cover
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Law Department
DATE: April 25, 2022
SUBJECT:
Amending City Council rules pertaining to remote participation of members during times of illness or personal or family emergencies.
PURPOSE:
To adjust the City's existing policy with respect to the remote participation of City Council members for meetings of the City Council and its committees.
BACKGROUND:
In 2019, the City Council added Sec. 2-80(b) to the Code of Ordinances to allow members of the City Council to attend meetings by video or audio teleconference in two limited situations: during times of extended illnesses or to tend to a personal or family emergency reasonably expected to last longer than 14 days. The City Council's action followed the Illinois General Assembly's amendment of the Open Meetings Act, which, for the first time permitted public officials to attend public meetings by remote means. This was a significant, but limited, departure from the traditional rule requiring officials to be physically present during meetings. To that end, the City Council took a conservative approach in making this option available to its members and did not permit remote participation to the fullest extent allowed by the Open Meetings Act.
The COVID-19 Pandemic began several months after the City Council adopted these limited rules. During the Pandemic, public bodies like the City Council, gained the ability (first by executive order and later by statutory amendment) to conduct fully remote meetings during times of emergency when it was not practical or prudent to meet in person. Due to the Pandemic, the City Council did not meet in person for more than a year.
As the Pandemic subsided and fully remote meetings became unnecessary, members of the Council have been occasionally required to quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 or chosen to avoid physical participation in meetings due to more minor, but nevertheless contagious illnesses, in order to protect the health of ...
Click here for full text