La Salle amends public comment, conduct in city building ordinances

Residents will need to be more concise during public comment at La Salle City Council meetings.

The council approved 7-1 two ordinances during Monday’s meeting, amending the public comment time from 5 minutes to 3 and enacting rules of conduct for city buildings and properties. Alderman Bob Thompson voted against both ordinances.

The council tabled both ordinances in July until every alderman could be present.

Thompson voted against reducing public comment time previously, in regards to rules of conduct he said he wanted it on the record he was not against the protection of city employees.

“I’m for the protection of city employees,” he said. “It’s 15 other things that don’t need to be in there that disrupts and muddies and makes it look like it’s being done specifically to shut people up.”

Both ordinances were revised by City Attorney Jim McPhedran after he was asked by Mayor Jeff Grove for an independent legal opinion.

McPhedran gave an overview of the changes made to the code of conduct ordinance and addressed previous concerns raised by residents prior to the council voting. He said he looked into previous case law brought up by Thompson and resident Angel Farmer.

“I’ve been city attorney for a number of years here and I don’t recall this much of a legal issue on a code ordinance,” he said. “Therefore, I felt it deserved [an explanation]. No one lawyer could guarantee 100% your rights but we’ve done our due diligence, trying to treat everyone fair.”

He said the revised ordinance indicates it does not apply to La Salle streets and public parks, which are often considered public forums and removes any mention of public comment.

McPhedran said he has been asked previously why the city would need these ordinances if they are covered by state statutes?

“Perhaps it would help from a safety standpoint, for the public to be put on notice” he said. “Hey, these are the rules that apply if you come into the building, you’ve got to be fair to these workers.”

Alderman Tom Ptak said the ordinance McPhedran explained is separate from public comment and that residents still are able to get up and say what they would like to say.

“The Supreme Court recognizes that office space for government employees are nonpublic forums,” he said. “And that the government employees should be entitled to a workspace free of distraction just as employees of a private business.”

This is the third time since mid-2023 the council has made changes to the public comment portion of its meeting.

Officials first limited public comment in May 2023, following the Carus Chemical Fire, allotting no more than 5 minutes per speaker and limiting the overall public comment period to 45 minutes. Prior to the change, there were no restrictions on public comment. The May change also legislated speakers to refrain from making vulgar, insulting or inappropriate remarks toward or about any member of the public body, any employee or officer of the city or any member of the audience. Any person who poses a threat to public safety will be removed from the meeting, according to the rule. And the city has removed a resident from a meeting.

In comparison to La Salle’s enacted 3 minute rule for public comments, Peru allows residents to speak for up to 3 minutes, Oglesby up to 5 minutes and Spring Valley for up to 2 minutes.

In August 2023, officials moved public comment to the beginning of the session, leading to some public comments objecting to the change.

Grove said he believes everyone’s concerns were heard from four weeks ago and the research was done not only legally but also on the human resources side.

“To me it’s like an insurance policy,” he said. “You get it you hope you never have to use it, but you have it in place to fall back on if something comes up. Unfortunately, some of the ordinances other communities have already dealt with and we are always trying to learn from other communities.”