Public Act 099-0695 (PDF) FAQ (PDF)

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New Statutory Mandate

Sec. 13. Leadership training for university board members.

(b-5) Beginning July 1, 2022, the Board shall create and maintain on its Internet website an online trustee resource center that shall, at a minimum, do all of the following: (1) provide updates on all statutes relevant to the work of the governing boards of universities; (2) include all of the documents and resources provided to trustees during the professional development leadership training course; and (3) provide an online portal for trustees to submit questions and receive answers from the Board. 110 ILCS 205/13 (b-5)

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Statutes relevant to the work of the governing boards of universities provided pursuant to 110 ILCS 205/13 (b-5) Analysis of statutes relevant to the work of the governing boards of universities must take into consideration the enabling statute of the board and/or university. See e.g. 110 ILCS 305/1 (creating the Board for the University of Illinois). These statutes will give a sense of the scope of the work of the governing board.

These statutes may convey broad authority on the board. See Id. (Giving the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois the “power to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued, . . . to plead and be impleaded, to acquire, hold, and convey real and personal property; to have and use a common seal, and to alter the same at pleasure; to make and establish by-laws, and to alter or repeal the same as they shall deem necessary, for the management or government, in all its various departments and relations, of the University of Illinois.”) The scope of this authority is too broad to be adequately addressed in this memorandum. Boards are advised to confer with legal counsel at their university and/or their legal counsel regarding specifics of this broad legal authority.

This memorandum serves as a starting point for research into statutes relevant to the work of governing boards of public universities. It provides cites for enabling statutes for the public universities and boards, as well as Illinois statutes of general application to public universities that affect the basic processes of board operation and governance.

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