Question: When is a door, not a door?

Question: When is a door, not a door? Walking out of closed door meetings with Alderman, Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying, "There will be [public] hearings and there will be briefings before the hearings, so they're fully aware and informed before the hearings," Ryan said of the aldermen when reporters caught up to him outside the unannounced meetings. "We want to take any mystery out of this, there's no privacy going on, what we're really doing is explaining where we are, why we are where we are." According to the Illinois Open meetings Act, “It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business.” The Tribune also reported that, “The bid team is meeting with no more than 13 aldermen at a time -- the maximum number who can gather in private without violating open meetings laws. Daley spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard defended the meetings, saying it's a common City Hall practice to hold briefings in small groups, excluding the public.” Since Ryan had already announced that he would have no new information to share on the details of the financial commitment the City would have to make to the International Olympic Committee for at least 45-60 days because the details of the insurance policy on cost overruns had not been arranged yet, then why was he meeting behind closed doors with Aldermen? Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) confirmed that he had not learned of any new information during Ryan’s meeting. "They asked for a little time to put together a package, and then we are going to have public hearings," Munoz said. Again, if Ryan had no new information to share, why is he holding closed door meetings? If at those meetings Ryan is telling Aldermen that he has nothing to share yet, why can’t those meetings be open and public? Ryan could hold a meeting with Aldermen on the steps of City Hall and announce he had nothing to say. He does not need the protection of a closed door to say he knows nothing yet.

So there must be some reason we don’t know about for the meetings to be held behind closed doors. There must be something else on Ryan’s agenda or the meetings would be in front of an open door. Question: When is a door, not a door? Answer: When it is a jar of Olympic bull.