40 ILCS 5/16-165

(40 ILCS 5/16-165) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-165)

Sec. 16-165. Board; elected members; vacancies.

(a) In each odd-numbered year, if there are 2 teachers whose terms of office will expire in that year, there shall be elected 2 teachers who shall hold office for a term of 4 years beginning July 15 next following their election or, if there are 3 teachers whose terms of office will expire in that year, there shall be elected 3 teachers who shall hold office for a term of 4 years beginning July 15 next following their election, in the manner provided under this Section. An elected teacher member of the board who ceases to be a teacher as defined in Section 16-106 may continue to serve on the board for the remainder of the term to which he or she was elected.

(b) One elected annuitant trustee shall first be elected in 1987, and in every fourth year thereafter, for a term of 4 years beginning July 15 next following his or her election.

(c) The elected annuitant position created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be filled as soon as possible in the manner provided for vacancies, for an initial term ending July 15, 2001. One elected annuitant trustee shall be elected in 2001, and in every fourth year thereafter, for a term of 4 years beginning July 15 next following his or her election.

The elected teacher position created by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly shall be for an initial 3-year term and shall be filled in the manner provided for vacancies; except that if the teacher candidate who receives the highest number of votes and the incumbent members not up for election belong to the same statewide teacher organization, then the teacher candidate who receives the highest number of votes and is not a member of that statewide teacher organization shall be declared elected.

(d) Elections shall be held on May 1, unless May 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, in which event the election shall be conducted on the following Monday. Candidates shall be nominated by petitions in writing, signed by not less than 500 teachers or annuitants, as the case may be, with their addresses shown opposite their names. The petitions shall be filed with the board's Secretary not less than 90 nor more than 120 days prior to May 1. The Secretary shall determine their validity not less than 75 days before the election.

(d-5) Beginning July 15, 2020, not more than 4 of the 5 teachers elected to the Board of Trustees may be active members of the same statewide teacher organization. For the purposes of this Section, "statewide teacher organization" means a teacher organization (1) in which membership is not restricted to persons living or teaching within a limited geographical area of this State and (2) that has among its membership at least 10,000 persons who participate in this System.

Candidates for the teacher positions on the Board shall indicate, in their nomination petitions and campaign materials, which (if any) statewide teacher organizations they have belonged to during the 5 years preceding the election.

(e) If, for either teacher or annuitant members, the number of qualified nominees exceeds the number of available positions, the system shall prepare an appropriate ballot with the names of the candidates in alphabetical order and shall mail one copy thereof, at least 10 days prior to the election day, to each teacher or annuitant of this system as of the latest date practicable, at the latest known address, together with a return envelope addressed to the board and also a smaller envelope marked "For Ballot Only", and a slip for signature. Each voter, upon marking his ballot with a cross mark in the square before the name of the person voted for, shall place the ballot in the envelope marked "For Ballot Only", seal the envelope, write on the slip provided therefor his signature and address, enclose both the slip and sealed envelope containing the marked ballot in the return envelope addressed to the board, and mail it. Whether a person is eligible to vote for the teacher nominees or the annuitant nominees shall be determined from system payroll records as of March 1.

Upon receipt of the return envelopes, the system shall open them and set aside unopened the envelopes marked "For Ballot Only". On election day ballots shall be publicly opened and counted by the trustees or canvassers appointed therefor. Each vote cast for a candidate represents one vote only. No ballot arriving after 10 o'clock a.m. on election day shall be counted.

(e-3) The 2 teacher candidates or 3 teacher candidates, whichever is applicable for that election, and the annuitant candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected; except that beginning with the election in 2021, if the teacher candidate who receives the highest number of votes and the incumbent members not up for election belong to the same statewide teacher organization, then the second teacher candidate to be declared elected shall be the candidate who is not a member of the same statewide teacher organization and receives the highest number of votes, unless there is no such candidate or at least one candidate declared elected in the same election is not a member of that statewide teacher organization. The board shall declare the results of the election, keep a record thereof, and notify the candidates of the results thereof within 30 days after the election.

(e-5) If, for either class of members, there are only as many qualified nominees as there are positions available, the balloting as described in this Section shall not be conducted for those nominees, and the board shall declare them duly elected.

(f) A vacancy occurring in the elective membership of the board shall be filled for the unexpired term by a person qualified for the vacant position, selected by the remaining elected members of the board, if there are no more than 6 months remaining on the term. For a term with more than 6 months remaining, the Director of the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois shall institute an election in accordance with this Act to fill the unexpired term.

(Source: P.A. 101-610, eff. 1-1-20.)