CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE WESTERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES COUNCIL
Constitution
Article I – Name
Section 1
The name of this organization shall be the Western Illinois University Civil Service
Employees Council.
Article II – Objectives
Section 1
The objectives of this organization shall be:
a. To work with the Director of Human Resources in the formation of policies relating
to all Civil Service
employees.
b. To consider problems of Civil Service employees and to make recommendations to the
Director of Human Resources and member or members representing this campus on the
University Civil Service Advisory Committee to the Merit Board regarding same.
c. To provide a medium for the passing of ideas and directives to the employee groups
from the Director of Human Resources.
d. To plan and organize social, recreational, and educational activities for Civil Service
employees.
Article III – Membership Groups
Section 1
Representation on the Civil Service Employees Council shall be based upon employee
groups.
Section 2
There shall be six recognized groups, namely: (1) administrative and professional; (2)
clerical; (3) service and technical; (4) union and prevailing; (5) secretarial; (6) Western
Illinois University Quad Cities Campus employees.
Article IV – Membership and Qualifications
Section 1
Membership of the Council shall be composed of persons elected from each of the
recognized employee groups, with group (6) having at least one elected member but
no more than three elected members. Groups 1-5 shall have 3 members
representing their group. When possible all groups shall be represented on the
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council by members from their group. If interest is lacking from group members
someone may be appointed/elected to represent those groups who did not show
interest in being on the council. The council must always consider with membership
the potential of members to be in person at the CSEC monthly meeting. The Civil
Service Employees Council must have a quorum present at the physical meeting
location to be in compliance with the Open Meetings Act to conduct voting and
business.
Section 2
Any permanent status Civil Service employee who has completed his/her initial
probationary period shall be eligible for election to membership on the Council.
Section 3
The term of membership shall be for a period of three years for members in groups (1)
through (6) with other exceptions as provided in Article VI, Section 4 of the by-laws.
Members may serve a maximum of two terms consecutively and may be re-elected after a
one-year leave of absence from the council.
Section 4
The office of any member will be declared vacant whenever that member has
unauthorized absences from two meetings; or whenever that member has more than four
absences, either authorized (as determined by the executive committee) or unauthorized,
in one council year.
Section 5
Western’s representative on the University Civil Service Advisory Committee to the
Merit Board shall be an ex-officio member.
Section 6
Western’s representative on the University Civil Service Advisory Committee to the
Merit Board shall not be an elected representative from CSEC. 2
Section 7
The Public Relations (PR) Officer may or may not be a voting member of the Civil
Service Employees Council. A CSEC member shall be appointed and hold the PR
position in the same manner as that of a CSEC committee chairperson. A civil service
employee other than a CSEC member shall be appointed to the PR position by majority
approval of the council as a whole. The PR Officer shall be an ad-hoc member of the
Award Selection Committee. A CSEC member serving as the PR Officer may provide a
report at the monthly council meetings. A non-council member serving as the PR Officer
may provide monthly reports to the chair of the Award Selection Committee for
submission at the council meetings.
Section 8
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Minutes of the meetings of all standing committees shall be prepared and distributed to
committee members and given to the Secretary at monthly meetings. University Civil
Service Advisory Committee Representative to the Merit Board and President of the
CSEC.
Article V – Officers
Section 1
The officers of the Council shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2
An Executive Committee of the Council shall be composed of the President, Vice
President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Western’s representative on the University Civil
Service System Employee Advisory Committee to the Merit Board.
Article VI – Election of Officers
Section 1
Officers shall be elected at the first meeting of the Council year. Retiring officers shall
continue to hold office until the new officers are elected.
Section 2
The officers of the Council shall be elected by the members of the Council from its own
membership.
Section 3
In case of a vacancy of office, the members of the Council shall appoint a replacement
from their own membership.
Section 4
No officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Any officer
serving six months or more in an office shall be deemed to have served one term.
Article VII – Amendments
Section 1
Any member of the Council may propose an amendment to the Constitution and ByLaws of the Council by presenting it in writing to the Constitution Committee. The
proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing to the Chairperson of the Constitution
Committee with a copy to the President of the Council. The President shall assume all
responsibility of informing all members of the Council of the proposed amendment. The
amendment may be voted upon at the next meeting, or at any succeeding meeting
following the one at which the amendment was presented, and shall be adopted, if
approved by a two-thirds majority of the Council. 3
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By-Laws of the Civil Serice Employees Council
Article I, Section 1
The President shall:
a. Preside at all meetings.
b. Enforce all regulations and policies relating to the administration of the Council.
c. Call special meetings of the Council when he/she deems it necessary.
Section 2
The Vice President shall:
Assume the duties of the president in the event of the absence of that official.
Section 3
President Pro Tempore:
The Secretary shall preside in the absence of the President and Vice President from the meetings of the
Council.
Section 4
The Secretary shall:
a. Record all resolutions and proceedings of the meetings.
b. Conduct all correspondence relating to the Council.
c. Issue all notices of meetings.
d. Distribute copies of the proceedings and meeting notices to Human Resources, Council members, and to
all CSEC Information Monitors to post on the Civil Service bulletin boards. A synopsis of all meeting
proceedings may be published in the Campus Connection.
Section 5
The Treasurer shall:
Record all monies payable to the Council and make a report at each regular meeting of the Council on the
condition of the treasury.
Article II – Committees
Section 1 – Council Committees
a. Standing Committees – The Appeals, Award Fund, Award Selection, Committee on Committees,
Constitution, Education, Election, Salary, Search, and Social Events and Development shall be standing
committees of the Council. Membership of these committees shall be determined according to the
individual committee guidelines.
b. Ad Hoc Committees – Appointments to these committees may be made as deemed necessary by the
officers. Term of appointment shall be determined by time period required to complete committee
assignments.
c. Standing and Ad Hoc Committees – Shall be established as deemed necessary by the officers.
Section 2 – University Committees
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a. Civil Service representatives shall be appointed to all University Committees for three-year terms and
shall be approved by a majority of the Council.
b. Civil Service representatives appointed to newly formed University Committees shall be appointed in the
following manner:
(1) Whenever there is only one Civil Service representative to a new committee, the new
appointment shall be in accordance with Article II, Section 2.a of the By-Laws.
(2) Whenever there is more than one Civil Service representative to a new committee, at the first
time of appointments, the first nomination will be for three years, the second nomination will be
for two years, and the third nomination will be for one year. Thereafter, appointments will be
made in compliance with Article II, Section 2.a of the By-Laws.
Section 3
IF a committee in its guidelines and/or procedures states how the membership of the committee (Council
of University) shall be determined, the committee shall follow those guidelines if they differ from Article
II, Section 1 and 2 of the By-Laws.
Article III – Civil Service Employees Council Year
The Civil Service Employees Council Year shall be from May 1 through April 30.
Article IV - Meetings
Section 1
Regular meetings of the Council shall be held monthly. At the beginning of each calendar year,
the Board shall have prepared and made public a schedule of all regular meetings, including
the dates, time and location of said meetings (5 ILSC 120/2.03).) If a permanent change is
made in regular meeting dates, location or time at least a 10 days’ notice of the change shall
be given in accordance with Section 2.03 of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2.02(a).
For regular and special meetings, or one-time meetings changes a notice should be posted 48
hours prior to the meeting.
An agenda for each regular meeting shall be posted on the CSEC Website and may be posted at the
location where the meeting is to be held at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Agendas,
meeting schedules and minutes will be posted on the public body’s website.
Section 2
Special meetings may be called by the President.
Upon the call of the Chairperson special meetings may be held to conduct the business of the
Council. At least three days in advance of the special meeting, the members of the Board
shall be provided with written notice containing the time, place, and purpose of the special
meeting, and other related and necessary materials. The Board shall consider only those
matters set forth on the agenda for the special meeting of the Board as long as a quorum is
present. (5 ILCS 120/2.02)
Section 3
All committees shall be subject to the call of their respective chairperson or of the Civil Service Employees
Council President. Committees must record minutes and post meeting locations and times, agendas and
give 48 hours’ notice the same as a regular meeting.
Section 4
A quorum of the Council members is required for the handling of business duly presented at the meeting of
the Civil Service Employees Council. A 2/3 vote is required on a motion on the amendments to the
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Constitution or on a motion to initiate a referendum. All votes shall be conducted by show-of-hand vote or
paper ballot and voting tally duly recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
Section 5
Council members must secure permission from their supervisor to attend Council meetings held during
working hours. When appropriate, Council members shall receive release time for attending meetings.
Section 6
New members shall be seated before the election of new officers at the first meeting of the Council year.
Section 7
In accordance with the Open Meetings Act 5 ILCS 120/7(c): Attendance via video and audio
conferencing is allowed for the Quad Cities Campus Representative and the members of the public who
wish to attend via audio or video conferencing. If a quorum of the members of the public body is physically
present, then the Quad Cities’ Member may attend by video or telephone conference because they are
employed at the WIU Quad Cities Campus.
Section 8
A public body may hold closed meetings to consider the following subjects (not all inclusive of the Open
Meetings Act) and for purposes of this Council those subjects which concern matters relating to
individual students and the performance of specific employees. However, no motion or action
may be taken or voted on in a closed meeting (5 ILCS 120/2 (c)).
Article V – Representation of Human Resources at the Council Meetings
A representative of Human Resources may attend any regular or special meeting of the Council but shall not vote.
Article VI – Nomination and Election of Members
Candidacy – Individuals who wish to run for Council membership should submit a written statement of candidacy to
the chairperson of the Election Committee at least two weeks before the election is scheduled. Such statements shall
be prepared by the Election Committee and will be made available in the Campus Connection. Names shall appear
on the ballot in the order the written statement of candidacy is received by the chairperson of the Election
Committee. If written statements are received at the same time, then placement on the ballot will be determined by a
drawing.
Section 1
All permanent employees beyond their initial probation in status shall have the right to vote for Council
members.
Section 2
Supervision of Elections – Elections shall be supervised by the Election Committee approved by the Civil
Service Employees Council consisting of six members, one from each employee group, and the chairperson
being a member of the Civil Service Employees Council.
Section 3 Elections
a. The Election Committee shall prepare an official ballot from the statement of candidacy.
b. At least one calendar week prior to the holding of an election, statements of candidacy shall be posted
and shall be published in Campus Connection.
c. Each person may vote for one or two candidates depending on vacancies in their own group.
d. The Election Committee shall tabulate the votes within three days after the polls are closed.
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e. The Director of Human Resources or designee shall be responsible for notifying elected candidates by
campus mail in the form of a letter.
f. Absentee ballots may be obtained from Human Resources by the voter requesting a ballot in accordance
with a time schedule to be established by the Election Committee.
Section 4
Replacement of Members
a. Whenever a representative changes group status within the University system, that member shall serve
from the group which elected him/her until the next scheduled CSEC Election. At such time the position
shall be declared vacant and a new representative elected from the group to complete the term.
b. In the event of a member of the Council resigning from the Council for whatever reason, the person in
that representative group receiving the next highest number of the votes cast in the preceding election will
assume the duties of the Council member. In the absence of such a person, the Council shall appoint a
replacement from the required group.
c. A member so appointed shall serve only for the remainder of the term of the person he or she replaces.
d. In the event of elected Council members taking an approved leave from the University, the person in that
representative group receiving the next highest number of votes cast in the preceding election will
temporarily replace the person on the Council until the end of their leave. In the absence of such a person,
the Council shall appoint a temporary replacement from the required group.
Article VII – Referendum
Section 1
Any matter of concern to the Civil Service employees shall be subject to referendum upon presentation of a
petition signed by twenty percent of the status Civil Service employees.
Section 2
A request for referendum shall be submitted to the President of the Council who shall present the petition to
the Council members at the next meeting.
Section 3
The Council may also initiate a referendum by a majority vote of the Council members.
Section 4
The Council shall conduct the referendum by ballot of the status Civil Service employees within thirty days
following the Council meeting at which the petition was presented.
Section 5
The results of the referendum and the recommendation of the Civil Service Employees Council shall be
forwarded to the President and to the Director of Human Resources for approval before becoming effective.
Article VIII – Donations
Section1
The Council will make a one (1) time donation of $100.00 to the cause, benefit/memorial, of a Civil
Service employee who is terminally ill, or passes while actively employed by Western Illinois University
a. While terminally ill a benefit is held in the person’s name, a one-time donation of $100.00 can be made
to the benefit. Or
b. While terminally ill a benefit is held in the person’s name, and it is the wishes of the person or family, a
one-time donation of $100.00 can be made to a charitable organization in their name. Or
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c. A memorial is held for said person, a one-time donation of $100.00 can be made to the memorial/charity
organization of their choice.
d. If no election is made from Article VIII Sec. 1 (a-c) then a donation of $100.00 can be made to the CSEC
Scholarship Fund in said person’s name.
Section 2
All donations will be brought before the council and voted upon, if funds are available. A simple majority
vote is all that is required.
Article IV
The rules contained in the “Roberts Rules of Order Revised” shall govern this organization in all cases to which they
are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-Laws.
Adopted: May 1970
Revised: October 1970, December 1970, April 1971, July 1971, May 1972, July 1973, April 1979, May 1981,
September 1990, November 1992, December 1999, May 2006, July 2007, June 2010, September 2013.
Revision on June 2010, Revised September 5, 2013, Revised May 1, 2014