Critics see red over legal notice legislation

Kevin Beese
Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) is a sponsor of House Bill 261.

Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) is a sponsor of House Bill 261.

A proposal to allow municipalities throughout the state to post their own legal notices is being adamantly opposed by Illinois newspapers.

The Illinois Press Association contends that many municipalities are already not abiding by state requirements to post information. To give municipalities more leeway would be a mistake, according to Josh Sharp, director of government relations for the IPA.

“This is not good for the public,” Sharp said of House Bill 261. “Our concern is that local governments are governed by Springfield and they are required to put information on their websites. It is not an option; it is law. And they have failed miserably at it.

“Municipalities are supposed to post agendas and minutes on their websites, and less than half of them are doing it. Why in the world would we place notices involving zoning and other very important matters in the hands of these same people?”

House Bill 261 would allow government units to publish required legal notices on their own websites instead of in a newspaper.

A sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) said eliminating the requirement would assist cash-strapped municipalities.

“The costs of public notices is a big driving force for units of government,” Sosnowski said. “Some units of government are spending $40,000 or $50,000 a year in public notice costs.”

He said with advances in technology, requiring notices be run in newspapers is an unnecessary burden on taxing bodies, looking to stretch their dollars these days.

Sosnowski said he is open to modifications, such as also requiring that the notice run in a second location as well.

“I am open to different variations,” Sosnowski said. “We are trying to help. With the financial crisis the state is in, cities and counties need relief from mandates.”

He said his proposal is just one way to help local governments in Illinois.

“The bottom line is that we need to reach some kind of system that saves government dollars,” Sosnowski said.

He said it is redundant for residents to get a 50-page booklet on local property assessments and that same 50 pages of information is then printed in a local newspaper.

“Residents have already received it,” Sosnowski said. “A lot of people are going to look at all that small print and ask, ‘Why is this being printed?’ ”

Sharp said that publishing requirements are not breaking municipalities. He said the Sycamore school district in DeKalb County has expressed concerns about legal notice requirements.

Sharp said he checked a recent year-end financial statement for the district.

“They spent $2,500 to publish notices for the year,” Sharp said. “They spent $2,700 with florists to send flowers.”

He noted that Boone County spent $17,000 on public notices in a $15 million budget, which equates to .001 percent of the budget.

“(The notices printed through the IPA website and in local papers) provide a service to government,” Sharp said. “It is no different than paving roads through IDOT. These are not a lot of money. They are not bankrupting local governments.”

Sosnowski said he understands papers’ budgetary concerns about losing legal notices, and said maybe a small ad could also be required on the IPA website linking back to the municipal website.

Sharp noted that one state, Utah, tried a similar measure in 2009. Two years later, he said, the sponsor of the original legislation got the law repealed.

“They looked stupid with all the lawsuits,” Sharp said. “There was a lot of legal action by residents saying they were not informed on things by local governments … It was an abject failure. They spent more money on lawsuits than they saved by not publishing the legal notices.”

Sosnowski said the proposal could be up for a vote in the state House’s Counties and Townships Committee within a few weeks.

Sharp said residents need to voice their concerns over the measure.

“Residents who care about maintaining one spot for legal notices (the IPA website) – rather than 8,000 – need to be opposed to this bill,” Sharp said.