Elections

In 2026, the Administrative Professional Council and Civil Service Council merged to form the staff council. The newly formed Staff Council representative all staff at Illinois State University.

To represent Administrative Professional (AP) and Civil Service (CS) staff in university shared governance processes and to administrative bodies such as the Academic Senate, the Board of Trustees, the Student Government Association, and others.

To serve in an advisory capacity and make recommendations regarding staff welfare and employment conditions, including to the Academic Senate, the Office of the President, Human Resources, and others.

To facilitate effective communication and the exchange of ideas and information between AP and CS staff, and between staff and administrative bodies, shared governance bodies, fellow staff, and the campus community.

Administrative Professional. Eligible AP staff must have a minimum 50% AP appointment; not hold faculty rank; and have worked at Illinois State University a minimum of six months.

Civil Service. Eligible CS staff must be full-time; benefits eligible; and past their initial probationary period. “Initial probationary period” shall be defined by the State Universities Civil Service System and does not include probationary periods connected with upgrades and promotions.

1. Administrative Professionals (AP) staff at-large. The seven AP nominees with the highest vote totals among AP nominees will be elected to the seven reserved AP seats.
2. Civil Service (CS) staff at-large. The seven CS nominees with the highest vote totals among CS nominees will be elected to the seven reserved CS seats.
3. Open seats at-large. The five nominees, either AP or CS, with the highest vote totals after the top seven AP and CS nominees as described above, will be elected to the five open seats.

Administrative Professional. Must have a minimum 50% AP appointment and not hold faculty rank.

Civil Service. Must be full-time and benefits eligible.

Each eligible voter may cast only one ballot for a candidate, regardless of candidate’s classification (Administrative Professional).

Write-in candidates will not be allowed.

Staff Council Representatives are expected to support the work of the Council either as an officer, a representative, a committee chair, a liaison, or otherwise contribute to at least one committee initiative in each calendar year. Exceptions to this should be discussed with the Executive Board.

Attend bimonthly Staff Council meetings.

Staff Council meets every other week for one hour per meeting. Most members of Staff Council serve on a Staff Council sub committee and some also serve as a staff representatives on various University committees (Academic Senate, University Police Committee, University Parking Committee, etc.)

Staff Council meetings are held virtually every other week, with occasional meetings occurring in person.

Sub committees of the Staff Council may meet between meetings, as determined by the committee.

Staff Council elections are held annually in March. Nominations are held in February annually.

Terms of service for Staff Council are 3 years. With this being the first election cycle there is a need to stagger terms so that not all representatives leave the Council at once. Initial terms will be determined by elected representatives preference first and then by number of votes (most votes, longest terms).

Terms begin in May and End in June of the following year

Employee Advisory Committee (EAC) representative. The EAC representative is elected through the same election calendar and procedures as at-large members. In accordance with State Universities Civil Service System Statute and Rules, Section 70/36C, only CS staff are eligible for the role of EAC representative, and only eligible CS voters may vote for EAC representative. Nominees may not run for both at-large and EAC representative seats.

The EAC Representative serves as an ex-offico representative on Staff Council.

A nominee may appeal an election result within five (5) working days of the date of the notification of election results to nominees by the Elections Committee. The nominee must submit a statement to the Elections Committee containing all facts the candidate attests to be the true basis for the appeal.

• Within five (5) working days following receipt of the appeal, the Elections Committee will submit their response to each item in the appeal to the Executive Board, together with any additional comments or information pertinent to the conduct of the election.
• The Executive Board will decide on the appeal within five (5) working days of receiving the Elections Committee’s response.

If a majority of Executive Board members approves of the appeal, a new election will be called within thirty (30) working days. If a majority does not approve, the appeal is denied and the election will be considered valid as held. The nominee who submitted the appeal will be notified in writing by the Executive Board within five (5) working days following the Executive Board’s decision.

StaffCouncil@ilstu.edu