August 21, 2018

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois Senate,

100th General Assembly:

Today I veto Senate Bill 2629 from the 100th General Assembly, which would undermine the free and transparent training the Attorney General’s Office provides to bodies under the Open Meetings Act by placing it in competition with training conducted by an organization that represents fire protection districts.

The Attorney General’s Office offers training to appointees to boards and commissions that follow the Open Meetings Act. This training is available online, and any member of the public can also take this training and see what requirements and principles guide their representatives. Senate Bill 2629 would instead permit appointees to the board of trustees of fire protection districts to take a different training, conducted by private organizations, in lieu of the more public and zero-cost training already available.

The Open Meetings Act is within the purview of the Attorney General’s Office to administer and oversee. Senate Bill 2692 improperly gives the private sector the ability to opine on the legal requirements for open meetings and the applicability and procedures of the Act. The bill does not ensure that this training will be approved or reviewed by the State. This change therefore invites unpredictability and noncompliance with the Act.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2629, entitled “AN ACT concerning government,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR