Illinois § 25

§ 25.

Governing council. With a favorable vote of swine producers subject to the marketing program in the State of Illinois to adopt by referendum an Illinois Swine Market Development Program, there shall be established an Illinois Swine Market Development Council governed by a board of directors of 7 members who shall be elected at the same time as the initial referendum and thereafter as provided for in this Act and marketing program. Swine producers who are subject to the program shall elect a director from each of 7 compact and contiguous districts, apportioned as nearly as practical according to the swine-on-farms census report taken from the latest available United States Department of Agriculture records. No county in Illinois shall be apportioned into more than one district. The 7 districts shall be re-apportioned by the Council every 9 years, according to the latest available United States Department of Agriculture swine-on-farms census records. An elected director shall not become ineligible to serve his or her elected term through any re-apportionment. The 7 directors shall be elected to serve a 3-year term and may be re-elected to serve an additional consecutive term. An elected director must be a resident of Illinois and must be a swine producer subject to the program who has been a swine producer for at least the 5 years prior to his or her election. A qualified swine producer may be elected to serve on the Council only if he or she has submitted, by registered mail to the Illinois Swine Market Development office, a nominating petition containing signatures of 25 or more swine producers subject to the program from the district he or she seeks to represent, except that in the case of the initial election of Council directors, the nominating petition shall be mailed by registered mail to the Board. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes cast from that district shall be elected. All Council directors shall be unsalaried. Council directors may, however, be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in carrying out the intent and purposes of this Act and marketing program. It is the responsibility of the Council to conduct the election of Council directors within 30 days before the end of any elected Council director's term of office. Newly elected Council directors shall assume their office at the first meeting of the Council after their election to office, which shall be convened within 30 days after the election. Notice of the meeting shall be sent to the directors of the Council at least 10 days before the meeting. The notice must state the time, date, and place of the meeting. Reasonable notice of elections of directors of the Council must be given at least once in trade publications and in the public press at least 30 days before the election. The Council may declare an office of director vacant and appoint a swine producer subject to the program from that district to serve the unexpired term of any director unable or unwilling to complete his or her term of office. (Source: P.A. 92-158, eff. 7-25-01.)