(60 ILCS 1/40-5)

Sec. 40-5. Time of township meeting; moderator.

(a) The annual township meeting and any special township meeting shall not be held earlier than 6 p.m., unless the time is changed by the electors at a duly convened meeting.

(b) At an hour fixed by the electors, but no earlier than 6 p.m. on the day of an annual or special meeting, the electors present shall be called to order by the township clerk, if there is a clerk and he or she is present. If there is no township clerk or if the township clerk is not present, the electors may elect by acclamation one of their number as chairman. The chairman shall, if there are electors desiring admittance to the meeting who cannot be admitted because of the size of the meeting hall, immediately recess the meeting to a time as soon as practicable and to a place sufficiently large to accommodate at least the number of electors present at that time within the meeting hall and those outside the meeting hall desiring to be admitted.

Electors at the meeting shall be verified as voters registered within the township by the township clerk, or a designee of the township clerk, through the use of township voter registration lists obtained by the township clerk from the election authority having jurisdiction over the township and updated to include voters registered no less than 28 days before the day of the meeting.

(c) The electors present shall choose one of their number to preside as moderator of the meeting. Before entering upon the duties of the office, the moderator shall take an oath, administered by the township clerk or chairman or some other officer authorized to administer oaths, to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office. The moderator of the meeting shall preside at the meeting, announce the business before the meeting, preserve order, and decide all questions of order. The moderator shall have the same power and be subject to the same penalties, in connection with his conduct as moderator, as judges of election under the provisions of the general election law.

(Source: P.A. 88-62; incorporates 88-360; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-331, eff. 8-17-95.)