City of West Chicago, Illinois

Where History and Progress Meet

Public Meeting Agendas & Minutes

Rules for Public Participation

Meetings of the City Council are legislative sessions for the corporate authorities, held for the specific purpose of conducting the business of the City. Pursuant to the Illinois Open Meetings Act, members of the public are welcome to speak at meetings of the City Council for the purpose of addressing the City Council with concerns of comments regarding issues of City Business. City Business means those matters for which the City Council has jurisdiction or authority to act.

The Rules provided have been adopted to provide an efficient forum for the public to comment on City Business. Please click the button below to view the rules that are to apply when addressing the City Council, in public comment.

View Public Participation Rules
  1. Speakers are to address the Council from the podium, clearly stating the speaker’s name, and, by option of the speaker, the speaker’s address, before commenting.
  2. Each person desiring to speak shall be allowed a single period of comment, which may be limited to three (3) minutes per speaker, if such time limit is deemed needed to allow all members of the public an opportunity to speak.
  3. A maximum of thirty (30) minutes of public comment will be accepted at each meeting; however, the Council may extent the comment period, at its discretion.
  4. All public comment shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole. No comments may be addressed to individual members of the City Council, the City Administrator, the City Attorney, City Staff, or other members of the public.
  5. There shall be no debate on any issue raised during public comment. Cross-examination of speakers shall not be allowed. Matters raised under public comment may be referred by the City Administrator to City Staff for review.
  6. Should a speaker wish to, he or she may tender documents for purposes of adding to comment made orally. Such documents must be tendered to the City Administrator and shall become part of the record of the meeting at which comment was made.
  7. All members of the public addressing the City Council shall, at all times, maintain proper decorum, which includes:
    • No person shall speak until recognized for such purpose by the Mayor.
    • All persons wishing to address the City Council shall do so from the podium. Statements shall not be made from the audience.
    • All comments shall be courteous and respectful to the City Council and other members of the audience.
    • Statements made shall not impugn motives, be contentious, slanderous or boisterous.
    • No obscene or insulting statements shall be allowed.
    • Threats or personal attacks on any member of the City Council, Staff or public are prohibited.
  8. Any person ruled out of order by the Mayor shall immediately stop speaking and shall abide by the Mayor’s direction. Should comment in violation of these rules persist, the speaker may be removed from the room by the Mayor, or his designee.

2023 Public Meeting Schedule

In compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, listed below are the regularly scheduled meetings of all legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the City of West Chicago, Illinois. All meetings are held at West Chicago City, 475 Main Street, unless otherwise indicated.

  • West Chicago City Council Meetings
    • West Chicago City Council: 1st & 3rd Monday at 7:00 p.m.
  • Standing Committee Meetings
    • Development Committee: 2nd Monday at 6:00 p.m.
    • Finance Committee: 1st Monday at 6:00 p.m.
    • Infrastructure Committee: 1st Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
    • Public Affairs Committee: 3rd Monday at 6:15 p.m.
  • Boards & Commission Meetings
    • Economic Development Commission: 4th Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. (Held Quarterly)
    • Civil Service Commission: 2nd Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
    • Cultural Arts Commission: 1st Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
    • Environmental Commission: 3rd Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
    • Historical Preservation Commission: 4th Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
    • Plan Commission & Zoning Board of Appeals: 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
    • Police Pension Fund: 2nd Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (Held Quarterly)
    • Liquor Control/Tobacco Commission: Called as needed.
    • Building Board of Appeals: Called as needed.
    • Additional Meetings Requiring Public Notice: Called as needed.