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.
2 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.
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.
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