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PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING DECORUM GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners that Chapter 2 Administration, Article III, County Board, Section 2-105 (i) of the Cook County Code, is hereby amended as follows:
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(i) Public testimony. Subject to the provisions herein, public testimony will be permitted at regular and special meetings of the Board meetings of the Board and Committees of the Board. Authorization as a public speaker shall only be granted to those individuals who have submitted in writing, their name, address, subject matter, and organization (if any) to the Secretary 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Duly authorized public speakers shall be called upon to deliver testimony at a time specified in the meeting agenda. on any and all matters pending before the Board or in a Committee of the Board meeting on that day at only one of the following times:
1) At 9:00 am on the day of a meeting of the Board;
2) At 9:30 am when there is no meeting of the Board, but a Committee or Committees of the Board will meet and there is a meeting of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board of Commissioners; or
3) Thirty minutes before the first scheduled meeting of a Committee of the Board on days when there is no meeting of the Board, but a Committee or Committees of the Board will meet.
The Secretary shall record and broadcast the public testimony. Pursuant to Section 2-105 (e)(3) of the Code, should a quorum not be present at a meeting of the Board or a Committee of the Board, the Commissioners present shall be competent to receive public testimony.
Public testimony must be germane to a specific item(s) on the meeting agenda, and the testimony must not exceed three minutes; the Secretary will keep track of the time and advise when the time for public testimony has expired. Persons authorized to provide public testimony shall not use vulgar, abusive or otherwise inappropriate language when addressing the Board. Failure to act appropriately; failure to speak to an item that is germane to the meeting, or failure to adhere to the time requirements may result in expulsion from the meeting and/or disqualify the person from providing future testimony. shall observe the commonly accepted rules of courtesy, decorum, dignity and good taste. Public speakers shall not:
(1) make vulgar, abusive, slanderous. defamatory. obscene. threatening, or personally offensive Remarks;
(2) engage in any disorderly conduct which disturbs or disrupts the orderly conduct of any meeting;
(3) speak to an item that is not germane to the meeting;
(4) fail to adhere to the time requirements.
Public speakers shall be given notice of this rule on the agenda for any meeting.
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Effective date: This ordinance shall be in effect immediately upon adoption
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