The following rules of order and procedure shall govern the deliberations and meetings of the City Council.
(A) Order of business.
(1) The order of business shall be as follows:
(a) Call to order by presiding officer;
(b) Roll call;
(c) The reading of the journal of the proceedings of the last preceding meeting or meetings and correction and approval of the same, unless dispensed with by the Aldermen and correction of the journal of the proceedings of previous meetings;
(d) Reports and communications from the Mayor and other city officers;
(e) Visitors;
(f) Reports of standing committees;
(g) Reports of special committees;
(h) Presentation of communications, petitions, resolutions, orders and ordinances by the Aldermen;
(i) Unfinished business; and
(j) Miscellaneous business.
(2) All questions relating to the priority of business shall be decided by the chair without debate, subject to appeal.
(B) Duties of presiding officer.
(1) The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, may speak to points of order in preference to other Aldermen and shall decide all question of order, subject to appeal.
(2) In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct, the presiding officer shall have the power to require that the chamber be cleared.
(C) Duties of members.
(1) While the presiding officer is putting the question, no member shall walk across or out of the Council Chamber.
(2) Every member, previous to his or her speaking, making a motion or seconding the same shall not proceed with his or her remarks until recognized and named by the Chair. He or she shall confine himself or herself to the question under debate, avoiding personalities and refraining from impugning the motives of any other member’s argument or vote.
(D) Visitors. No person other than a member of the Council shall address that body.
(E) Presentation of new business. When a member wishes to present a communication, petition, order, resolution, ordinance or other original matter, the member shall read such matter when reached in its proper order.
(F) Debate.
(1) No member shall speak more than once on the same question, except by consent of the presiding officer or unless three-fourths of the corporate authorities agree that one’s right to debate should be limited to speak only once and then not until every other Alderman desiring to speak shall have had an opportunity to do so; provided, however, that, the proponent of the matter under consideration, as the case may be, shall have the right to open and close debate.
(2) The City Council, by motion, may limit debate. The presiding officer shall have the right to participate in debate. While a member is speaking, no Alderman shall hold any private discussion, nor pass between the speaker and the Chair.
(G) Call of Aldermen to order. A member, when called to order by the Chair, shall thereupon discontinue speaking and take his or her seat and the order or ruling of the Chair shall be binding and conclusive, subject only to the right to appeal.
(H) Appeals from decision of the Chair.
(1) (a) Any member may appeal to the Council from a ruling of the Chair and, if the appeal is seconded, the Alderman making the appeal may briefly state his or her reason for the same and the Chair may briefly explain his or her ruling; but there shall be no debate on the appeal and no other person shall participate in the discussion.
(b) The presiding officer shall have the right to participate in debate.
(2) The Chair shall then put the question, “Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?” If a majority of the Aldermen present vote “no”, the decision of the Chair shall be overruled; otherwise, it shall be sustained.
(I) Question of personal privilege. The right of a member to address the Council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which his or her integrity, character or motives are assailed, questioned or impugned.
(J) Voting. Every member who shall be present when a question is stated from the Chair shall vote thereon, unless he or she is personally interested in the question, in which case, he or she shall take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that his or her vote is not taken.
(K) Special order of business. Any matter before the City Council may be set down as a special order of business at a time certain if two-thirds of the Aldermen present vote in the affirmative, but not otherwise.
(L) Seconding of notions required; written motions. No motion shall be put or debated in the meeting or in committee unless it be seconded. 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 proposer of the motion shall be entitled to the floor.
(M) Withdrawal of motions. After a motion or resolution is stated by the presiding officer, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the Aldermen, but it may be withdrawn at any time before decision by consent of the Aldermen.
(N) Division of questions. If any question under consideration contains several distinct propositions, the Aldermen, by a majority vote of the Aldermen present, may divide such question.
(O) Record of motions. In all cases where a resolution or motion is entered in the journal, the name of the Aldermen moving the same shall be entered also.
(P) Taking and entering the votes; explanations of votes not permitted.
(1) If any member required it, the “yeas” and “nays” upon any question shall be taken and entered in the journal; but the yeas and nays shall not be taken unless called for prior to any vote on the question.
(2) When the Clerk has commenced to call the roll of the members for the taking of a vote by yeas and nays, all debate on the question before the City Council shall be deemed concluded and during the taking of the vote, no member shall be permitted to explain his or her vote, but shall respond to the calling of his or her name by the Clerk, by answering “yea” or “nay”, as the case may be.
(Q) Announcement and changes of vote. The result of all votes by “yeas” and “nays” shall not be announced by the Clerk, but shall be handed by him or her to the Chairperson for announcement and no vote shall be changed after the tally list has passed from the hands of the Clerk.
(R) Precedence of motions.
(1) When a question is under debate, the following motions shall be in order and shall have precedence over each other in order, as listed:
(a) To adjourn to a day certain;
(b) To adjourn;
(c) To take a recess;
(d) To lay on the table;
(e) The previous question;
(f) To refer;
(g) To amend;
(h) To defer or postpone to a time certain;
(i) To defer or postpone (without reference to time); and
(j) To defer or postpone indefinitely.
(2) Divisions (R)(1)(b), (R)(1)(d) and (R)(1)(e) above are to be decided without debate.
(S) Motions to adjourn.
(1) A motion to adjourn the City Council shall always be in order, except:
(a) When an Alderman is in possession of the floor;
(b) While the “yeas” and “nays” are being called;
(c) When the members are voting;
(d) When adjournment was the last preceding motion; and
(e) When it has been decided that the previous question shall be taken.
(2) A motion simply to adjourn shall not be subject to amendment or debate, but a motion to adjourn to a time certain shall be.
(3) The City Council may, at any time, adjourn over one or more regular meetings on a vote of a majority of all the Aldermen authorized by law to be elected.
(T) Previous question. When the previous question is moved on the main question and seconded, it shall be put on this form: “Shall the main question now be put?” If such motion be carried, all further amendments and all further motions and debate shall be excluded and the question put without delay upon the pending amendment in proper order and then upon the main question.
(U) Motions to lay on the table and to take from the table.
(1) A motion to lay the question on the table shall not be debatable, but a motion to lay on the table and publish or with any other condition, shall be subject to amendment and debate.
(2) A motion to take any motion or other proposition from the table may be proposed at the same meeting at which such motion or proposition was laid upon the table; provided, two-thirds of the Aldermen vote therefor.
(3) A motion to lay any particular motion or proposition on the table shall apply to that motion or proposition only. An amendment to the main question or other pending question may be laid on the table and neither the main question, nor such other pending question, shall be affected thereby.
(V) Indefinite postponement; motion to defer or postpone without any reference to time.
(1) When consideration of a motion or other proposition is postponed indefinitely, it shall not be again taken up at the same meeting.
(2) A motion to postpone indefinitely shall not open the main question to debate.
(3) A motion to defer or postpone without any reference to time shall not be construed as a motion to postpone indefinitely, but shall be considered to be of the same general nature and to possess the same general attributes so far as applicable under these rules, as a motion to postpone indefinitely or to a time certain.
(W) Motion to refer. A motion to refer to a standing committee shall take precedence over a similar motion to refer to a special committee.
(X) Motion to amend.
(1) A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be entertained.
(2) An amendment modifying the intention of a motion shall be in order; but an amendment relating to a different subject shall not be in order.
(3) On an amendment to “strike out and insert”, the section to be amended shall first be read as it stands, then the words proposed to be stricken out, then those to be inserted and finally, the paragraph as it will stand if so amended shall be read.
(4) An amendment to the main question or other pending questions may be referred to a committee and neither the main question, nor such other pending question, shall be affected thereby.
(Y) 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.
(Z) Motion to substitute. A substitute for any original proposition under debate or for any pending amendment or such proposition may be entertained notwithstanding that at such time, further amendment is admissible, and, if accepted by the Aldermen by a vote, shall entirely supersede such original proposition or amendment, as the case may be, and cut off all amendments appertaining thereto.
(AA) Reconsideration.
(1) 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 having been once made and decided in the negative shall not be renewed, nor shall a motion to reconsider be reconsidered.
(2) A motion to reconsider must be made and seconded by Aldermen 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 and seconded only by those who voted in the affirmative on such question to be reconsidered.
(BB) Adoption of Robert’s Rules of Order, revised. The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in the latest published edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, revised, shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the special rules of the Council.
(CC) Temporary suspension of rules; amendment of rules. These rules may be temporarily suspended by a vote of two-thirds of the Aldermen entitled by law to be elected and shall not be repealed, altered or amended, unless by concurrence of two-thirds of all the Aldermen entitled by law to be elected.
(DD) Censure of Aldermen; expulsion of Aldermen. Any Alderman acting or appearing in a lewd or disgraceful manner or who uses opprobrious, obscene and insulting language to or about any member of the Council or who does not obey the order of the Chair, shall be, on motion, censured by a majority vote of the members present or expelled by a two-thirds vote of all Aldermen elected.
(Prior Code, § 1-2-11)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see 65 ILCS 5/3.1-40-15