Secret pre-meeting

48th Ward Alderman Marion Volini was told by a supporter (who sat on the Chicago Plan Commission) that the body held a pre-meeting before each scheduled public meeting. She was told that it reviewed the agenda and discussed issues related to each item.

Although she thought that was a violation of the Open Meetings Act, she didn’t challenge the practice. She knew she had an ally on the Commission who could tell her the right thing to say when advocating for neighborhood issues.