Did three Hinsdale High School District 86 Board members discuss board business when they met for dinner at Taco Grill in Westmont a few weeks ago?
We’ll never know.
The three — board President Cat Greenspon and members Peggy James and Jeff Waters — contend that they were not discussing any board business. And we have no proof to counter their claim.
But we have attended meetings ourselves, at work or at church or somewhere else. And we’ve talked about them afterward. That seems to be the natural progression — you and others share an experience and then you rehash it. We find it hard to believe that absolutely nothing that transpired at the July 11 meeting was discussed when the three met 90 minutes later.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office denied a complaint from another media outlet that alleged the three violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act violation, citing lack of evidence. We’re not surprised.
But the problem here is there is no way for board members to prove they were not talking about board business. Therefore, the sensible approach to avoid the appearance of impropriety is simply not going out to dinner together.
To deflect attention from the board members’ behavior, some have turned the conversation toward the individual who spotted the three at the restaurant, Yvonne Mayer, a frequent critic of the board. But she is not the issue here.
The issue, as we see it, is the arrogance of Greenspon and Waters, who both asserted, in so many words, that they did not give up their rights as private citizens when they were elected to the board.
We did not give up our rights as private citizens, either, when we entered the field of journalism. But we recognize that there are certain activities — from signing petitions for candidates running for office to going out for tacos with elected officials — that look bad. So we avoid them. As we’ve seen in politics at all levels, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
The D86 board has been riddled with division for many months now. Greenspon keeps telling residents that they are all working together to do a better job. Meeting for dinner with your allies on the board indicates the contrary, in our opinion.
Speaking of allies, were board members who disagree with Greenspon invited to the dinner? We suspect not. Or maybe they were and they knew better than to go.
If Greenspon truly wants to lead the board away from dysfunction, as she often proclaims at board meetings, she needs to set a better example. A couple of tacos and an hour of conversation isn’t worth the unsavory optics.
