Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1942 [PAGE 279]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

276

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[May

15

with other incomes of the University is managed and controlled by the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee, above referred to. It is public money to be used for a public purpose and to be handled by public officers and I am asked by your letter if the public and the taxpayers, upon whom the burden rests to furnish said sums of money, have the right to observe the manner by which these public servants are conducting the business affairs of the University. 'It is the policy of the law that, where a question arises as to the accounts of a public officer, it is to the public interest that no unnecessary obstacle should be placed in the way of making a proper investigation of such accounts.' 46 C J . 1041, paragraph 320. " P a r a g r a p h s 28 and 68 of the chapter above referred to, as well as many other sections contained in the Act, confer not only the general powers ordinarily exercised by like municipal corporations by the Board of Trustees, by paragraph 68 is declared to be endowed with the special powers provided by the Act 'in addition' to such general powers. This board or its Executive Committee is authorized to receive endowments, control and expend stupendous appropriations, negotiate for and receive grants from the Federal Government, issue bonds, create trusts and execute contracts as public officers by the authority of the State Legislature. " T h e occasion might arise, however, that a public body, such as boards or State agencies, while transacting business for the public, might be justified in making rules for a secret meeting and exclude the public, on the grounds that the public would, in some manner, impede or obstruct the duties to be performed by that board or State agency at such meeting. "It is, therefore, my opinion, subject to the above exceptions, that all boards or State agencies which transact the public business of spending public revenues of the State for State purposes, should keep the records of such proceedings open for inspection to the public during reasonable business hours. It is further my opinion that the meetings and deliberations of such boards or State agencies are of vital interest to the public and to the People of this S t a t e ; that by reason of the public nature of the business transacted, all such meetings and deliberations should be open to such of the public who might desire to keep informed of the acts and doings of their public servants. I, therefore, conclude that not only should the meetings of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois be open to the public, but also that the meetings of the Executive Committee of such Board of Trustees should likewise be open to the public." W e also asked the opinion of Dr. F. S. Siebert, recently appointed Director of the School of Journalism. Doctor Siebert is not only a professor but also an attorney with the degree of doctor of jurisprudence and is recognized as one of the leading authorities in the United States on the law of the press. Doctor Siebert's opinion follows: "In strict legal theory the press does not have the absolute right to attend the sessions of legislative, judicial, or administrative bodies. In practice, attendance has been permitted by judicial bodies and has been regulated by internal rules of procedure by legislative bodies. F o r instance, the Senate of the United States theoretically can exclude all or any member of the press. This general right has been modified by a rule of order permitting the press to attend and excluding such representatives only by a majority vote under certain specified conditions. " I n the field of administrative bodies the practice has been to permit press attendance especially where the administrative or executive body is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. F o r instance, the National Labor Relations Board permits the press to attend its sessions and has never exerted its theoretical right to exclude such representatives. "Most municipal bodies, including both city councils and independent boards, are governed by State statute or city charter. These almost universally require the council or board to hold open meetings at which the press has the right under the statute or charter provision to be present.