R2001-30 AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT - Laserfiche WebLink

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. � , 2. A training session shall be hosted by the CITY and attended by the HERALD & REVIEW, to be conducted by special counsel Shawn Denney of the State of Illinois Attorney General's office on or before April 1, 2001. The topic of the session will be the ACT and other related and/or relevant matters concerning the CITY and the HERALD &REVIEW. The training session will be open to the public and conducted in accordance with the provisions of the ACT. The CITY and the HERALD & REVIEW each shall pay one-half(1/2) of any expenses incurred by Mr. Denney in preparing for, and conducting, this session. 3. The HERALD & REVIEW shall file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, with prejudice, on the morning of the next business day following the training session, and shall take no further action to prosecute same. 4. Upon the dismissal of the lawsuit, the CITY shall release to the public the minutes of the closed session held on August 14, 2000. 5. The HERALD & REVIEW hereby releases and holds hannless the CITY, the COLTNCIL, and all other officers, employees and agents of the CITY, in both their individual and official capacities, from any and all claims, damages, costs, expenses or causes of action arising out of, or in any way related to, the August 14, 2000, meeting of the COUNCIL or any matters set forth in the complaint filed in the lawsuit. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the HERALD & REVIEW expressly releases the CITY from any obligation to pay any attorneys' fees incurred by the HERALD & REVIEW related to, or arising out of,the August 14 meeting of the COLTNCIL or the lawsuit. 6. The CITY agrees that, if its councilmembers convene in closed session for purposes of discussing probable or imminent litigation, and to the extent practicable, it shall provide such councilmembers a written basis for invoking said exemption under the ACT and that the same shall then be made a part of the minutes for said closed session. A"written basis" for said exemption, as described herein, is any written document, such as a letter or a memorandum, from any claimant which would convey to the councilmembers a reasonable basis for believing that litigation is probable or imminent. 7. The HERALD &REVIEW agrees that,prior to filing any future litigation under 5 ILCS 120/3 and naming the CITY or any of its officers, employees or agents as parties defendant, it shall request a meeting with the City Manager of the CITY, explain its reasons for believing that the ACT was violated and attempt to resolve the matter without litigation. If a request for such meeting is denied by the City Manager, such request alone shall constitute compliance with this section. 8. The CITY and the HERALD & REVIEW agree that the obligations imposed on, and assumed by, each pursuant to sections 6 and 7 hereof are not required by the ACT but are instead good faith, voluntary attempts by the parties to demonstrate a commitment to the spirit of the ACT, and as such the failure by either to comply with the provisions thereof shall not constitute either a cause of action or a defense to a cause of action. 9. The CITY and the COUNCIL agree that the ACT creates a general rule that meetings of public bodies in Illinois should be open and that any exceptions thereto should be strictly construed, and that the CITY and its councilmembers will not discuss non-exempt topics in closed session. 2