Ensuring Professional Standards and Unity

This organization shall be known as the Illinois Coroner & Medical Examiners Association; and will be referred to as the Association throughout this document; 

The Illinois Coroner & 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; 

Establishing and promoting standardized professional practices for Illinois Coroners, Medical Examiners and their staff as set forth in the accepted operational guidelines (Appendix 1-Autopsy Guidelines and Appendix 2-Manner of Death Guidelines); 

Recognizing that the potential for emergencies and disasters exists, the Association shall serve as an instrument in planning, preparation, and response to such crisis for the purposes of enabling effective fatality management and the preservation of life, health, and property, of the population affected by such calamity throughout the State of Illinois. 

Providing and supporting education for all Coroners, Medical Examiners and their staff in order to ensure competence and professionalism to the end that members will be better equipped to discharge their statutory duties and thereby better serve the public to which their primary responsibility lie; 

Drafting and advancing legislation which facilitates standardized professional practice and administration of the office of Coroners and Medical Examiners throughout the State of Illinois for the sake of public health and safety, and deterring any legislation that is detrimental to this mission or Association; 

Permission for use of the “Illinois Coroner and Medical Examiners Association” name or logo for any accreditation, advertisement or endorsement will be determined by the Board of Directors. Any fee for or restrictions on such accreditation, advertisement or endorsement activity will also be determined by the Board; 

To achieve its purpose, the Association shall have such powers as authorized in the Bylaws and as may now or hereafter be authorized by the General Not for Profit Act of the State of Illinois. 

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 or the By-Law of the Association, a waiver thereof, in writing, signed by the person or persons entitle to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to the giving of such notice. 

The officers, herein referred to as the EXECUTIVE BOARD of the Association, will consist of: a President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, 3rd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-At-Arms and Immediate Past President. 

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. 

All officers will be elected by the membership of the Association. Nominations for the officer positions will be made by a Nominating Committee and from the floor at the annual Winter business meeting.

 
The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Past President and shall consist of three Past-Presidents all in good standing.

 
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 than thirty (30) days prior to the Winter meeting.

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

 
Any member of the Association may nominate any Coroner for any Office, providing 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, then the President shall declare that the nominated slate become the elected slate as long as the Nominating Committee has nominated only one (1) name for each Office.  

Elections will be decided by simply majority votes of the active members in good standing. In the event that there is a contest for an Office, voting shall be by paper ballot and the President will be excluded from voting. 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. In the event of a tie vote, the President shall cast the deciding vote. 

Officers shall serve for a term of one year commencing at the closure of the annual winter conference at which they are elected. 

The Association shall have a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the Executive Board (the President, the 1st Vice President, the 2nd Vice President, the 3rd Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Sergeant-At-Arms, and the Immediate Past President) in addition to the District Directors and presiding Chairs of established Committees. 

The Past President position will be automatically filled by the Immediate Past President. If the Immediate Past President cannot serve, the President shall appoint a former Past President of the Association. If no Past President is available to serve, the President may then appoint a replacement from past officers of the Board. 

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. 

A special meeting may be called by the President to facilitate the filling of vacant officer positions, although the approval of the Board Members may be expressed through written or electronic means. 

To maintain a position on the Board of Directors, a Board Member must be an appointed or elected Coroner 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. 

The Board of Directors shall handle all affairs of the Association between annual meetings, including but not limited to: legislative matters, financial matters, ethics matters, public relations, delegation of Association business/work to be done, and consideration of all general matters which affect the Association. The Board shall report its decisions, actions, ideas and concerns to the general membership at the annual meeting. 

A majority of Board members present, either in person or electronically by teleconference or videoconference, are required for a quorum. 

The Board of Directors will meet quarterly at a place and time designated by the President. One Board of Directors meeting shall be held at the Annual Spring Association Meeting, and one held at the Annual Winter Association Meeting. 

Notice of a special meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given at least five (5) days prior to the meeting.

The Board of Directors shall not receive stated salaries for their services, but members of the Board shall be reimbursed from the Association treasury for necessary travel expenses (lodging, mileage and meals at the state rate) as approved by the president or determined by the Board. 

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 purposed of the Association. 

The Association may approve or reject any action of the Board at its discretion by a majority vote at the annual meeting. 

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. The President shall preside over all Association and Board Meetings, establish and appoint committees, and represent the Association in all matters of public affairs. He/she may sign any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments which the Board of Directors have authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing of execution thereof shall be the duty of the Secretary. In general, he/she shall perform all 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. 

The 1st Vice President shall assume the duties of President in the absence of the President or if the President vacates the office prior to the end of his/her term. The 1st V.P. shall be responsible for assisting the Director of Training to organize the educational aspects of the seminars of the Association and for coordinating with the Director of Training educational opportunities with the other state agencies or organizations as deemed by the Board. 

The 2nd Vice President shall assume the duties of the 15 VP should the 1st V.P. vacate the office or be removed from office prior to the end of his/her term. The 2nd Vice President shall assume responsibility for Membership issues. 

The 3rd Vice President shall assume the duties in the further event of the inability of the 1st and 2nd V.P.’s to serve. 

The Secretary shall record the proceedings of all Board of Directors meetings and Annual Meetings of the Association, and maintain a written record of these proceedings. The Secretary shall receive and distribute communications as directed by the Board. Upon completion of the Annual Winter and Spring Meetings, the Secretary shall compile, organize and preserve all reports, records, communications, membership lists, accounting records, and any other documents deemed important by the Board. This information shall be transferred to electronic format and preserved in the records of the Secretary indefinitely. A duplicate copy of these records shall be entrusted to another Board member. The Secretary shall manage and maintain the official office and website of the Illinois Coroner & Medical Examiners Association. 

The Treasurer shall preserve and maintain accurate records of all Association financial transactions. 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. The Treasurer shall receive all monies from dues and other sources for the Association and the monies shall be placed into checking and/or savings accounts in the name of the Association. The Treasurer shall make all financial disbursements as directed by the Board. 

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 Sergeant-At-Arms shall maintain order during all meetings of the Board and the Association and shall serve as a parliamentary resource to the Board during meetings. 

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 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. 

The Association membership shall be divided into four statuses: Active, Continuing, and Honorary. 

Active Membership shall consist of two (2) classes of members: 

Active 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, providing 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. 

Active 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. Class B membership shall NOT be eligible to serve as officers nor are they eligible to serve on committees appointed for nomination of officers. 

Continuing Membership shall be open to Past Coroners, Past Deputy Coroners, Past Medical Examiners, Past Deputy Medical Examiners and Past Medical Examiner Investigators, upon approval of the Board of Directors, provided that said persons held Association membership during their term of office. Continuing members shall not have the right to vote on Association matters. Continuing members may not hold office or serve on the Board of Directors. 

Eligibility for an Honorary Membership shall be determined by the Board of Directors. The qualifications shall consist of having performed notable service to the public or to this Association. 

Honorary members will pay no dues. Honorary members are encouraged to attend Association Meetings; however Honorary members shall not have the right to vote on Association matters. Honorary members may not hold office or serve on the Board of Directors. 

The 2nd Vice President will be charged with the responsibility of notifying all newly elected or appointed Coroners, all newly appointed Medical Examiners, and all newly hired death investigators of their eligibility for membership in the Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners Association upon notification by the Secretary. 

There will be no initiation fee for membership in the Association. 

Any proposed changes in the amount of the annual dues for active membership shall be determined at the annual Winter membership meeting by a majority vote of active members. Any proposed changes in the amount of annual dues shall be included in the meeting notice. 

Membership dues are payable by March 314 of each year and shall cover all membership rights and privileges from December 1st of the prior year through November 30th of that year. Any member wishing to join later in the year shall pay the dues for the entire year. Dues will not be prorated. 

A member in good standing shall be defined as a qualified member of the Association whose membership dues are paid and who is not the subject of an active investigation by the ethics committee for ethics violations

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

Membership in this Association is not transferable or assignable for Associate Members. 

The Association shall have power to amend or revise this Constitution and By-Laws by a two-thirds vote of the Active members of the Association in good standing who are present. Proposed amendments and revisions will be voted on during either the annual Spring or Winter business meetings. 

The membership must be notified in writing at least seven (7) days in advance of the annual meeting of any proposed Constitution or By-Laws changes. This notification indicates the changes proposed and includes the identity of the member(s) sponsoring the changes. 

A written copy of all proposed amendments or revisions will be made available to all members. Reasonable time for discussion of Constitution and By-Laws changes will be scheduled at the annual meeting