DuPage County’s Technology Committee endorsed a series of recommendations Tuesday to expand government transparency, including releasing minutes of County Board meetings on the county’s Web site.
Now the committee chairman, Jim Healy (R-Naperville), said he is looking to disband the panel because it has completed the “vast majority” of what it was set up four years ago to achieve: modernizing the county’s Web offerings, improving customer service for residents seeking county services and enhancing government accountability.
The committee adds an extra level of bureaucracy to DuPage government, Healy said, because it has no budget authority and only advises other committees. The Finance Committee could take over its responsibilities, he said.
County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom has not decided yet what to do with the Technology Committee, said his spokeswoman Diana Paluch.
Committee Vice Chairman Brien Sheahan (R-Elmhurst), who has pushed for the county’s Web site to include more features such as board members’ votes and the county code, thinks the committee still has a lot of work to do. He argues that at a time when faith in Illinois government is still shaken, public bodies must continue to explore ways to improve government inclusiveness and transparency.
“Ditching a forum that provides a chance for public discussion of these issues makes achieving them more difficult,” he said.
The proposals backed Tuesday include posting full agendas with all “available and appropriate” backup materials for County Board and committee meetings on the county Web site at least 48 hours prior to them. Also, the full minutes of County Board and committee meetings would be released on the site within three business days of any meeting.
Some of that content could appear on the site in January, Healy said. “We’re at the point that if they’re approved, we could almost flip the switches,” he said.
The vote Tuesday did mark “real progress,” Sheahan said. “I’m thrilled we’re doing this today,” he said. “It’s long overdue.”
The committee also recommended that the county conduct a $200,000 study to develop a Strategic Information Technology Plan for the county’s Information Technology Department, which provides all data processing services for county offices. The proposals move on to the Finance Committee, before heading to the full County Board.
The meeting minutes proposal is sure to be a prickly one as it moves forward. The state’s attorney’s office has advised the county against adopting the measure for fear that potential errors in a full meeting transcript could create liabilities. Kyle Gilgis (R-Downers Grove), a member of both the Finance and Technology Committees, raised fears of being “crucified” by the media for a misquote in the minutes. One option under consideration is that the minutes be presented as a synopsis, rather than verbatim.
In September, the county’s Web site unveiled a feature designed to facilitate Freedom of Information Act requests for public documents by e-mail.
