Chapter 02 – City Council
2.01-Wards
2.02-Aldermen
2.03-City Council
2.04-City Council Meetings
2.05-Order of Business
2.06-Rules
2.07-Committees
2.01 WARDS
(a) Number of Wards. The city shall have four wards.
(b) Ward Boundaries. There shall be four wards within the City of Hickory Hills whose boundaries are as follows:
First Ward: The area east and south of the following described line: Commencing at the centerline of Roberts Road and the northerly city limits, thence south along the centerline of Roberts Road, to its Intersection with the centerline of 91st Street and west along the centerline of 91st Street to its intersection with the centerline of 82nd Avenue, thence south along the centerline (as if extended to the southerly city limits.
Second Ward: The area south and west of the following described line: Commencing at the intersection of the centerline of 82nd Avenue with the southerly city limits, thence northerly along the centerline of 82nd Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 89th Street, thence west along the centerline of 89th Street to its intersection with the centerline of 86th Avenue, thence south along the centerline of 86th Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 91st Street, thence west along the centerline of 91st Street to its intersection with the centerline of Cork Avenue (88th Avenue), then south along the centerline of Cork Avenue (88th Avenue) to its intersection with the centerline of 92nd Place, thence westerly along the centerline of 92nd Place to its intersection with the centerline of 89 Avenue, thence south along the centerline of 89th Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 93 Street, thence westerly along the centerline of 93rd Street to its intersection with the centerline 90th Avenue, thence south along the centerline of 90th Avenue to its intersection with the centerline 93rd Street, thence westerly to its intersection with the westerly city boundary.
Third Ward: The area north and west of the following described line: Commencing at the intersection of 93rd Street on the westerly city limits, thence easterly along the centerline of 93! Street to its intersection with the centerline of 90th Avenue, thence north along the centerline of 90 Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 93rd Street, thence easterly along the centerline 93rd Street to its intersection with the centerline of 89th Avenue, thence north along the centerline 89th Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 92nd Place, thence easterly along the centerline of 92nd Place to its intersection with the centerline of Cork Avenue (88th Avenue), thence northerly along the centerline of Cork Avenue (88th Avenue) to the northerly city limits.
Fourth Ward: The area lying east of the centerline of Cork Avenue (88th Avenue), west of the centerline of Roberts Road, and north of the following described line: Commencing at the intersection the centerline of 91st Street and Cork Avenue (88th Avenue), thence east along the centerline of 91st Street to its intersection with the centerline of 86th Avenue, thence north along the centerline of 86th Avenue to Its intersection with the centerline of 89th Street, thence east along the centerline of 89th Street to its intersection with the centerline of 82nd Avenue, thence south along the centerline of 82nd Avenue to its intersection with the centerline of 91st Street, thence east along the centerline of 91st Street to its intersection with the centerline of Roberts Road.
2.02 ALDERMEN
(a) Number. The number of Aldermen for the City of Hickory Hills shall be eight.
(b) Terms. Two Aldermen shall be elected to represent each ward for a term of 4 years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. The term of one of the Aldermen in each ward shall expire every two years.
(c)
Reserved
.
(d) Eligibility for Other Office. No Alderman shall be eligible to any office, except that of acting Mayor or Mayor pro tem, the salary of which is payable out of the city treasury, if at the time of his appointment he is a member of the City Council.
(e) Compensation. Alderman shall receive compensation as determined by ordinance.
(f) Reimbursement. Alderman shall receive reimbursement for expenses as determined by ordinance or other action of the City Council.
2.03 CITY COUNCIL
(a) Composition. The City Council shall consist of the Mayor and Aldermen.
(b) City Council as Judge of Election of Its Members. The City Council shall be the sole judge of the election to office of the Aldermen. It shall also be the sole judge whether under the Illinois Municipal Code Aldermen are eligible to their offices. However, a court shall not be prohibited from hearing and determining a proceeding in quo warranto.
(c) Rules, Expulsion. The City Council shall determine its own rules of proceeding and punish its members for disorderly conduct. With the concurrence of two-thirds of the Aldermen elected, it may expel an Alderman, but not a second time for the same offense.
(d) Quorum, Compelling Attendance. A majority of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to do business. A smaller number, however, may adjourn from time to time, and may compel the attendance of absentees under the penalty of a fine of $10 to be assessed by a majority of the Aldermen holding office at a regular meeting of the City Council.
(a) Mayor as Presiding Officer; Deciding Vote. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the City Council. He shall not vote on any ordinance, resolution or motion except:
1. Where the vote of the Aldermen has resulted in a tie; or
2. Where one-half of the Aldermen elected have voted in favor of an ordinance, resolution or motion even though there is no tie vote; or
3. Where a vote greater than a majority of the corporate authorities is required by the Illinois Municipal Code to adopt an ordinance, resolution or motion.
In each instance specified, the Mayor shall vote. Nothing in this subsection shall deprive an acting Mayor or Mayor pro tern from voting in his capacity as Alderman, but he shall not be entitled to another vote in his capacity as acting Mayor or Mayor pro tern.
(f) Chairman Pro Tem. In the absence of the Mayor, acting Mayor, or Mayor pro tern, the City Council may elect an Alderman to act as a temporary chairman. He shall have only the powers of a presiding officer and a right of vote in his capacity as Alderman on any ordinance, resolution, or motion.
(g) Committee Report, Deferment. Upon the request of any Alderman present at the meeting, any report of a committee of the City Council shall be deferred, for final action thereon, to the next meeting of the City Council.
2.04 CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
(a) Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Mayor and the City Council shall be held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 8:00 p.m. If business has not been completed by 11:59 p.m. of the meeting date, the meeting shall be adjourned and continued to the following Thursday at 8:00 p.m. upon motion. in case any such meeting shall fall on a legal holiday, then such meeting shall be held on the day preceding such holiday, unless otherwise provided by motion.
(b) Special Meetings. The Mayor or any 3 Aldermen may call special meetings of the City Council. Notice of special meetings shall be served in writing at the residence of all members of the City Council at least 24 hours In advance of such special meeting. The Police Department shall deliver all written notices of specially called meetings.
2.05 ORDER OF BUSINESS
The order and manner of conducting business at meetings shall be as the City Council determines. Any one or more rules for the conduct of business as set forth in Section 2.06 may be waived or suspended, expressly or impliedly, by the passage of any vote approved by a majority of the members of the City Council voting upon that motion, resolution or ordinance.
2.06 RULES
The following rules of order for conduct of business by the City Council of Hickory Hills are hereby adopted:
Rule 1. The Mayor shall, if present, take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting of the City Council. The meeting being called to order, the roll of members shall be called, and if a quorum be present the presiding officer shall cause the journal of the last preceding meeting or meetings to be read unless such reading be dispensed with by vote of the City Council.
Rule 2. The Mayor shall preserve order and decorum. He may speak to points of order in preference to any member and shall decide points of order subject to an appeal of the City Council members by any two members, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once unless by leave of the City Council.
Rule 3. Every question shall be distinctly stated by the Mayor before it is open for debate. Every motion shall be reduced to writing if the Mayor or any member shall so demand.
Rule 4. The presiding officer may call on any member to perform the duties of chairman; no such substitution, however, shall extend beyond the adjournment of the particular meeting.
Rule 5. Every member previous to speaking to any question shall audibly address the presiding officer as “Mr. Mayor”. Such member shall not, however, speak further until he is recognized and named; provided, however, that any member shall be given the floor on request of any two members of the City Council.
Rule 6. All ordinances shall be presented in written form prior to vote thereon.
Rule 7. Every member present when a vote is taken shall vote unless excused by the City Council or unless he shall be directly interested in the matter pending in which case such member shall not vote.
Rule 8. All committees to whom any matter may be referred shall report in writing if requested by any member. Minority reports may be submitted signed by the dissenting member or members.
Rule 9. On the acceptance of a final report from a special committee, such committee shall stand discharged without vote unless it be otherwise ordered. All reports made by committees or officers of the city, all resolutions adopted, all ordinances as presented and passed, all communications, petitions and the like received, and generally all papers presented to be acted on shall be filed and carefully preserved by the Clerk.
Rule 10. All petitions or communications shall be addressed to the City Council and shall be in writing and filed by the Clerk.
Rule 11. When a member wishes to present a communication, petition, order, resolution or other original matter, he shall briefly state its nature before presenting the same.
Rule 12. No person, except during the open portion of the meeting and except a member of the City Council, shall be permitted to address the City Council without the consent of the City Council.
Rule 13. The presiding officer shall decide all questions of order subject to an appeal of the City Council by any two members, and In all cases not covered by these rules, or where they are not applicable, the Board shall be governed by Parliamentary Law as laid down in ‘Robert’s Rules of Order’.
Rule 14. When a question is before the City Council no motions shall be in order but to adjourn, lay on the table, previous question, postpone indefinitely, postpone to a certain time, to commit, and amend. These motions shall be privileged and have precedence in the order named.
Rule 15. Any Alderman may object to the consideration or vote upon any main motion regarding new business on the date said motion is first presented. If there is any objection, said motion shall be deferred to the agenda of the next meeting.
Rule 16. When the meeting is open to the public, all persons wishing to speak or pose any questions must identify themselves as to name and address. No person shall be recognized by the chairman more than once at each meeting. Each person recognized shall have the floor for three minutes.
Rule 17. The journal of proceeding of the meetings shall be comprised of, and limited to, the following:
(a) The date and place held;
(b) The names of the members and the city officials present;
(c) The nature and disposition of all motions;
(d) Copies of all ordinances and resolutions adopted and passed;
(e) Brief summaries of all reports submitted
Rule 18. Rules Governing Debate. Until a matter has been brought before the City Council in the form of a motion proposing a specific action, it cannot be debated. The motion must be made by an Alderman who has obtained the floor, while no motion is pending, after which it must be seconded by another Alderman. The term ‘debate’ applies to the discussion in a deliberative assembly on the merits of a pending motion. After the maker of the motion has been given the opportunity to speak first if he wishes, other Aldermen of the City Council may address the Chair to claim the floor for the purpose of debate. No Alderman may speak more than twice to the same motion on the same day. An Alderman may speak no longer than five minutes for each time he has the floor to debate a motion. Rights in regard to debate are not transferable. No Alderman may yield any unexpired portion of his time to another Alderman, or reserve any portion of his time for a later time; that is, if an Alderman yields the floor before speaking his full five minutes, he is presumed to have waived his right to the remaining time. If a speaker yields to another Alderman for an answer to a question, the time consumed by the answer to the question is charged to the speaker. An Alderman who has spoken twice on the particular motion on the same day has exhausted his right to debate that motion for that day.
Confining Remarks to the Merits of the Pending Question. in debate an Alderman’s remarks must be germane to the motion before the City Council; that is, his statements must have bearing on whether the pending motion should be adopted.
Refraining from Attacking an Alderman’s Motives. When a motion is pending, a member can condemn the nature or likely consequences of the proposed measure in strong terms, but he must avoid personalities, and under no circumstances can he attack or question the motives of another Alderman.
The measure, not the man, is the subject of debate. If an Alderman disagrees with a statement by another in regard to an event which both witnessed, he shall not state in debate that the other’s statement “is false”. But he might say, “I believe there is strong evidence that the member is mistaken.” The moment the Chair hears such words as “fraud”, “liar” or “lie” used about an Alderman in debate or personal attacks on an Alderman, he must act immediately and decisively to correct the matter and prevent its repetition. Speakers must address their remarks to the Chair, maintain a courteous tone, and especially in reference to any divergence of opinion should avoid injecting a personal note into debate. To this end, the Alderman must never attack or make any allusion to the motives of members.
Rule 19. Rules for the Agenda of City Council Meetings. When a member of the City Council wishes to present a communication, petition, order, resolution, motion, ordinance or other original matter before the City Council for action to be taken at the City Council meeting, he shall be required to present a brief written statement of the nature of this item to the City Clerk’s office at least two days prior to the City Council meeting.
The City Clerk’s office shall accept the written statements submitted two days prior to the City Council meeting and shall publish an agenda of items to be acted on at the City Council meeting. This agenda shall be made available for all members of the City Council the day before the City Council meeting.
2.07 COMMITTEES
(a) All standing and special committees of the City Council shall consist of three or more Aldermen, and shall be appointed and confirmed by a majority vote of the City Council. The City Council shall designate the chairman thereof.
(b) The Mayor shall be ex-officio a member of all committees. The standing committees to be appointed annually shall be:
1. Finance
2. Public Safety and Environmental Control
3. Public Works
4. Building
5. Social Services
6. Laws, Ordinances and Licenses
7. Health and Environmental Services
8. Facilities
9. Recycling
(c) Special committees may be appointed for the consideration of any particular questions or matter.