OMA section 2
OMA5 ILCS 120/2. Section 2 overview: The core rule: all meetings must be open unless a specific exception in subsection (c) applies. Those exceptions are read narrowly by design and only authorize -- they never require -- closing a meeting. See the exception-by-exception breakdown below the full text for what each of the 40 numbered exceptions actually covers.
16 issues across 9 determination letters:10 violation found · 5 no violation · 1 no determination / resolved.
Counts are per issue, not per letter, and come from automated extraction checked against sampled letters. Determination letters are not binding precedent.
Authorities the Bureau cites most on this issue
- A home address requirement for public comment (Pub. Acc. Op. No. 14-009) cited 3 times
- A county board's advance sign-up rule for public comment (Pub. Acc. Op. No. 14-012) cited 2 times
- I.A. Rana Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Aurora, 630 F. Supp. 2d 912 (N.D. Ill. 2009) cited 2 times
- Public comment restrictions at a council meeting (PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 38037) cited 1 times
How to challenge a denial on this issue
AI-generated summary of the decisions listed on this page, with each point linked to the letters it comes from. Determination letters are not binding precedent and this is not legal advice. Open the letter and check the PDF before relying on any point.
When a challenge is strong
- A gathering of a majority of a quorum was held to discuss public business without proper posted notice and agenda. OMA requires that any such gathering be a meeting with posted notice and agenda.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- The public body failed to hold a meeting at a specified time and place that was convenient and open to the public. OMA requires open meetings at convenient times and places.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- No minutes were kept of the meeting. OMA requires a public body to keep minutes of its meetings.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- The public body did not provide any opportunity for public comment. OMA mandates an opportunity for public comment at meetings.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- The public body imposed a one-minute limit on each speaker's public comment. Such a short limit unreasonably restricts the right to address public officials.Based on: 2019 · Public comment time limits at a c…
When the public body usually wins
- Challenge to the timing of approval of meeting minutes after a cancelled meeting. Cancelled meetings do not trigger the approval deadline; the body has until the later of 30 days or the second subsequent regular meeting.Based on: 2019 · Approval of meeting minutes by a …
- Complaint that the body did not provide 10 days' notice before cancelling a single meeting. OMA's 10-day notice requirement applies only to changing regular meeting dates, not cancellations, and no other procedural requirements exist for cancellations.Based on: 2019 · Approval of meeting minutes by a …
- Private one-on-one conversations among members alleged to constitute a meeting. Only contemporaneous interactive communication of a majority of a quorum qualifies as a meeting; private serial communications do not.Based on: 2018 · A university board's selection of…
- Objection that an agenda item lacked specific details about a resolution. An agenda satisfies OMA if it sets forth the general subject matter; it need not include particular details.Based on: 2018 · An agenda item on a malpractice i…
- A speaker was interrupted during public comment due to disruptive conduct. A body may interrupt when conduct, not content, actually disrupts the decorum of the meeting.Based on: 2018 · A school board's regulation of pu…
Points to put in your letter
- State that a majority of a quorum convened to discuss public business without a posted notice or agenda, as required by OMA.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- Explain that the meeting was not open to the public at the time and place specified, violating the requirement for open meetings.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- Point out that the public body failed to keep any minutes of the meeting, contrary to OMA.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- Note that no opportunity for public comment was provided at the meeting, which OMA requires.Based on: 2019 · A city council and water committe…
- If you were limited to one minute of speaking time, argue that such an extreme restriction unreasonably limits your right to address officials.Based on: 2019 · Public comment time limits at a c…
Common mistakes
- Believing that a cancelled meeting accelerates the deadline for approving minutes. Only the second subsequent regular meeting or 30 days, whichever is later, applies.Based on: 2019 · Approval of meeting minutes by a …
- Assuming that 10 days' notice is always required before cancelling a meeting. OMA does not require any notice for cancellation.Based on: 2019 · Approval of meeting minutes by a …
- Treating private, non-simultaneous communications as a meeting. A contemporaneous interactive exchange of a majority of a quorum is needed.Based on: 2018 · A university board's selection of…
- Demanding that an agenda list every detail of a resolution. An agenda need only give the general subject matter.Based on: 2018 · An agenda item on a malpractice i…
- Arguing that any interruption of a speaker violates OMA, even if the speaker’s own disruptive behavior actually disturbed the meeting.Based on: 2018 · A school board's regulation of pu…
Facts to gather first
- The date, time, and location of the gathering or meeting.
- The number of members present and whether they constituted a majority of a quorum.
- Whether any notice or agenda was posted, and if so, when and where.
- Whether the meeting space was accessible to the public and whether any public member was turned away.
- What opportunity for public comment, if any, was provided and what rules were announced.
These notes are based on non-binding determination letters; the outcome of any challenge depends on the specific facts and you should always review the full PDF of any cited decision.
Drafting brief for an AI assistant
Copy this into your assistant to help draft a request, appeal, or challenge to a denial that turns on this issue. It carries the rules and decisions, not your facts: add those yourself. Machine-readable version: oma-2.json.
Violation found (10)
Improper posting of notice and agenda
Rule: A gathering of a majority of a quorum of a public body held to discuss public business is a meeting requiring proper posting of notice and an agenda.
Violation found A city council and water committee gathering during a job candidate's site visit · September 5, 2019
Failure to hold meeting at specified time and place open to public
Rule: A meeting subject to OMA must be held at a specified time and place that is convenient and open to the public.
Violation found A city council and water committee gathering during a job candidate's site visit · September 5, 2019
Failure to keep minutes of the meeting
Rule: A public body must keep minutes of its meetings subject to OMA.
Violation found A city council and water committee gathering during a job candidate's site visit · September 5, 2019
Failure to provide opportunity for public comment
Rule: A public body must provide an opportunity for public comment at meetings subject to OMA.
Violation found A city council and water committee gathering during a job candidate's site visit · September 5, 2019
One-minute public comment limit violated OMA
Rule: Public comment rules must accommodate rather than unreasonably restrict the right to address public officials; limiting comment to one minute per speaker was unreasonable.
Violation found Public comment time limits at a committee meeting · March 26, 2019
Timely approval of Committee of the Whole minutes
Rule: A committee of the whole is not a separate public body from the board, so the board must approve its minutes within 30 days or at the second subsequent regular meeting.
Violation found A township board's failure to approve meeting minutes · May 23, 2017
45-day rule limiting public comment
Rule: Rules under section 2.06(g) must reasonably accommodate the speaker's statutory right to address public officials while allowing the body to maintain order and decorum.
Violation found A town council's policy limiting public comment frequency · March 16, 2017
Confining public comment to agenda items
Rule: Because a public body may discuss matters not listed on the agenda, a rule prohibiting the public from addressing non-agenda matters impermissibly restricts the right to public comment.
Violation found A town council's policy limiting public comment frequency · March 16, 2017
Requiring speakers to provide home addresses
Rule: Requiring speakers to state their home addresses prior to addressing public bodies violates section 2.06(g) of OMA.
Violation found A town council's policy limiting public comment frequency · March 16, 2017
Failure to hold open meeting or properly close under exception
Rule: All meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public unless excepted and closed in accordance with Section 2a.
Violation found A committee's private discussion of a redistricting map · August 12, 2011
No violation (5)
Approval of meeting minutes within 30 days or second regular meeting
Rule: A public body must approve minutes within 30 days or at its second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later; cancelled meetings do not trigger the deadline.
No violation Approval of meeting minutes by a plan commission · August 6, 2019
10 days' notice for meeting cancellations
Rule: The 10-day notice requirement applies to changing regular meeting dates, not to cancelling a single meeting; OMA sets no procedural requirements for cancellations.
No violation Approval of meeting minutes by a plan commission · August 6, 2019
Whether private communications constituted a meeting
Rule: Private one-on-one communications with the chair were not a contemporaneous interactive communication of a majority of a quorum, so they were not a meeting under OMA.
No violation A university board's selection of a president · October 22, 2018
Agenda notice for resolution on attorney malpractice insurance
Rule: An agenda satisfies section 2.02(c) if it sets forth the general subject matter of a resolution, not its specific details or particular action.
No violation An agenda item on a malpractice insurance resolution · June 28, 2018
Restriction of public comment at Board meeting
Rule: A public body may interrupt a speaker when the speaker's disruptive conduct, rather than the content of remarks, actually disrupts the decorum of the meeting.
No violation A school board's regulation of public comment · April 10, 2018
No determination / resolved (1)
Advance notice or registration to speak
Rule: The Bureau does not pre-approve public comment rules; any advance sign-up or notification rule remains subject to review if a person is denied the right to speak.
No determination / resolved A town council's policy limiting public comment frequency · March 16, 2017