I suspect the motivation for keeping the Nu-City committee in the dark was not about authority but about influence. Had the NU-City committee been alerted, they might tried to influence the litigation, which I would think is within their right. They might have kicked up a fuss, had discussions about the validity of the motion and otherwise pressed their opinions about the appropriateness of the motion.
As to the legal department’s failure to give notice to City Council, I would think that they would have had an obligation to do so. The legal department and therefore Nick Cummings represent the City of Evanston. The mayor, had he known about the motion, should have informed City Council, including the NU-City committee, the mayor and the City Manager because they are the City government.
Perhaps there is some exemption in municipal law of which I am unaware but usually, a lawyer (Nick Cummings) has to inform their client (the City of Evanston, including City Council, the City Manager and the mayor) if they are moving forward with litigation and/or negotiations on behalf of the client.
I’m not a municipal lawyer so all of the above is my opinion. However, whether or not the Law Department should have informed City Council, I think it was most certainly an error of judgement because it makes the legal department and the Mayor (if he knew) look disingenuous.
Yes! It has like very little authority, which makes this whole thing even crazier!
I suspect the motivation for keeping the Nu-City committee in the dark was not about authority but about influence. Had the NU-City committee been alerted, they might tried to influence the litigation, which I would think is within their right. They might have kicked up a fuss, had discussions about the validity of the motion and otherwise pressed their opinions about the appropriateness of the motion.
As to the legal department’s failure to give notice to City Council, I would think that they would have had an obligation to do so. The legal department and therefore Nick Cummings represent the City of Evanston. The mayor, had he known about the motion, should have informed City Council, including the NU-City committee, the mayor and the City Manager because they are the City government.
Perhaps there is some exemption in municipal law of which I am unaware but usually, a lawyer (Nick Cummings) has to inform their client (the City of Evanston, including City Council, the City Manager and the mayor) if they are moving forward with litigation and/or negotiations on behalf of the client.
I’m not a municipal lawyer so all of the above is my opinion. However, whether or not the Law Department should have informed City Council, I think it was most certainly an error of judgement because it makes the legal department and the Mayor (if he knew) look disingenuous.