Section 1650.1010  Petitions

a)         Petition forms may be obtained as directed on the System's website (trsil.org). For a regular election, petitions will be available for signature beginning November 1 immediately preceding the election date. For a special election, petitions will be available for signature beginning on the date that the Board's secretary announces on the System's website that a special election will be held and for a two-week period thereafter.

b)         A valid petition nominating a candidate for a vacant teacher position or a vacant annuitant position on the System's Board of Trustees must bear the requisite number of signatures of individuals eligible to nominate the candidate pursuant to Section 1650.1000(a) or (b).

c)         The petition filing period is as follows:

1)         For a regular election, not less than 90 nor more than 120 days prior to the election day.

2)         For a special election as provided in Section 1650.1090, beginning with the Board's secretary's announcement that a special election will be held and no later than 45 days prior to the election day.

3)         Petitions filed before or after the prescribed petition-filing period will not be accepted.

d)         The System shall determine the validity of petition signatures  for regular elections not less than 75 days prior to the election day, and for special elections not less than 20 days prior to the election day.

e)         Any individual may, upon reasonable notice to the System, examine the petitions that have been filed with the System with respect to the election to take place. The System will arrange for such examination through the System's designated election service provider, provided, however, that the signing teachers' and annuitants' privacy and confidentiality shall be protected during such examination. Petitions, including any information in the petition, shall not be subject to production or disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [5 ILCS 140].

(Source:  Amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 4774, effective March 13, 2026)