IC&MEA Bylaws

Article 1: Purposes

  The Illinois Coroners & Medical Examiners Association is a not for profit corporation formed for the purpose of uniting the members of the organization and upgrading the Office of Coroner and professionalizing it through the exchange of ideas and development of educational programs to the end that coroners will be better equipped to discharge their statuatory duties and thereby better serve the public to which their primary responsibility lies.

  To achieve it's purpose, the Association shall have such powers as authorized in the Bylaws and as may not or hereafter be authorized by the General Not For Profit Act of the State of Illinois.

Article 2: Offices

Section 1: The Association shall have and continuously maintain in this State, a registered office and a registered agent whose office is identical with such registered office, and may have other offices within or without the State of Illinois as the Board of Directors may determine from time to time.

Section 2: The Secretary shall maintain the official office for the Illinois Coroners & Medical Examiners Association. The Illinois Coroners & Medical Examiners Association shall, herein, be referred to as the ASSOCIATION.

Section 3: There is hereby created the position of EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Association. Said Executive Director shall be appointed by the Executive Board. The compensation and any expense fees shall be set by the Board and paid by the Association.

  The Executive Director shall have such duties and responsibilities as assigned, from time to time, as deemed necessary by the Executive Board.

Article 3: Officers

Section 1: The elected Executive Officers of the Association shall be: President, three (3) Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 2: There shall be ten (10) District Directors, to be appointed by the Board of Directors and approved by the majority of membership present. The majority of membership present shall, herein, be referred to as the MAJORITY MEMBERSHIP. One (1) Director from each of the ten (10) districts shall be appointed. If unable to serve for whatever reason, one will be appointed as provided.

Section 3: There shall be a LEGISLATIVE CHAIRMAN, TRAINING CHAIRMAN, ORGAN/TISSUE CHAIRMAN, and PAST PRESIDENT CHAIRMAN appointed by the Board of Directors and approved by the majority membership.

Section 4: The Executive Officers, District Directors, and the respective Chairmen shall be called the BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the Association.

Section 5: The Executive Officers of the Association shall be elected annually by the majority membership at the annual WINTER meeting. If the election of Officers shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as conveniently possible. Vacancies may be filled by appointment at any meeting of the Board of Directors. Each Officer shall hold office until his successor shall have been duly elected and shall have been qualified.

Section 6: Any office elected or appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors whenever, in it's judgement, the best interests of the Association would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person removed.

Section 7: A vacancy in any Office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification, or any other reason, may be filled by the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.

Section 8: The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Association and shall, in general, supervise all of the business and affairs of the Association. He may sign, with the Executive Director, any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments which the Board of Directors have authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be the duty of the Secretary. In general, he shall perform all duties incident to the Office of President and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time. He shall be, ex officio, a member of all committees except the nominating committee.

Section 9: In the Absence of the President or in the event of his inability or refusal to act, the First Vice President shall perform the duties of President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all restrictions imposed on the President. Vice Presidents shall perform such duties as may, from time to time, be assigned to them by the President or Board of Directors. If the First Vice President is unable to serve in the absence of the President, the Second Vice President shall serve in his place and stead. In the further event of inability to serve, succession shall move to the Third Vice President.

Section 10: The Secretary shall keep the minutes of Association and Board meetings and serve all notices required.

Section 11: The Treasurer shall be custodian of all funds, receive and give receipts for monies due and payable, and deposit all monies in the name of the Association in banks or depositories in accordance with law.

  A PAC fund may be established by vote of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall maintain a PAC fund with appropriate records, in accordance with the State Board of Elections.

  The Treasurer shall render a financial report to the membership at the WINTER and SPRING meetings and at such other times as the Board of Directors may direct.

Section 12: The District Directors shall be committed to represent their districts at Executive Board Meetings.

  District Directors may hold one (1) district meeting per year which may be made scheduled for the purpose of continuing education. The Director will notify the Coroners from that district of the date, time, place, and agenda of such meeting and shall forward a notice thereof to the Secretary of the Association.

Section 13: Office holders shall be elected or appointed Coroners from the State of Illinois. No Coroner may assume an office unless his Association dues for the county from the CURRENT year are paid in full.

Article 4: Meetings

Section 1: There shall be at least two (2) meetings of the Association each year. One meeting shall be in the spring and the ANNUAL meeting in winter.

Section 2: The Annual Winter meeting will be for the purpose of electing new Officers. Both meetings will be for the transaction of such other business as may come before the meeting.

Section 3: A special meeting of the members may be called either by the President, the Board of Directors , or not less than one-tenth (1/10) of the members having voting rights. The Secretary shall notify the membership in writing of the time, place, date, and purpose of said meeting. The notice shall be mailed not less than seven (7) nor more than forty (40) days before the date of such meeting.

Section 4: The Board of Directors shall meet a minimum of four (4) times on an annual basis.

Section 5: Notices of a special meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given at least five (5) days prior to the meeting. A majority of the Board of Directors present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board of Directors.

Section 6: Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors shall be filled by the President with the consent of the Board of Directors an the appointed Officer(s) or Director(s) will hold office until the term expires.

Section 7: The Board of Directors, as such, shall not receive stated salaries for their services, but by consent of the Board of Directors, a fixed sum and expenses of attendance, if any, may be allowed for attendance at special meetings. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to preclude any Director from serving the Association in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefore.

Section 8: The Association shall pay the APPROVED expenses of a designated representative of the Association for the meetings pertaining to the Association. Reimbursement will be paid at the prevailing State rate.

Article 5: Membership

Section 1: There shall be three (3) classes of membership consisting of CLASS A, B, and C.

Section 2: CLASS A shall consist of all Coroners and Medical Examiners duly elected or appointed in their counties. They shall have full voting rights in the Association, provided their dues for the CURRENT year are paid in full with the dues payment received by March 31 of that year. Each county may have one (1) vote.

Section 3: CLASS B shall consist of Deputy Coroners and Deputy Medical Examiners. He or she shall have voting rights in the absence of the Coroner, provided they have paid their CURRENT year membership dues in full. Deputy Coroners and Deputy Medical Examiners are NOT eligible to serve as officers nor are they eligible to serve on committees appointed for nomination of officers.

Section 4: CLASS C shall be HONORARY members. They shal NOT have a vote. Application for Class C members shall be submitted by a Coroner of Medical Examiner to the Board of Directors, who shall determine who is eligible for Honorary membership.

Section 5: The Board of Directors shall limit or close a class membership as they deem necessary for the best interest of the Association.

Section 6: Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Secretary, but such resignation shall not relieve the member so resigning of the obligation to pay any dues, assessments, or other charges theretofore accrued and unpaid.

Section 7: Membership in this association is not transferable or assignable for Associate Members.

Article 6: Nominating Committee

Section 1: The Past President Chairman shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three (3) consisting of himself and two (2) other past presidents.

Section 2: Only those Coroners currently serving pursuant to Illinois law may serve on a committee or hold office in the Association.

Section 3: The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least one (1) Coroner for each Office and shall report the nominated slate to the President and Secretary not less that forty (40) days prior to the Winter meeting.

Section 4: The Secretary shall make available the nominated slate to the members at the Winter meeting.

Section 5: Any of the members may nominate any Coroner for any Office, proving the CURRENT year's dues are paid in full and that he or she is an elected or appointed Coroner from his or her county, by submitting the name(s) and office(s) to the Secretary, in writing, at the Winter meeting. If no names have been submitted, the President shall, at the Winter meeting, declare that the nominated slate become the ELECTED slate provided the Nominating Committee has nominated only one (1) name for each Office. The term of office for Officers and Directors is one (1) year.

Section 6: In the event that there is a contest for an Office, the election shall be conducted at the Winter meeting. Voting shall be by paper ballot. Ballots shall be collected by persons appointed by the President and delivered to a counting committee of three (3), one (1) representing each candidate, and the third member to be selected from the Nominating Committee. The votes shall be counted in the presence of the membership and whoever receives the greatest number of votes shall be declared the winner.

Article 7: Committees

The president may appoint a Legislative, Financial, and such other committees as he deems necessary for the conduct of the Association.

Article 8: Contracts, Checks, Deposits, & Funds

Section 1: All checks, drafts, or orders for the payment of money shall be issued in the name of the Association, shall be signed by the Treasurer, or such Officers as shall be, from time to time, determined by the resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 2: All funds of the Association shall be deposited, from time to time, to the credit of the Association in such banks, trust companies, or other depositories as the Treasurer may select.

Section 3: The Board of Directors may accept, on behalf of the Association, any contribution, gift, bequest, or device for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the Association.

Article 9: Dues

Section 1: The Board of Directors may determine, from time to time, the amount of initiation fee, if any, and annual dues payable to the Association by members of each Class.

Section 2: Dues shall be payable on the first day January in each year. Any member wishing to join later in the year shall pay the dues for the entire year. Dues will not be prorated.

Article 10: Seal

The Board of Directors shall provide a Corporate Seal.

Article 11: Waiver of Notice

Whenever any notice whatever is required to be given under the provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of Illinois or under the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation of the Bylaws of the Association, a waiver thereof, in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such notice.

Article 12: Legislation

No legislation regarding the Coroner's Office should be submitted to the State Legislature without prior approval by the Legislative Committee. Failure to have legislation approved by the Association shall be deemed inappropriate and will not be endorsed by the Association nor will the lobbyist be permitted to introduce such legislation.

Article 13: Amendments to Bylaws

These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed and new Bylaws may be adopted by a majority of the members present at any regular meeting or any special meeting, provided that at least two (2) days written notice is given of intention to alter, amend, or repeal or to adopt new Bylaws at such meeting.

Article 14:

All questions of procedure not otherwise provided for in the Bylaws shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Revised.

Revised 08/06