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Do I have to pay our employees for time off taken to get vaccinated for COVID-19?

A: There is not presently a law which requires an employer to grant an employee paid time off for the purpose of getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Employees can take accrued paid leave time (e.g. sick leave, vacation time) if they desire. The City of Chicago is considering an ordinance which will prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who take time off to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and fine employers who do not permit their employees to take (unpaid) time off for such purpose. The ordinance would also award reinstatement, back-pay and treble damages to employees if their employer violates the ordinance by firing the employee.

Q: Our fiscal year begins on May 1. Our board is still holding meetings remotely. Can we hold our budget hearing over Zoom?

A: Yes, so long as you ensure the public’s right to participate in the hearing is preserved. Over the past year we have received many questions about virtual public hearings, usually in the zoning context where due process principles apply. For a budget hearing, due process concerns are absent, but public bodies must still ensure that members of the public have the ability to contemporaneously interact with the board during a budget hearing. Typically, that means the public has more opportunity to participate than during public comment. For a virtual budget hearing, there should be the ability for contemporaneous, two-way communication. Furthermore, the notice of public hearing published in advance should include an explanation of the public participation procedure.

Q: Can a municipality bill for water and sewer service which was provided more than 12 months earlier?

A: Maybe. This situation arises when a water meter is defective, fails to properly record the volume of water consumed by a customer and the error is not discovered for more than a year. The Illinois Municipal Code contains a statute which expresses a community shall bill for any utility service, including previously unbilled service: (A) within 12 months after the provision of that service to the customer if the service is supplied to a residential customer; or (B) within 24 months after the provision of that service to that customer if the service is supplied to a non-residential customer. However, an Illinois Appellate Court recently held that a home rule municipality may exercise its home rule power to enact an ordinance permitting it to bill for services provided more than 12/24 months ago. Nothing in the bill affects the ability to collect charges described on timely issued bills that are more than 12 or 24 months delinquent.

Welcome to the Resource Center

Ancel Glink Library

Handbook for Newly Elected Officials (PDF 3930KB)
Our Newly Elected Officials Guide is designed to provide information and guidance on various laws and procedures to newly-elected officials of all local governments. (Updated 2021)

304 Questions That Have Actual Answers (PDF 1559KB)
In this handbook, we list the 304 questions about local government issues that you always wanted to know…with actual answers.

Municipal Annexation Handbook (PDF 6352KB)
This handbook provides an overview of methods of annexation and a detailed discussion of the benefits of annexation agreements. (Updated 2017)

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Publications

OMA - Governor's Order (PDF 143KB)
Open Meetings Act - Governor's Executive Order

Big Bully: School Liability for Bullying (PDF 2091KB)
Litigation Management (Winter, 2015)

Communicating in an Electronic Age (PDF 1107KB)
APA Planning Magazine, April 2014

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Presentations

IAPD/IPRA 2021 Virtual Conference: Session 128 (PDF 17985KB)
Not in My Park! Regulating Controversial Park Activities

TOI 2018 - Understanding Functions + Consolidation (PDF 200KB)
Understanding the Functions of Township Government and the Consolidation Clamor

TOI 2018 Employment Laws (PDF 356KB)
Top 10 Things You Should Know about Employment Laws in Township Government

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Newsletters

Ancel Glink Today- 4 16 2015 (PDF 76KB)
Ancel Glink Today, April 16, 2015 edition of the firm e-newsletter.

Local Government News (Fall 2013) (PDF 28548KB)
Ancel Glink's Local Government News, Fall 2013 edition of the firm newsletter

White Papers

Township Electric Aggregation (PDF)
Client Alert, August 2012

Pre-Caucus Duties for Townships (PDF)
Client Alert, November 2012

Changes to the Open Meetings Act for Agendas and Notices (PDF)
Client Alert, July 2012

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Recent News

Quorum Forum 54: Litigation And Legislation (7/1/2021)

Litigation and legislation are on the agenda for another regular meeting of Ancel Glink’s Quorum Forum podcast! Tom DiCianni joins us to talk about common questions local officials have a... View entire article

Quorum Forum 53: Property Brothers: Park Edition (6/9/2021)

Put in your earbuds, take a walk in the park, and join the “Property Brothers” to learn the ins and outs of the purchase, sale, and lease of park property. This popular session from the 2021 IAPD/... View entire article

Quorum Forum 52: Ethics for Newly Elected Officials (5/6/2021)

We're celebrating three years of Ancel Glink's Quorum Forum podcast and, with so many newly elected officials starting their terms this month, we're celebrating responsibly by ... View entire article

Archived Question of the Month

April 2021

Do I have to pay our employees for time off taken to get vaccinated for COVID-19? View answer

Do I have to pay our employees for time off taken to get vaccinated for COVID-19?

October 2018

Our Village has a resident that files FOIA requests once per week and the work to produce the documents has begun to take more and more of staff's time. Is it ever okay not to respond to a FOIA request? View answer

June 2018

One of our employees requires intermittent 15 minute breaks under FMLA. Are we required to compensate that employee for the time spent on those breaks? View answer