Brenden Moore
The State Journal-Register
Tuesday’s Springfield City Council was unlike any other previously held. Not only was there no audience, but the vast majority of city council members were not physically present in the chamber. Such is the new reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But, unlike Chicago and other cities that have canceled council meetings, the business of Springfield went on without a hitch as the council held their first meeting utilizing Zoom, a video conferencing service.
Eight of 10 aldermen along with City Clerk Frank Lesko and Treasurer Misty Buscher participated remotely using the video conferencing technology. The only elected officials physically in attendance were Mayor Jim Langfelder, Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath and Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin.
Such meetings are now allowed after Gov. J.B. Pritzker, utilizing his emergency powers, suspended the portion of the Illinois Open Meetings Act that requires a quorum of members of a public body to be “physically present” to conduct a meeting.
In the past, members participating remotely via phone would have to have their participation approved by a quorum of those physically present in the chamber.
City communications director Julia Frevert said plans to use Zoom during public meetings had already been “in the pipeline” as part of the overhaul of the city’s AV studio.
She said the initial goal with the video conferencing technology was to provide an alternative to using speakerphone, the antiquated way council members not physically present in the chamber have typically participated in meetings in the past.
Frevert said this latter form of communication was both ineffective for council members and not ideal for those watching the council meetings on Channel 18.
With what was once a longer-term goal now on the front burner, Frevert and city chief innovation officer Tom Chi went to work.
They were able to secure a “bridge” piece that allowed them to pipe in the video and audio from Zoom directly to council chambers and the broadcast on Channel 18. It was installed Tuesday morning. The night before, council members were given a brief tutorial on how to use Zoom.
Between parts and labor, the technology cost about $5,584. It was paid out of the city’s public, educational and governmental access (PEG) fund.
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The mostly-remote meetings are likely to continue for at least the duration of Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. The council is off next week and will meet next on April 7.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 