O’Brien leaves airport in spite of rally, state’s attorney finds no violations of Open Meetings Act
By Jim Hagerty
Online Editor
An effort by a group of residents to ask Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) to persuade the Airport Authority to come to terms with outgoing Executive Director Bob O’Brien was not strong enough.
About a dozen people rallied outside City Hall before the City Council meeting Monday, April 4, in hopes Morrissey would intervene and O’Brien would stay at his post.
Neither Morrissey nor O’Brien attended the rally.
Meantime, organizer Paul Gorski contacted Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato’s office to inquire about whether the Airport Authority Board of Commissioners may have violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act while it dealt with O’Brien’s resignation and severance package.
Gorski told The Rock River Times that Deputy State’s Attorney David Kurlinkus responded and determined a violation had not occurred.
According to information Gorski obtained from Kurlinkus, O’Brien signed a binding separation agreement with the Airport Authority and the steps to approve it were taken properly.
April 4, Acting Board of Commissioners Chairman Bharat Puri issued a public notice, announcing a special board meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 7. O’Brien’s severance agreement has been placed on the meeting agenda. Commissioners are expected to vote on the item Thursday, April 7.
Gorski did not challenge the state’s attorney.
“Dave Kurlinkus has informed me that there doesn’t appear to be a violation of the Open Meetings Act,” Gorski said. “I am saddened that this means that Bob is really gone.”
O’Brien resigned as executive director after a reportedly heated Airport Authority board meeting last Tuesday, March 29. Chairman Brian Boyer also left the board.
From the April 6-12, 2011 issue
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3 Comments
More than a little strange that no one knows what happened at a public meeting, where minutes of a meeting are required to be made public as per the Open Meetings Act. Usually said meetings are tape recorded by many entities that are bound by the Open Meetings Act and kept for a year in the event of legal proceedings . Perhaps the time has come to file a formal request per the Open Meetings At for the tape as well as the minutes. When those minutes are finally available, hoping the Times will print them. This SHOULD NOT be allowed to die a quiet death as happens too frequently in this town.
yea,like every other story-like the sheriff and the pornographic e-mail trans- mission over public equipment,on the company dime. Not a thing came of that–huh wonder why??
Technically, nothing happened at the meeting last week. (No final decision.) Obviously things were discussed in closed session, but the final vote will occur, in the open, on Thursday, April 7th. I still believe this is not right.