Chief retirement process comes under scrutiny, legality disputed

Last week Chief Illiniwek was retired by the Board of Trustees, but the legality of the process has been disputed.

Larry Eppley, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, may have called an "unplanned executive session" in order to process the decision. This is described in Article II, section 1 of the bylaws of the Board of Trustees. "Urgent business" may necessitate an unplanned session.

The Daily Illini was aware that a conference call between members of the board was scheduled for Feb. 15 and was rumored to put an end to the Chief. However, Trustee David Dorris and Student Trustee Sarah Doyle confirmed to the State Journal-Register that the call was canceled because of public disclosure guidelines outlined in the Open Meetings Act.

"I don't know anything about a conference call," Eppley said in an interview with the Daily Illini.

The executive committee is to meet for the transaction of any business "which is urgent and cannot be postponed to a regular meeting of the board."

It not officially known what constituted "urgent business" and could not wait until the next board meeting.

When asked about the legality, Dave Johnson, assistant dean of communications at the College of Law, said no one at the Law School would be able to comment on the issue because he felt the Board of Trustees did everything in the right way.

"Larry (Eppley) is a law grad, too," he added.

Also at issue are concerns regarding the Open Meetings Act.

"Policy decisions need to be a transparent, open process with public participation," said John Bambenek, owner of Part-Time Pundit, a local blog and former Illini Media Company employee.

Section 2.02 of the Open Meetings Act states that an agenda must be posted at least 48 hours before any sort of special meeting. Also, a public body, such as the board, is to post notice on its Web site.

The Open Meetings Act reads in section 1 that all public bodies exist to aid the business of the people, and thus their actions and deliberations must be conducted openly.

The press release from the University detailing the retirement of Chief Illiniwek included excerpts from a letter from the NCAA.

The full text of the letter, available online, said "It is our understanding that the use by the university of 'Chief Illiniwek' and the related Native American imagery in connection with university athletics will cease at approximately the time of this season's final home men's basketball game ... Once this action is taken, the university will be immediately removed from the list of institutions subject to the NCAA Executive Committee's policy regarding Native American mascots, nicknames and imagery ... in connection with university athletics."

This letter was received by the University on Feb. 15 , one day before the University's announcement of the Chief's retirement.

The Open Meetings Act stipulates that any citizen can file suit against a public body if there has been a violation. The suit must be brought against the body within 60 days of the meeting or within 60 days of the discovery of a violation by the State's Attorney's office.