Iroquois County never had a 911 coordinator -- even when it did.
Describing the agenda of a March 2014 Iroquois County board meeting that ostensibly created the position as "cryptic," State's Attorney Jim Devine recently said the contract was "null and void" and that the post could not have existed in the first place without it being on the agenda.
The question of the contract's legality was first published on the Edgar County Watchdogs' (ECW) website Illinois Leaks a month ago. The group argued that Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) had no authority to hire an employee to do the job that lay within the board's duties.
In addition, the board's March 25, 2014, meeting agenda did not specify that final action on the employment contract would be discussed or approved.
"The test is, what does the public know the board is going to vote on," Devine told a special meeting of the ETSB on March 24.
The ECW applauded the attorney's determination.
"He explained that the agenda used by the County Board must show specifically, any action or discussion that is expected to take place at their meetings," it posted. "The prior agenda was too vague and did not show action, which is a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act."
The minutes from the meeting showed only the motion being made, without the essential details or results of a vote by the board members.
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