[Iabs-talk] Constitution Subcommittee recommendations

[Patti Gregory-Chang]

Our meeting on 3/23 at 7:30 will discuss the following recommendations 
regarding the Chicago Chapter Constitution.  Please join us to discuss these 
issues:  Call 712 580 7700 and use code 6324.

Subcommittee Meeting Notes-Misc.

11/19/09

Present at the meeting were:  Kelly Doty, Chair, Carmen Dennis, Denise 
Avant, David Meyer, Debbie Stein, LeAnne Mayne and Connie DAvis



1.     Under Article X, Disbursement of Funds, should we remove the 
language:  "If the members so vote, the Treasurer shall be bonded"?   We 
recommend that the language should be:  "The Treasurer must be bonded.  We 
so recommend because of the amounts of money we now deal with.

2.     Do we need a more clear definition of the word "majority".  Kelly 
Doty stated that Robert's Rules of Order say that "majority" means more than 
half.  We recommend that the word "majority" remain as is in all amendments.

3.     Under the Article of Membership III, section three, should we remove 
the language:  ".for conduct unbecoming to a member of the Federation or for 
egregious acts of racism, sexism or chauvinism.".  We recommend that the 
language be changed to read:  "for conduct unbecoming to a member of the 
Federation or for egregious acts to include, but not limited to racism, 
sexism or chauvinism.".  We also recommend that Article III, Membership 
should be amended to include language stating the NFB is all inclusive 
organization.

4.     Under the Article VI, Meetings, the language reads that "At least 15 
active members must be present to constitute a quorum to transact business. 
We recommend that the number be change to at least 20 active members.

5.     In Article XII, Amendments, the language states that the constitution 
may be amended at any regular business meeting of this organization by an 
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the active members present and voting.  We 
recommend that the language remain the same.


Subcommittee on Elections and requirements for voting.
Those present:  Debbie Stein, Kelly, Jemal, LeAnn, Carmen and David Meyer
 Recommendations
I.  Membership.
Recommendation is to change the requirement that one be a dues paying member 
30 days prior to an election be
changed to one chapter meeting prior to an election.

Attendance at meetings:
The requirement stating that one must attend at least one chapter meeting in 
the previous twelve (12) months in order to vote should be retained.  As 
introductions are routinely taken and meetings are recorded, it was felt 
that the secretary should have sufficient record to compile a list of all 
people who would have attended at least one chapter meeting in a given year. 
This list could then be read prior to an election so that it would be clear 
just who would be  eligible to vote.
The president would need to check periodically during meetings to insure an 
accurate count of all attending members.
The current requirements for people running for office should stand.  This 
means that a person need not be present in
order to be elected to an office.


Secret Ballots:  The recommendation is that all contested elections would be 
decided via a secret ballot.  The constitution would not specify how a 
secret ballot should be taken.


Subcommittee meeting on membership issues.

December 15, 2009

Those in attendance for the meeting:  Steve Hastalis, Patti Chang, David 
Meyer, Carmen Dennis, and Kelly Doty.

The following are recommendations that came from this subcommittee.

1.  Chicago Chapter dues should remain at $2 per year.
2.  Anyone who joins the Chicago Chapter will be considered a member for one 
year from the time their dues are paid.  In other words, if a person were to 
join in May of 2010, their membership would remain in force until May, 2011.
3.  The requirement that a person be a member for at least 30 days prior to 
an election should be changed to one chapter meeting prior to an election.
4.  Assuming that all chapter memberships are good for one year from the 
time dues are initially paid, the state should be provided a new chapter 
membership list monthly.
5.  Delete the requirement that $1 of each persons dues should be paid to 
the state affiliate.
6.  Delete the requirement that new members must be voted in by the chapter.





P.S.  National Federation of the Blind of Illinois is now on twitter at 
www.twitter.com/nfbi.
We also have a facebook page.  Just search for our full name.

Patti Gregory-Chang
President, National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
pattichang at att.net
www.nfbofillinois.org