McLean County Times

The Attorney General’s Public Access Bureau will evaluate a complaint against the Atlanta Public Library District Board of Trustees alleging that the board voted on a payment that was not adequately described to the public, according to the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW).

The ECW sent the attorney general a request for review under the Open Meetings Act (OMA) following a recent meeting of the board. According to a report from ECW co-founder John Kraft, the board did not provide enough information about bills it voted to pay.

“Mr. Kraft alleges that the Board improperly took final action by holding votes on items of public business without first publicly reciting the nature of the matters being considered and other information that would have informed the public of the business being conducted,” Assistant Attorney General Marie Hollister wrote in a letter to Atlanta's board President Randy Brooks. “We have determined that further action is warranted.”

John Kraft

The Watchdogs asked about the district’s bills to learn how much money was paid to Trustee William Thomas or one of his companies, according to Kraft. In the letter from Hollister, the bureau requested the board’s records of the meeting for further evaluation.