Sample Rules of Order and Procedure for Illinois Municipalities
by
Stewart H. Diamond
Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Krafthefer, P.C.
Illinois law does not mandate that a municipality adopt or follow any specific rules of practice or procedure. The statutes do contain many scattered provisions which impact the procedural rules of municipalities, such as those matters which require an extraordinary vote for passage. Non-home rule communities cannot adopt rules of order and procedure which are inconsistent with those contained within the statutes. Home rule municipalities can typically adopt their own rules of procedure, provided that the rules do not change the balance of power between the executive and legislative functions of government, such as, for example, modifying the ability of the mayor to vote. Even home rule municipalities are restricted in areas which conflict with statutes such as the Open Meeting Act, and provisions relating to certain public notices.
All municipalities should pass an ordinance establishing the rules and regulations governing the functions of the Council or the Board. Set out below is a set of "Sample Rules of Order and Procedure" for an Illinois municipality. With some adaptation, these rules can be modified to be used with other governmental bodies, such as School Boards and Park Districts, but modifications are essential, since, for example, for both of those entities, the power of the presiding officer may be substantially different than in a municipal setting.
The following rules of order and procedure shall govern the deliberations and meetings of the council and the committees thereof.
1. Meetings. The regular meetings of the council shall be held on the __________ day of each month of the year at the hour of __________ in the city hall, unless another site shall be specified.
Any regular meeting falling upon a legal holiday shall be held on the next following secular day at the same hour and place. [Note the meeting may be held on a holiday if desired by omitting this section.]
Special meetings may be called by the mayor or by any three members of the council by written request or notice being filed with the clerk at least 48 hours prior to the time specified for such meeting. At least 48 hours written notice of such special meeting shall be given by the clerk, which notice shall specify the time, purpose and agenda of such meeting and shall be posted at the municipal building and delivered to each member of the council personally if the member can be found, and if the member cannot be found, a copy of such notice shall be left at the home of such council member in the presence of an adult member of the council member's family, or in the absence of such person, shall be left at the residence. The clerk shall cause an affidavit showing service of such notice as herein provided to be presented at the time fixed for such special meeting, together with a statement of compliance with the notices to members of the media as provided by law. All meetings of the council including special and adjourned meetings, except executive sessions thereof, shall be open to the public.
2. Presiding Officer. The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the council, and may vote only where the state statutes or the municipal ordinances require more than a majority vote of the corporate authorities or in the event of a tie, or where one-half of the aldermen elected have voted in favor of an ordinance, resolution or motion, even though there is no tie vote.
During the absence or disability of the mayor, the council shall elect one of its number president pro tem of the council, who shall act as presiding officer of the council. Where the absence or disability of the mayor is to be of a very short duration and no individual is required to be granted the powers of the mayor, the council shall elect one of its members temporary chairman. The mayor pro tem or the temporary chairman, when acting as presiding officer, shall vote on all questions on which the vote is taken by "yeas" and "nays," with his or her name being called last. The mayor pro tem shall have all of the powers and duties of the mayor; the temporary chairman shall only have such powers and duties as accrue to a presiding officer.
Each meeting of the council shall convene at the time appointed for such meeting, as provided by ordinance or the notice calling the meeting. The clerk or in the clerk's absence the deputy clerk, if there is one, or a person selected as a recording secretary, shall, thereupon, immediately call the roll of the members. If no quorum be present, the council shall not thereby stand adjourned, but the members present shall be competent, by majority vote, to adjourn or recess the council to another time or date prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting.
If no quorum is present and the members present desire to compel the attendance of absent members, they themselves, or by their agents, shall attempt to communicate the call to the session personally to the absentees. Any absent member who refuses to attend the meeting (or a new meeting to which the members present have adjourned) after personal notice to attend may be fined by the members present a sum not to exceed _______________________________ ($ ) for each occurrence.
3. Quorum--Order of Business. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of a majority of all the council entitled by law to be elected.
The order of business shall be as follows:
(a) Call to order by presiding officer.
(b) Pledge of allegiance to flag.
(c) Roll call.
(d) Establishment of quorum.
(e) The reading and approval (with corrections and additions, if any) of the journal of the proceedings of the previous meeting or meetings.
(f) Reports and communications from mayor and other officers:
| Mayor | Engineer |
| Treasurer | Board of Appeals |
| Clerk | Plan Commission |
| Attorney | |
(g) Report of the standing committees:
| Finance | Ordinances and Licenses |
| Public Works | Planning |
| Public Safety | Election |
| Public Property | Building and Zoning |
(h) Report of special committees.
(i) Petitions, communications, orders, resolutions and ordinances by the aldermen.
(j) Public discussion and/or comments from the floor.
(k) Old business.
(l) New Business - Any matter may be discussed at a regular meeting of the council. Only items on the agenda may be discussed at a special meeting.
(m) Adjournment.
4. Duties of the Presiding Officer. The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum and may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide all questions of order subject to appeal. The presiding officer may speak to matters being considered by the council without relinquishing the chair. If the presiding officer refuses to allow the aldermen to exercise the right to appeal a decision of the Chair, the aldermen may consider and pass upon the matter in spite of the chair's failure to grant them an appeal. In case of any disturbances or disorderly conduct, the presiding officer shall have the power to require the chamber to be cleared.
Every member, previous to speaking, making a motion or seconding the same, shall address the presiding officer and shall not proceed with the remarks until recognized and named by the Chair. The recognized speaker shall limit the remarks to the question under debate avoiding personalities and refraining from impugning the motives of any other member's argument or vote. When two or more members address the Chair at the same time, the presiding officer shall name the member who is first to speak. With the concurrence of two-thirds of the aldermen then holding office, the council may expel an alderman from a meeting. Such alderman may not be expelled a second time for the same incident.
5. Visitors. Except during the time allotted for public discussion and comment, no person, other than a member of the council, or an officer, employee, independent contractor, or other person recognized by the presiding officer, shall address that body, except with the consent of two of the members present.
6. Presentation of New Business and Deferment. Upon the request of any two aldermen present, any report of a committee of the council shall be deferred (for final action thereon) to the next regular meeting of the council after the report is made.
7. Debate. No member shall speak more than once on the same question, except by unanimous consent, and then not until every other member desiring to speak shall have had an opportunity to do so; provided, however, that the proponent of the matter under consideration or the chairman of the committee whose report is under consideration, as the case may be, shall have the right to open and close debate. No member shall speak longer than ten minutes at any one time, except by consent of the council; and in closing debate on any question, as above provided, the speaker shall be limited to five minutes, except by special consent of the council.
8. Call of Member to Order. A member, when called to order by the Chair, shall thereupon discontinue speaking and return to his or her seat.
9. Appeals from Decisions of the Chair. Any member may appeal to the council from a ruling of the Chair and, if the appeal is seconded, the member making the appeal may briefly state the reason for the same, and the Chair may briefly explain the ruling; but there shall be no debate on the appeal and no other member shall participate in the discussion. The Chair shall then put the question, "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" If a majority of the members present vote "No," the decision of the Chair shall be overruled; otherwise, it shall be sustained.
10. Voting. Every member who shall be present when a question is stated from the Chair shall vote thereon. A failure to vote shall be counted as an abstention or a recusal, as so stated, and will count in the manner provided by law.
11. Seconding of Motions Required; Written Motions--Reading of Motions, Resolutions, Ordinances, Minutes and Correspondence. Unless a successful motion is made to end the discussion on a subject in the absence of a motion, the council may discuss any matter on the agenda or placed on the agenda of a regular meeting. No motion shall be put or debated in the council unless it be seconded, provided, however, that neither the maker nor seconder of a motion shall be required to vote in favor of that motion. When a motion is seconded, it shall be stated by the presiding officer before debate, and every motion in the council, except motions of procedure, shall be reduced to writing, if required by a member, and the member who proposed the motion shall be entitled to the floor. No resolution, ordinance nor minutes need be read prior to consideration but such items may be read in response to a motion passed seeking such reading. Copies of correspondence received by the clerk or mayor shall be distributed before the meeting to all members of the corporate authorities. Correspondence received by municipal officials need not be read in full at council meetings unless pertinent to a matter before discussion. Correspondence received may be summarized at council meetings.
12. Withdrawal of Motions. If the maker of the motion desires to withdraw the motion he or she may do so. The seconder of the motion may renew the motion as its maker and seek a new seconder or may withdraw the motion. If the seconder of a motion withdraws the second, the maker of the motion may seek an additional seconder before the motion is ruled out of order for lack of a second. Neither the maker nor seconder of a motion may withdraw the motion, except with the consent of a majority of the council, once discussion on the motion has ceased.
13. Division of Questions. If any question under consideration contains several distinct propositions, the council by a majority vote of the members present may divide such question.
14. Record of Motions. In all cases where a resolution or motion is entered in the journal, the name of the member moving and seconding the same shall be entered.
15. Taking and Entering the Votes; Explanation of Votes. The "yeas" and "nays" upon any question shall be taken and entered in the journal. When the clerk has commenced to call the roll of the council for the taking of a vote by "yeas" and "nays," all debate on the question before the council shall be deemed concluded, and during the taking of the vote a member shall be permitted to briefly explain a vote and shall respond to the call by the clerk by answering "yea,"nay," abstain," or "recuse," as the case may be.
16. Announcement and Changes of Votes. The result of all votes by "yeas" and "nays" shall be announced by the clerk, and no vote shall be changed after the roll has been called.
17. Precedence of Motions. The following chart sets out commonly used motions in the order of their precedence. The first three groups of motions may be made while the Main Motion is pending, and must be dealt with before the Main Motion. They are arranged according to rank, the highest at the top of the list. Privileged motions have the highest priority and are listed in priority order. Incidental motions, however, have no rank among themselves, yet take precedence over subsidiary motions. When any one motion is immediately pending, the motions above it on the list are in order and those below are out of order.
Privileged, Incidental and Subsidiary Motions Can Be
Made While a Main Motion is Pending
18. Privileged Motions - Which End the Meeting
| Undebatable | Fix Time to Adjourn |
| Undebatable | Adjourn |
| Undebatable | Take Recess |
19. Incidental Motions. Which Clarify a Motion.
| Debatable | Appeal a Decision of the Chair |
| Undebatable | Division of Assembly |
| Undebatable | Division of a Question |
| Undebatable | Filling Blanks |
| Undebatable | Objection |
| Undebatable | Parliamentary Inquiry |
| Undebatable | Point of Information |
| Undebatable | Point of Order |
| Undebatable | Suspend the Rules |
| Undebatable | Withdraw a Motion |
20. Subsidiary Motions which End Immediate Action on the Motion.
| Undebatable | Lay on the Table |
| Undebatable | The Previous Question (Close Debate) |
| Undebatable | Limit or Extend Debate |
| Debatable | Postpone to a Definite Time |
| Debatable | Refer to a Committee |
| Debatable | Amend to Amendment |
| Debatable | Amendment |
| Debatable | Postpone Indefinitely |
Main or Principal Motion
21. Miscellaneous Motions. After action has been taken on Main or Principal Motion:
| Undebatable | Take from Table |
| Debatable | Rescind |
| Debatable | Reconsider |
| Debatable | Ratify |
22. Rules for Some Motions.
a. Motion to Refer. A motion to refer to a standing committee shall take precedence over a similar motion to refer to a special committee.
b. Motion to Amend. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be entertained.
An amendment to the main question or other pending question may be referred to a committee and neither the main question nor such other pending question shall be affected thereby.
c. Filling of Blanks. When a blank is to be filled, and different sums or times proposed, the question shall be taken first on the least sum or the longest time.
d. Motion to Substitute. A substitute for any original proposition under debate or for any pending amendment to such proposition may be entertained and if accepted by the council by vote, shall entirely supersede such original proposition or amendment, as the case may be.
e. Reconsideration. A vote or question may be reconsidered at any time during the same meeting, or at the first regular meeting held thereafter. A motion for reconsideration, once having been made and decided in the negative, shall not be renewed, nor shall a motion to reconsider be reconsidered. Where a motion to reconsider such a motion is made at the same meeting as the passage of the original motion, it may be tabled to a later date certain. No motion to reconsider the approval or denial of the recommendation of an advisory body required to hold public hearings shall be entertained except at the same meeting at which the original action was taken or after the matter has been referred to the advisory body for a further hearing and recommendation. No motion to reconsider shall be in order after the rights of third-parties have intervened.
A motion to reconsider must be made by a member who voted on the prevailing side of the question to be reconsidered, unless otherwise provided by law; provided, however, that, where a motion has received a majority vote in the affirmative, but is declared lost solely on the ground that a greater number of affirmative votes is required by statute for the passage or adoption of such motion, then in such case a motion to reconsider may be made only by those who voted in the affirmative on such question to be reconsidered. A motion to reconsider need not be seconded.
23. Standing Committees. The following shall be the standing committees of the council:
(1) Committee on Finance
(2) Committee on Public Works
(3) Committee on Public Safety
(4) Committee on Public Property
(5) Committee on Ordinances and Licenses
(6) Committee on Planning
(7) Committee on Elections
(8) Committee on Building and Zoning
Each regular committee shall consist of three members to be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. The mayor shall select the committee chair.
Any report of a committee shall be deferred, for final action thereon, to the next regular meeting after the report is made, upon the request of any two members of the council.
24. The Journal. The clerk shall keep the journal of the proceedings of the council. The clerk or a deputy clerk, shall attend all meetings of the council whether in open or executive session, and shall take minutes. The clerk may be prohibited from attending closed sessions where the clerk's attendance may be dispensed with under Illinois law because of a conflict of interest. Within no more than ten days after each meeting of the council, the clerk shall supply to each member at his or her residence a typewritten copy of the proceedings (minutes). The journal shall be approved periodically. The clerks' draft of the journal of proceedings may be amended to correctly reflect the view of the legislative body as to the events which occurred.
25. Style of Ordinances. The style of all ordinances shall be: BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council (or President and Board of Trustees) of ....," as is provided by statute.
26. "Yea" and "Nay" Vote. The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and on all propositions to create any liability against the city, or for the expenditure or appropriation of its money, in all cases where such a vote is required by statute, and in all other cases at the request of any member of the council; and such vote shall be entered on the journal of the proceedings.
27. Approval or Veto. All ordinances of whatever kind, and any resolution or motion creating any liability against a municipality, or providing for the expenditure or appropriation of its' money, or the sale of city property, shall be deposited with the city clerk, and if the mayor approves thereof, the mayor shall sign the same, and such as are not approved shall be returned to the council with objections thereto in writing at the next regular meeting of the council occurring not less than five days after the passage thereof. Such veto may extend to any one or more items or appropriations contained in any ordinance making an appropriation, or to the entire ordinance; and in case the veto only extends to a part of such ordinance, the residue thereof shall take effect and be in force. But in case the mayor shall fail to return any ordinance with his or her objections thereto by the time aforesaid, such ordinances shall become effective despite the absence of the mayor's signature.
Upon the return of any ordinance by the mayor, the vote by which the same was passed may be reconsidered by the council at its next regular meeting after the return of the veto; and if, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the aldermen then holding office shall agree, by yeas and nays, to pass the same, it shall go into effect notwithstanding the mayor's veto.
28. Record of Ordinances. The clerk shall keep a record of all ordinances passed in an ordinance book.
29. Publication. All ordinances imposing any penalty for a violation thereof or making any appropriation shall be published as required by statute, either in a newspaper or in pamphlet form, in which case, the ordinance in its pamphlet shall be displayed for a reasonable period in a public place in the city hall.
30. Time of Taking Effect. No ordinance which must be published to comply with the foregoing section shall go into effect until ten (10) days after it is so published unless a statement of the urgency of the ordinance is contained in it and it achieves passage by a two-thirds vote of the members of the corporate authorities then holding office.
31. Adoption of Roberts' "Rules of Order Revised." The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in the latest published edition of Roberts "Rules of Order Revised" shall govern the council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these rules or the statutes or laws of the State.
32. Temporary Suspension of Rules; Amendment of Rules. These rules may be temporarily suspended, repealed, altered or amended by a majority vote of the corporate authorities then holding office.
© Stewart H. Diamond (2001)
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