Illinois lawmakers plan to take up a measure allowing municipalities to hold remote meetings at any time – pandemic or not – during the fall veto session this week.
Currently, the governor or the state health department must issue an emergency proclamation before a city can conduct any business remotely.
The Illinois Municipal League (IML) wants to change that through Senate Bill 482 and allow cities and towns to conduct business remotely whenever they choose.
“We would like to have the elected officials locally to be able to have that authority going forward if the disaster proclamations end at some point which I’m sure they will,” said IML Executive Director Brad Cole.
Cole said the remote meetings allow more people to become involved with local government.
“A lot of communities are seeing more public engagement,” Cole said. “More people are on the Zoom calls than were attending in person.”
The bill includes a provision that a city’s presiding officer must state why an in-person meeting is not practical.
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