Today's Food for Thought

Public bodies in Illinois must comply with the Open Meetings Act. It forbids private meetings of several persons who are on the same government board/committee from discussing public business behind closed doors.

However, one on one private meetings , i.e. between city council members and the mayor or the governor and board chairmen, are not forbidden. So backroom political deals/votes regarding public business can easily be accomplished, without public input (or despite it), as long as they are made individually on a one to one basis.

So the real questions is, what does the Open Meetings Act actually accomplish?