Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council directs legal staff to draft ordinances to restore city clerk duties after 2022 changes
Summary
West Chicago council asked corporate counsel to draft ordinances to repeal two 2022 ordinances that reassigned or abolished the statutory city clerk office and to create a second ordinance clarifying deputy clerk duties and interim appointment procedures. The council took a nonbinding straw poll and gave direction to staff.
The West Chicago City Council asked corporate counsel on July 20 to draft two ordinances to undo what legal staff described as an improper 2022 reassignment of the city clerk’s statutory duties.
Ansel Glenc, corporate counsel (speaker 9), told the council the Illinois Municipal Code requires a city clerk as a statutory office and that the 2022 ordinances that shifted or removed those duties likely did not comply with the state requirement because abolishing a statutory office requires voter referendum. "We recommend repealing the invalid ordinances," Glenc said, and then preparing a second ordinance to define which nonstatutory functions should remain with staff or a deputy clerk.
Mayor (speaker 1) said the immediate objective is to correct the legal defect rather than to decide today whether the city clerk should be elected or appointed in the longer term. Council members discussed options including reinstating the limited statutory duties for a clerk while keeping FOIA and other nonstatutory tasks with staff, or pursuing a referendum to change the office permanently.
Alderman Murano (speaker 6) and others stressed fiscal caution; Alderman Murano said he would not be comfortable paying a large amount for clerical minutes-taking and noted staff already performs many duties. The council discussed a proposed stipend figure referenced in the discussion; legal staff clarified the city currently has staff performing deputy-clerk functions and that a narrow statutory clerk could be established with limited compensation.
The mayor conducted a nonbinding straw poll to ask whether staff should proceed drafting the two ordinances (one repealing the 2022 changes and one defining deputy clerk duties). The mayor reported seeing roughly nine thumbs up and two abstentions; the council directed staff and corporate counsel to prepare the documents and return them for formal consideration at a future meeting.
