) but they can not completely prevent you from doing so. No permission is needed. To prevent you from doing this is to violate the Open Meetings Act.
Also posted to Cal's original blog topic:
Hey Cal,
I woke up this morning and you were on my mind! I did some extremely difficult, lenghty research (cough) and McHenry County IS still listed as being in the State of Illinois, in the USA. Wow, contrary to some officials' beliefs, we have NOT been transported to North Korea, Iraq, Africa, or Aruba by alien beings from the planet Autocrat.
Maybe someone needs to remind Mr. Koehler and Company of this fact.
Or, we can just follow this concept -
If elected PUBLIC SERVANTS disrespect the people WHO PUT THEM IN OFFICE, the basic ideas of Open and Honest Government, and the laws, codes, regulations, etc. the public should have a right to withhold property taxes and state income taxes. Fair is fair.
If you are respectful in how you take your pictures or video or audio and they are too "shy" they can all wear ski masks and be anonymous (except for the nameplates you'll capture for history). Now there's a Daily Herald photo treasure for the front page!
If taking photos in a respectful manner ruffles their ability to speak or think in public - they should get over it or quit.....or be pulled off the board - kicking and screaming if necessary.
Note to McHenry County Board: Snap out of it - the people who elected you "own" this ship and like it or not you work for and report to them.....in the open - unless otherwise allowed by law.
This is a perfect time for civil disobedience. Bring a picture/phone, publish them to your blog, and embarrass the hell out of these idiots.
The fact that no one on the right does such things (save the obscene Wildmon funeral nutjobs or KKK) while the "progressive" shock troops shut down free speech at every opportunity, is one of the reasons the left is so aggressively on the march.
The law is on your side, as they are clearly being "unreasonable."
Frankly, the best thing to have done would be to just go and take pictures. Asking permission from these Bozos is always a mistake.
Post a Comment