Welcome to the City of Evanston Board, Commission, or Committee Compliance Requirements Portal

Thank you for your interest in serving the Evanston community!

To begin, you will need to create a Submittable account. Once your account is created and your profile is submitted, please login and complete the required onboarding forms within 2 weeks after being appointed. Please save your log-in information for future compliance forms.

We recommend that all applicants complete the Open Meetings Act (OMA) training as soon as possible, especially if your first meeting is approaching. You must have a completed OMA training certificate before you can sit in on a board, commission, or committee meeting. The OMA training can be completed through the Illinois Attorney General’s website.

The City of Evanston Code of Ethics applies to elected and appointed officials, staff members, and volunteer members of boards, commissions, and committees. The Code ensures that all who serve the City act with integrity, impartiality, and in the public’s best interest.

All appointees are also required to complete financial disclosure statements each year. These forms will be provided to you by the Office of the City Clerk via this portal. 

Please note that OMA and Ethics requirements must be completed every time an individual is appointed, reappointed, or added to a new Board, Commission, or Committee. This means that if you move from one body to another, you will be asked to complete this process again, as you are officially taking office under a new appointment. The City Code requires that every appointee fulfill these requirements each time they assume office.

By completing this application, you acknowledge your commitment to upholding the principles of transparency, fairness, and ethical service as outlined in the City of Evanston's Code of Ethics and state law.

Learn more below:

City of Evanston Code of Ethics (Required for all members)

The public’s trust in governing bodies is enhanced when citizens are confident that personal or business interests will not influence the decision-making of elected, appointed, and employed officials. Evanston’s Code of Ethics was created to ensure that – 

…elected and appointed officers and employees perform their duties for the benefit of the citizens of the city. They shall conduct the affairs of the city with integrity and impartiality, without allowing prejudice, favoritism, or the opportunity for personal gain to influence their decisions or actions or to interfere with serving the public interest. City of Evanston officials, staff, and volunteer members of boards, committees, and commissions will 

The Code applies to “any officer or employee of the city, whether elected or appointed, paid or unpaid, including members of boards and commissions appointed by the city mayor or city council.” A Board of Ethics interprets the Ethics Code; advises persons as to its application; adjudicates and renders decisions on complaints alleging violations; and retains financial-disclosure records, statements, registrations, reports, and complaints. 

The main topics of concern in the Code of Ethics are-

• Impartiality: working for the benefit of the entire community, without partiality, prejudice, or bias. 
• Unauthorized use of public property – city-owned vehicles, equipment, materials, or property – for personal convenience or profit. 
• Conflict of interest: use of public office for private gain. 

The standards of the Code are intended to supplement and comply with the provisions regarding municipal officers in 65 Illinois Compiled Statutes and 50 Illinois Compiled Statutes 105/1 et seq., and any other state statutes or ordinances of the city relating to ethical conduct for city officers and employees. 

Financial Disclosure and Statement of Economic Interests (Required for all BCC members and qualifying staff members):

All officers and employees of the City of Evanston (including all members of boards, commissions, and special committees) are required to file, annually, a “Financial Disclosure and Affiliations Statement” of financial interests, employment, board memberships, and gifts in order to alert public servants, as well as the public, to areas where there may be possible conflicts of interest. The purpose of the statement is to identify and forestall potential conflicts of interest, not to disclose the value of assets. In addition, members of certain boards, commissions, and committees are required to file, annually, a “Statement of Economic Interests to Be Filed with the Secretary of State.” Copies of both forms are provided in the Appendix. 

Open Meetings Act (Required for all BCC members and qualifying staff members):

The Open Meetings Act requires that all meetings of public bodies be open to the public. The Act does not require that any meetings be closed; however, it allows certain exceptions. The Act is applicable to all meetings of public bodies, which include the City Council, all committees of the City Council, and all boards and commissions of the City, including advisory boards.

Freedom of Information Act (Qualifying staff only):

The State of Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has declared the public policy that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of the Act. 

The Act lists the “public records” that must be disclosed; lists the public bodies that are subject to the Act; lists records that may be withheld from inspection and copying; sets out procedures for inspection and copying of records; and provides for administration and judicial review of denial of request for records.