Elmhurst officials said Monday night they will consider televising City Council meetings only after conducting a survey of other municipalities in Illinois and elsewhere that have gone on the airwaves.
After receiving a request from the Elmhurst-based Citizen’s Advocacy Center to televise City Council meetings, members of the council’s public affairs and safety committee said they would be willing to consider the issue.
“I’ll be honest, I have some serious concerns about this,” said committee chairwoman Ald. Susan Rose. “Televising (a meeting) is not just openness in government; it has the potential to be another actor. I’m not convinced that that’s good.”
Rose and other committee members said they were also concerned that the introduction of cameras to council meetings might lead to grandstanding, violence on the part of participants who know their actions are televised and the cost of hiring a court reporter to provide closed-captioning for viewers.
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