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By PETE SPITLER Weekly-Press, Pinckneyville
DU QUOIN – After months of analysis by his office, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has issued a binding opinion that the Du Quoin District 300 Board of Education violated the Open Meetings Act during one of its three executive sessions that took place during the school board's April 7 special meeting.
Perry County Weekly-Press Publisher Jeff Egbert submitted a Request for Review to the AG's Public Access Counselor on April 11 seeking a review of the school board's closed sessions during that meeting, which was the one during which a group of Durham School Services bus drivers turned in their gas cards and other employee materials in protest of the board's choice of Durham in continuing to provide student transportation in the district.
The drivers who are not District 300 employees had previously aired their grievances with their employer in Durham to the board during its regular March meeting, with the April 7 meeting being called, in part, to allow the board to take action on the bus contract.
In the opinion released on July 12, Raoul stated the board failed to cite an applicable exception before closing the meeting to the public and improperly held a closed session for discussion of bids for a student transportation contract.
On Monday, July 18, the Du Quoin school board issued the following statement in response to Raoul's opinion: "On July 12, 2022, the Illinois Attorney General's office released Binding Opinion 22010," the statement said. "In that opinion, the Illinois Attorney General's Office concluded that the second of three closed sessions conducted during the April 7, 2022, special meeting of the DCSD 300 Board of Education did not conform to the requirements of section 2A of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
"During the executive session at issue, the Board discussed three competing bids for a student transportation contract. The Board entered the second closed session based on concerns that legal consequences could result from the student transportation bidding process. The Attorney General's Office has determined that those concerns did not meet the relevant exceptions to the Open Meetings Act.
"The Board respects the decision of the Attorney General's Office and will make the verbatim recording and minutes of the second closed session available to the public," the board continued
"The Board remains committed to providing quality public education while operating in a manner that is open and transparent."
During the April 7 meeting, the board heard about a half-hour of open discussion on the bus contract topic before board member Kevin West made a motion to go with Robinson Transportation (whose bid was $345,543 higher than Durham's), that was seconded by board member Crystal Harsy.
The motion failed on a 3-2 decision, with board member Steven Still abstaining without explanation and Board President Brian Rodely, Vice President Trent Waller and Secretary Amy Rose all voting "no."
Waller then made a motion to choose Durham, with Rodely seconding. This time, the vote deadlocked at 3-3 with Still, West and Harsy all voting "no."
Still then motioned to go back into executive session, which the board agreed with. About an hour and a half later, the board returned to open session and voted 4-2 (with Still voting with the board's leadership) in favor of Durham before returning to executive session for the third time.
The school board has acknowledged it did not publicly state the exception for going into closed session for the second time after Still's motion, but argued that its discussion fell within the scope of "anticipated litigation."
In his opinion, Raoul pointed to the 2021 Illinois Appellate Court case City of Bloomington v. Raoul, in which the court found members of the Bloomington City Council had entered closed session without reasonable grounds to believe that litigation against the City of Normal concerning the cities' intergovernmental agreement was "probable" or "imminent" and was instead speculative in nature.
"Here, the (Du Quoin School) Board contended that its closed session discussion concerning the student transportation bid was permitted by Section 2(c)(ll) of OMA because litigation was anticipated," Raoul wrote in his opinion. 'The Board did not state any litigation was pending."
Raoul added that in the school board's redacted answer, the board members "noted their concerns" and board attorney (Matthew Benson), who participated in the executive session, "validated their concerns."
"This office's review of the verbatim recording of the Board's 7:24 p.m. closed session meeting revealed the Board's discussion of its concerns did not focus on probable or imminent litigation," Raoul wrote. "Similar to the city council in City of Bloomington, the Board's discussion of litigation was Speculative.
"Further, none of the materials the Board submitted to this office indicate that at the time of the April 7, 2022, special meeting, the Board had a reasonable basis to believe that litigation was more likely than not to occur."
Raoul continued by stating the board's discussion was not limited to the "strategies, posture, theories and consequences" of the litigation, but "primarily concerned what course of action to take in awarding a bid for the student transportation contract."
In its answer to the PAC, the school board also indicated its closed session exemption fell within "criminal investigations."
This section permits public bodies to hold closed meetings to discuss "informant sources, the hiring or assignment of undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or future criminal investigations when discussed by a public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities."
Raoul's opinion placed bolded emphasis on the last 10 words in that sentence.
"The Board did not identify for this office any source of authority it has to conduct criminal investigations," Raoul wrote. "Further, there are no provisions in Article 10 of the Illinois School Code ...which describes the powers and duties of school boards of education that authorizes the Board to conduct criminal investigations."
At the conclusion of his opinion, Raoul directed the school board to "remedy this violation by disclosing to Mr. Egbert and making publicly available the verbatim recording of the 7:24 p.m. closed session that occurred during the April 7, 2022, special meeting and the corresponding portion of the April 7, 2022, closed session minutes."
"As directed by section 3.5(e) of OMA, the Board shall either take necessary action as soon as practical to comply with the directives of this opinion or shall initiate administrative action under section 7.5 of OMA," Raoul wrote.
The school board did have the option of filing a complaint for judicial review of the matter in the Circuit Court of Cook County or Sangamon County within 35 days of the date of the opinion.
As for the school board's other two closed sessions during that April 7 meeting, Raoul determined that they were properly conducted using the personnel exemption.
"The 6:02 p.m. session discussion focused on the retirement of one specific employee, and the hiring of two other specific employees," Raoul wrote. "The 8:42 p.m. closed session focused on two specific administrators' performances during the student transportation bid process.
"Because those discussions directly concerned the employment and performance of specific employees, section 2(c)(1) of OMA authorized the Board to hold the discussions in closed session."
The school board is scheduled to convene this Thursday, July 21, at 6 p.m. for its regular July meeting.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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