Illegal Hinsdale D86 Meeting At Taco Grill?

BURR RIDGE, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board holds its meetings in district buildings– at least the ones the public knows about.

On Thursday night, though, three of the seven members got together at the Taco Grill and Salsa Bar in Westmont, which is outside the district's boundaries.

This meeting may have violated the state Open Meetings Act, which requires public bodies to advertise their sessions.

On its website, the attorney general office states that a "meeting" under the Open Meetings Act is a "gathering of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body for the purpose of discussing public business. For example, for a seven-member board with a quorum of four, a majority of the quorum would be three."

The District 86 board has seven members. The three members at Taco Grill were President Catherine Greenspon, Vice President Peggy James and member Jeff Waters.

It's possible the trio talked about sports, the weather or some other non-district topic.

Patch emailed the three twice on Friday about the nature of the discussions. No one responded.

Greenspon is considered the board's official spokesperson. Since taking office in May 2023, she has not answered any of Patch's inquiries.

The district's administration was also copied in on the email. It, too, has stayed silent.

About 8:30 p.m. Thursday, District 86 resident Yvonne Mayer, a critic of the board, took the photo of the trio sitting in the Taco Grill's outdoor patio. It was about an hour and a half after the publicly advertised school board meeting ended.

Mayer said she made her presence known by saying, "I hope you are not discussing board business."

James and Waters were on one side of the table, while Greenspon was on the other.

The attorney general's office handles complaints related to possible violations of the Open Meetings Act.

On Friday morning, Mayer emailed the entire board and copied Patch and the Hinsdalean about seeing the trio at the Westmont restaurant.

Mayer said she had heard reports before Thursday that the three members meet at restaurants after board meetings.

In her email, Mayer said she suspected the trio would insist they did not touch on district business.

"I am sure they will deny it, and claim that they only gathered to discuss personal business, politics, or the weather, but seriously, it is implausible that they did not discuss ANY aspect of district business, convening at a private gathering of just the three of them immediately after a board meeting..." Mayer said.

She said it was clear the board needed "re-schooling" on the Open Meetings Act. Under state law, all members of public boards must get training on the act.

Near the end of Thursday's meeting, Mayer minced few words about the board during public comments.

She said board members, particularly Greenspon, were "overstepping" on the administration.

She also alleged the board was trying to "slide" in a new policy to expand Greenspon's dealings with the district's law firm. She said she worried that this would weaken protections for student privacy.

"People on this board are nosy busybodies and involve themselves in the business of every aspect of this district, want to know the business of all the families in this district," Mayer said. "That's beyond your responsibilities and authority."

Following its policy, the board did not respond to Mayer's comments.