On April 20th, 2020, dozens of citizens attended an electronic City Council meeting to voice their concerns about the recent arrest and beating of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis. At the beginning of the meeting, at least 20 citizens had sent public input to be read at the meeting, and another dozen or so would give public input directly using the Zoom conferencing app. Over 60 people attended the meeting, making it the most-attended Urbana City Council meeting within the past year or longer.
Citizens and some Council Members were surprised and insulted when Urbana City Clerk Charlie Smyth announced that he would simply “summarize” some of the public input given by email. Citizen input at meetings of public bodies, such as a City Council meeting, is an expressly protected right under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Neither the State of Illinois, nor the meeting bylaws generated for public input during the COVID-19 pandemic allow for any member of the public body to opt to selectively “summarize” public input.
Urbana City Council Member Jared T Miller, representing Ward 7, spoke up to correct Smyth: “I think most folks want to have their statements fully read, Charlie.” Maryalice Wu, of Ward 1, was quick to agree.
This would not be the first time that Charlie Smyth has attempted to snub information related to the Urbana Police Department. As City Clerk, Smyth is also Urbana’s primary Freedom of Information (FOIA) officer. Citizens have made frequent complaints about Smyth’s track record of denying access to police-related documents. Smyth has even been reprimanded by the Illinois Attorney General for his mishandling of public records requests. Smyth also denied citizens access to records relating to the Aleyah Lewis arrest.
CU-Underground has received numerous complaints from citizens about Smyth’s conduct, and documents related to the Urbana Police Department remain the top issue of contention.
