A few things to know if you plan on attending the annual town hall meeting

All of the Townships will have their Annual Town Meeting.  Here is some friendly advice.

This is the only meeting where township residents have a “real say”. You can make huge changes to the Township policy and activities if you plan ahead. You need people to come, support your requests, and vote for your motions.

At some Town meetings the meeting is already preplanned by those currently in power.  The Sergeant at Arms is often preselected and he can intimidate many people and prevent your views from being discussed. Every township trustee or employee has all of their family and friends there , so it may be a lot to overcome.

If you  wants to speak at the Town meeting,  you must ask in writing  to be placed on the agenda, 30 DAYS ahead of the meeting.   The 30 day written notice includes any  motion which you wish to propose. Have your exact motion submitted in writing 30 days before the meeting.  Also you need 15 signatures of township voters on your request.

SEE THE LAW:  Here are some citation of law as presented by an association of townships for a town hall meeting.

III. ANNUAL AND SPECIAL TOWNSHIP MEETINGS

A. Annual Town Meeting

1. Date and Time

The annual town meeting, held for the transaction of the business of

the township, must occur on the second Tuesday of April in each

after 6 p.m. 60 ILCS 1/30-5. The annual town meeting (or special town

meeting) cannot be held earlier than 6 p.m. unless the time is changed by

the electors at a duly convened meeting. 60 ILCS 1/40-5; 60 ILCS 1/30-

30. The words .town meeting. have a definite and well settled meaning in

township law, and are uniformly used to describe the annual meetings of

the town for the purpose of electing township officers, and transacting

such business as the electors are by law authorized to transact. Chicago I.

& R. Co. v. Mallory, 101 Ill. 583 (1881). The place of holding annual

town meetings must be some convenient place in the township fixed by

the township board. 60 ILCS 1/30-15. Whenever the date conflicts with

the celebration of Passover, the township board may postpone the annual

town meeting to the first Tuesday following the last day of Passover. 60

ILCS 1/30-5.

Elections for township officers are held in accordance with the

consolidated schedule of elections prescribed by the general election law.

60 ILCS 1/30-5. Whenever the consolidated election as provided for in the

Election Code is rescheduled to the second Tuesday in April, the annual

town meeting must be held on the third Tuesday in April at the time

designated by the electors or the township board. 60 ILCS 1/30-5.

2. Notice of Annual Town Meeting

Notice of the time and place of holding annual and special town

meetings is given by the township clerk (or, in the clerk’s absence, the

supervisor, assessor, or collector) by posting written or printed notices in

three of the most public places in the township, at least 10 days before the

meeting and, if there is an English language newspaper published in the

township, by at least one publication in that newspaper before the

meeting. 60 ILCS 1/30-10. If the above procedures are followed, the

township electors are charged with notice of the time of the meeting and

with knowledge that any and all corporate business of the township may

then be lawfully transacted. Thorp v. King, 42 Ill. App. 513 (1891). Not

less than 10 days before the annual meeting, the township board shall

adopt an agenda for the annual meeting. A group of fifteen or more

registered voters in the township may request additional agenda items for

consideration by the electors to the township clerk by March 1. The

agenda adopted by the Board shall include such requests if relevant to the

powers granted to the electors under the Township Code. 60 ILCS 1/30-

10(b). If the agenda item is not included on the agenda for a township

annual meeting, fifteen electors may request the township clerk to order a

special meeting. However, again, the meeting must be relevant to the

powers granted to the electors under the Township Code. 60 ILCS 1/35-5.

A 2002 case involving county governments raised some doubt as to

whether new matters added to an agenda can perhaps be discussed but not

acted upon. See Rice v. Board of Trustees of Adams County, 326

Ill.App.3d 1120 (4th Dist. 2002). This could also apply to townships, but

because township electors are required to have only one meeting per year,

and because the statute allows the agenda to be added to by electors in

accordance with the procedures outlined above (so long as the agenda

item is relevant to the powers granted to the electors under the Township

Code), in order to allow both discussion and action, there is a strong

argument that action may be taken if the statutory procedures are

followed.

3. Admission to Meeting

Electors at the meeting must be verified as voters registered within

the township by the township clerk, or a designee of the township clerk,

through the use of township voter registration lists obtained by the

township clerk from the election authority having jurisdiction over the

township and updated to include voters registered no less than 28 days

before the day of the meeting. 60 ILCS 1/40-5.

4. Call to Order

The electors present are called to order by the township clerk if there

is a clerk and he or she is present. If there is no township clerk or if the

township clerk is not present, the electors may elect by acclamation one of

their number as chairman. 60 ILCS 1/40-5.

5. Recessing to Move to Larger Hall

If there are electors desiring admittance to the meeting who cannot be

admitted because of the size of the meeting hall, the chairman may

immediately recess the meeting to a time as soon as practicable and to a

place sufficiently large to accommodate at least the number of electors

present at that time within the meeting hall and those outside the meeting

hall desiring to be admitted. 60 ILCS 1/40-5.

6. Election of Moderator

The electors present must choose one of their number to preside as

moderator of the meeting. A township official may serve as moderator.

Before entering upon the duties of the office, the moderator must take an

oath, administered by the township clerk or chairman or some other

officer authorized to administer oaths, to faithfully and impartially

discharge the duties of the office. The moderator of the meeting presides

at the meeting, announces the business before the meeting, preserves

order, and decides all questions of order. The moderator has the same

power and is subject to the same penalties in connection with his or her

conduct as moderator as are judges of election under the provisions of the

general election law. 60 ILCS 1/40-5.

7. Minutes

The township clerk acts as clerk of the meeting and keeps faithful

minutes of the proceedings in a book to be known as the township record.

The clerk enters every order or direction, and all rules and regulations

made by the meeting. The entry must be signed by the clerk and the

moderator of the meeting. 60 ILCS 1/40-10.

8. Motions

All questions upon motions made at town meetings are determined

by a majority of the electors present and voting, and the moderator

ascertains and declares the result of the vote upon each question. When

the result of any vote is questioned by one or more of the electors present,

the moderator makes the vote certain by causing the voters to rise and be

counted, or by a division of the voters. 60 ILCS 1/40-15. The amount of

time which might be required for balloting at a town meeting is not

constitutionally significant so long as all qualified electors have equal

opportunity to attend and vote. Smith v. Town of Proviso, 13 Ill. App. 3d

519, 301 N.E.2d 145 (1st Dist. 1973).

9. Close of Business of the Meeting