KA-CHING!

City hall continues to be a veritable ATM for open-government attorneys as Sangamon County circuit court judge John “First Amendment” Schmidt last week ruled that the City of Springfi eld has again broken laws aimed at ensuring the public’s business is conducted in public. This time, Schmidt ruled in favor of Illinois Times writer Bruce “Just Doing His Job” Rushton, who sued the city under the state Open Meetings Act last fall when aldermen and Mayor Mike “It’s Not My Money” Houston went behind closed doors to discuss privatizing Oak Ridge Cemetery, a doomed-from-the-start plan that the mayor kept under wraps for a year or so. Don “Cash That Check” Craven, Rushton’s lawyer, is now preparing a bill that taxpayers will pay, pursuant to an order from Schmidt. This marks the fourth time since Houston took offi ce that the city will pay out after being sued under the Open Meetings Act or Freedom of Information Act. Including what the city has paid for lawyers to defend itself, the tab is somewhere north of $170,000.