DeKalb City Clerk absent for nearly half of council meetings since May swear-in, records show

DeKALB – DeKalb City Clerk Sasha Cohen has missed nearly half of all council meetings which have occurred since he first took office in May 2021, records show.

According to documents provided to the Daily Chronicle, Cohen has been absent for nine out of the 21 city council meetings since he was sworn into office eight months ago. The clerk’s continued absence was brought up by members of the DeKalb City Council during its most recent meeting Jan. 24, and comes amid months of public scrutiny he’s received since taking up the elected post related to the duties required by the job including record-keeping.

Cohen said Tuesday he was absent from the June 1, July 26 and Aug. 9 city council meetings due to working with a carnival company over the summer, with carnival season running May through October in Illinois.

“[It was] exhaustion from finishing work at between 5 and 7 a.m. the morning of, having started at noon the day before,” Cohen said.

According to city documents, Cohen cited illness as the reason for being absent from the Oct. 11 council meeting, did not immediately recall the reason why he was absent during the Nov. 15 meeting and cited work as the reason for being absent from the Dec. 2 meeting. He said he missed the Dec. 13 and Jan. 10 meetings due to COVID-19 exposures and missed the most recent meeting on Jan. 24 due to technology issues.

Third Ward Alderman Tracy Smith said Tuesday he was one on council who has asked about Cohen’s meeting attendance. He also cited issues of minutes not being completed in timely fashion as required by law.

“It’s just a reoccurring issue,” Smith said. “Taxpayers are due what they pay for – somebody to come in and do their job.”

[ DeKalb city clerk under fire again for ‘chronically late, incomplete’ meeting minutes ]

The part-time DeKalb clerk’s position, which is a four-year term with an $8,000 annual salary, is largely administrative. Duties include administering elections, keeping minutes at city meetings and authenticating documents using the city seal.

It’s not the first time aldermen have asked about the clerk’s whereabouts in public meetings and his reasons for the absences. In August, Aldermen took issue with chronically late meeting minutes, which is a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

As a result, aldermen appointed city administrative assistant Ruth Scott as official recording secretary to the council Nov. 8. Scott formerly served as deputy clerk until the position was eliminated in 2019 amid controversy surrounding previous city clerk Lynn Fazekas and use of the City Seal, used to certify documents.

[ DeKalb aldermen say recorder plans ‘not a personal attack’ on city clerk amid clerk’s inability to perform job ]

In response to questions regarding his performance and council response, Cohen reiterated previous comments about his belief that city officials are targeting his office. Cohen called the city’s changes to the clerk’s office “death by a thousand cuts.”

“The push to marginalize the clerk’s office predates my holding of the seat and, without a change in senior city staff, will likely continue after my term of office and the seat is held by someone else,” Cohen said.

In August, Cohen issued a public apology, apologizing for a slack in duties.

According to emails obtained by the Daily Chronicle, days after his August public apology, Cohen asked city officials if the city would expend $600 to send him to a week-long professional development and networking conference by the Municipal Clerks of Illinois in October.

The clerk’s request was denied after DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said the clerk’s office doesn’t have money in its budget for training.

“You abandoned your duties for weeks this summer, without explanation, and apparently assumed that someone would just fill in for you as needed without the courtesy of asking for assistance,” Nicklas said in his Aug. 27 response.

The Illinois Municipal Code doesn’t specify what constitutes the abandonment of elected office, nor does it list absences as listed criteria for abandonment of office.

DeKalb City Attorney Matt Rose said there are two ways to address potential abandonment of office. He said the city council can either make that determination or separate “quo warranto” court action, which challenges a person’s right to hold office.

“I am not aware of any court action so far,” Rose said.

Cohen’s name was the only name that appeared on the ballot for DeKalb city clerk, though city employee Stephanie Turner ran in opposition of him as a write-in candidate.

Smith said he has personally fielded calls from people asking why Cohen was absent from meetings. He said he’s not sure if anything can be done about the issue surrounding the clerk’s meeting attendance.

“But we’re paying him,” Smith said. “It’s just – come in, do your job, create the minutes so we can comply with the Open Meetings Act and move forward.”