City was wrong; apologize, and don’t do it again

Democracy isn’t always neat and tidy. Sometimes it’s messy and unpleasant. But that’s how it works. Let everyone have a say, let the majority rule, and move on.

City Administrator Jim Wise tried to make Morrison’s democracy a bit less messy last July. He asked a police officer to remove a critic of city government from a Historic Preservation Commission meeting.

The critic, Richard Ayres, hadn’t been disruptive at the commission meeting. All sides agree on that. But earlier in the day, according to Wise, Ayres had displayed “boorish and inappropriate behavior” in front of an employee at City Hall.

Based on that situation, Wise took the unusual step of asking Ayres to leave the commission meeting – even though it was a public meeting.

Ayres initially said he planned to stay. But after Wise told a police officer to carry out the order, and the officer warned Ayres that he would be arrested if he didn’t get out, Ayres decided to leave.

It was a choice that Ayres never should have had to make, according to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Tola Sovitan is an assistant attorney general well versed in the Illinois Open Meetings Act. In a nonbinding opinion last week, Sovitan said governing bodies simply don’t have the right to order people to leave meetings.

The lone exception is when someone is disruptive at the meeting. In such a case, the person may be required to leave.

But Ayres, as we noted, was not disruptive at the meeting.

Wise clearly overstepped his authority here, and further with his short-lived edict that barred Ayres from attending any future meeting at City Hall. While Wise might contend he acted to prevent disruptive behavior, that’s not how the attorney general’s office saw it.

The ruling came more than 5 months after Ayres filed a complaint against the city.

In the aftermath of Wise’s unfortunate and illegal decision, Ayres said his reputation had been hurt.

He also said he would like the city to apologize.

Mayor Roger Drey, council members and Wise should say they’re sorry – and gladly so.

Frankly, they should thank their lucky stars that Ayres left the meeting quietly. What if he hadn’t? The city could be staring at a false-arrest lawsuit. Had Ayres been injured during the arrest, the city’s liability exposure would have multiplied.