From the Tribune:

Evanston tower foes say meeting's minutes show council violated law
City says it followed open-meetings law

By Deborah Horan | Tribune staff reporter
November 16, 2007

Evanston residents opposed to a downtown tower plan said Thursday that the minutes of a closed meeting between City Council members and developers show the city violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act, and one resident continued to demand the city release the tapes of the meeting as well.

"The primary purpose of the meeting does not appear to be the purchase or lease of real estate by the city," said Jeff Smith, an Evanston attorney and a critic of the planned tower. "It was clearly a presentation by a developer seeking the city's pre-approval [of the development]."

Earlier this year, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan ruled that the council violated the act because the closed-door discussion March 27 included a presentation for developing Fountain Square -- and not just the acquisition of real estate. She called on the city to make the minutes public.

The council voted Monday to release the minutes but declined to release the related recordings of the meeting, prompting resident Bob Atkins to submit a Freedom of Information Act request demanding the tapes. Atkins also demanded minutes and tapes of a February meeting between the city and developers that he said had not been make public.

Attorneys for the city say the March meeting did not violate the Open Meetings Act. The council needed to discuss the development of Fountain Square to determine whether to acquire property, said the city's corporate counsel, Jack Siegel.

Some Evanston residents said they fear that the council has made a secret deal with developers to build the proposed 49-story tower despite public opposition. The tower would be the tallest in Chicago's suburbs.

"It's very disappointing that the City Council has not been transparent about this," Atkins said.

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