Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – This one is from the “man bites dog” department: Someone complained Wednesday that a Springfield city council meeting was too short.
Public comment pushed the meeting to roughly 45 minutes.
On a night on which no items appeared on a debate agenda, citizen Ken Pacha said, “That’s an absolute joke, man. There is actually stuff to discuss on there, and you guys just what, did it all behind closed doors? Are you guys interested in wasting all our time? You’re not even streaming tonight? Where’s the cameras? Isn’t that the least bit unprofessional?”
After the meeting, a city employee attributed the lack of streaming to human error.
Pacha, a frequent commenter at public meetings, also criticized the city for top staff turnover: city planner, human resources director, police chief, fire chief, and more. Pacha, calling the situation one of “rats fleeing a sinking ship,” said reporters have contacted him about what is going on in Springfield.
Another citizen, Kala McGuire, asked for help in finding Jariyah Hummons, 18, who, McGuire said, has been missing from the 1800 block of Stanton Street since late June after an argument with her mother. McGuire said this follows a community mobilization to find Breeanna Eilers, who was feared missing.
Speaking of Eilers, she addressed the mayor and aldermen about international issues. WTAX reporter Dave Dahl informed the mayor and council that his audio recorder was not capturing Eilers’ remarks. Afterward, Mayor Misty Buscher, after admonishing Dahl for infringing on Eilers’ five minutes to speak, informed Dahl that Eilers was on a “time out” for using profanity during a previous meeting. Part of the “time out” punishment is that any public comment by that person must be addressed to a dead microphone.
