§ 30.24  PUBLIC MEETING SPEAKING RULES.
   Public comment. Pursuant to the city's rule-making authority set forth in the Illinois Open Meetings Act, the rules governing public comment at all Council meetings of the Mayor and Council Members of the city shall be as follows:
   (A)   There shall be a public comment period listed as a "Public Comments" item on each meeting agenda for all Council meetings of the Mayor and Council Members of the city.
   (B)   The public comment portion of the agenda shall be limited to a total of 30 minutes but may be extended by an additional 5 minutes at the discretion of the Mayor.
   (C)   All persons wishing to address the Council and comment upon city business during that public comment period at such meetings shall complete the sign-in sheet available at the meeting.
   (D)   Only those persons who have filled out such a speaker's sign-in sheet will thereafter be called to the podium, or other location as designated by the Mayor, during the public comment period to address the Council and comment upon city business although the Mayor may call on others as he/she deems appropriate.
   (E)   All those speakers called to speak shall first identify themselves, and if they chose, give their residential address by street, town, village or city, before they offer any comment to the Council.
   (F)   Speakers shall limit their commentary to 5 minutes. Should any speaker wish to offer further comment to the Council beyond the time allotted, they may tender such further comments in written form to the City Administrator.
   (G)   The Mayor shall have the authority, in his/her sole discretion, to extend the time to speak.
   (H)   The City Council, upon motion, second and approval, shall have the authority to extend the time to speak as provided in said motion.
   (I)   Speakers shall relate their commentary to matters of city business only.
   (J)   Speakers shall at all times address the Council, not the audience, media or others in attendance.
   (K)   Speakers shall offer their commentary only from the podium.
   (L)   Speakers shall confine their remarks to relevant commentary.
   (M)   Speakers shall return to their seat or leave the meeting room at the end of their remarks.
   (N)   Speakers shall not employ profane or threatening language.
   (O)   Speakers shall respect both the decorum of the public meeting and the authority of the Mayor as the Council's presiding officer.
   (P)   These rules may be suspended and/or modified upon motion and approval by the City Council.
   (Q)   Speakers whose behavior disrupts the conduct of the public meeting or threatens the public safety are subject to removal from the meeting by any such individual(s) designated by the Mayor upon a finding by the Mayor that the speaker's behavior has violated this rule.
(Ord. 2018-MC11, passed 10-9-2018)