One of the great things about local government is the opportunity to directly address elected officials and boards. It’s not something you typically get a chance do at, say, a session of Congress or a staff meeting at the White House.

Members of the public and employees of the county who wish to address the County Board must register the desire to do so no later than 8:30 a.m. on the day of the County Board meeting. Registration may be completed electronically on the county’s web site (www.co.kane.il.us); in writing at the County Board Office (719 Batavia Avenue, Bldg. A, 3rd Floor, Geneva, IL  60134); by fax (630-232-9188); or by telephone (630-232-5930) during normal business hours, which are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The written request shall state the name, address, home and/or work telephone numbers and e-mail address of the individual, any county employment relationship or representative capacity, the topic the speaker desires to address to the board, and the date and time of the request.

Unless waived by a majority vote of the board members present, total public comment time for items listed on the agenda will be limited to 30 minutes at the beginning of the agenda.  Individuals who have provided notice of their intent to speak will be allowed five minutes.  A total public comment time for items not listed on the agenda will be limited to 15 minutes at the end of the agenda.  Individuals who have provided notice of their intent to speak on items not listed on the agenda will be allowed three minutes.

In the event the allotted time for public comment will be exceeded, based on the number of individuals who have provided written notice of their intent to speak, the chairman shall have the right to allow a reasonable additional time period for public comment on any single issue and to alter the order of the speakers in order to ensure that all viewpoints are heard.

• Written materials or handouts will be permitted.  Visual/audio aids may be used so long as they are not disruptive to the proceedings of the County Board and/or present a danger to persons or property.
• All speakers will be required to address the board from the designated location in the County Board Room, using the microphone provided.
• Speakers desiring to influence specific County Board actions are encouraged, but not required, to make an initial presentation at the appropriate County Board committee.  Each standing committee of the board shall insure that time is made available for comment by members of the public and employees, subject to the limitations of time and the business of the committee.
• Speakers shall refrain from statements or remarks that concern the private activities or lifestyles of individual county employees that are wholly unrelated to the business of the county.
• Individuals addressing the board shall refrain from statements, remarks or conduct that is uncivil, rude, vulgar, profane or otherwise disruptive to the conduct of the County Board or which causes a disturbance.
• The chairman may refer all questions submitted by a speaker to the appropriate County Board committee, elected official or department head for a response at a later date where appropriate.

To find this information online, go the Kane County website homepage and click on “Government” in the black bar at the top of the page. On the left-hand side of the “Government” page is a series of blue boxes. In the sixth blue box from the top is “Requests to Speak.”

Click on that, and you’ll see the information presented here.