Ordinance 2008-008 I
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Ordinance No.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE UNITED CITY OF
YORKVILLE, KENDALL COUNTY, ILLINOIS, PROVIDING FOR THE
INDEMNIFICATION OF ELECTED OFFICIALS
WHEREAS, the United City of Yorkville (the "City ") is a duly organized and validly existing
non home -rule municipality created in accordance with the Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970
and the laws of the State; and,
WHEREAS, in order to encourage qualified and capable individuals to vie for elective public
office, it is in the best interests of the City to indemnify its elected officials to the extent the elected
official's conduct is within the scope of their powers and authority.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and City Council of the United City of
Yorkville, Kendall County, Illinois, as follows:
Section 1. Title 1, Chapter 6 of the United City of Yorkville Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended by adding the following new Section 10:
1 -6 -10: INDEMNIFICATION OF CITY OFFICIALS:
A. To the fullest extent permitted by the Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970 and
all other applicable laws, the mayor and members of the city council shall be
indemnified, defended, and held harmless by the city from and against all liabilities,
expenses of defense and investigation, judgments, and amounts paid in settlement
which may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred or paid by such official in
connection with or resulting from any claim made against him or her, or any action,
suit, proceeding, or investigation in which he or she may be involved, by reason of
being or having been elected or appointed to the city council as such official of the
city and as a result of conduct within the scope of the duties of office, whether or not
he or she continues to be such official at the time of such claim, action, suit,
proceeding, or investigation.
B. The indemnity provided for in subsection (A) shall not extend to any of the
following:
1. Any liability or cost with respect to any matter as to which such official is finally
adjudged to be guilty of bad faith or actual malice or willful and wanton misconduct
in the performance of the duties of such official;
2. Any payment, expense, or cost arising out of a settlement of any claim, action,
suit, or proceeding, unless (i) such settlement shall be approved by the court having
jurisdiction over such claim, action, suit, or proceeding, with express knowledge of
the existence of the indemnification provided hereby, or (ii) such settlement shall
have been made upon the written opinion of the city's attorney or independent legal
counsel to the effect that there is no reasonable ground for any finding of bad faith or
of actual malice or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such official and that
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the anticipated cost of such settlement will not substantially exceed the estimated cost
and expense of defending such claim, action, suit, or proceeding to a final conclusion;
3. Any claim, action, suit, proceeding, or investigation in respect of which such
official has failed to deliver notice to the city as provided in this subsection. Notice,
for the purposes of this subsection, means a written notice signed by such official and
identifying, in reasonable detail, the particular claim, action, suit, proceeding, or
investigation and the date upon and manner in which such official first learned of the
pendency of such claim, action, suit, proceeding, or investigation. It shall be
sufficient delivery of the notice if the notice shall be mailed by registered mail,
postage prepaid, addressed to the city, city hall, attention: mayor, provided such
mailing takes place no later than the first of the following to occur: (i) twenty (20)
days after the date upon which such official first learned of the pendency of such
claim, action, suit, proceeding, or investigation; or (ii) twenty (20) days prior to the
date upon which any response to the claim, action, suit, proceeding, or investigation
is required by law;
4. Any proceeding brought by the city or any liability or judgment payable to the city
itself;
5. The cost of independent legal representation in any such action, suit, or proceeding
if the city offers or otherwise indicates its willingness to provide a legal defense with
respect to such claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation.
C. In the event the city shall not have employed independent legal counsel to have
charge of the defense of any such claim, action, suit, proceeding, or investigation or
such claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation is asserted against both the city
and such official, and such official shall have reasonably concluded that there may be
defenses available to him which are different from or additional to those available to
the city (in which case the city shall not have the right to direct the defense of such
action on behalf of such official), legal and other expenses incurred by such official
shall be borne by the city.
D. The foregoing rights of indemnification shall apply to any criminal action or
proceeding, if the indemnified person had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct
(which must be within the scope of the duties of office) was unlawful. The
termination of any action or proceeding by judgment or settlement, conviction or
upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not of itself create a
presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to best interests of the city, and with respect to any
criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was
unlawful.
E. The foregoing rights of indemnification shall be in addition to any other rights to
which such official may otherwise be entitled as a matter of law.
Section 2. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its passage, approval, and
publication as provided by law.
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Passed by the City Council of the United City of Yorkville, Kendall County, Illinois, this a�
2008.
CI L, RK
ROBYN SUTCLIFF t JOSEPH BESCO
GARY GOLINSKI ARDEN JOSEPH PLOCHER Cat
WALTER WERDERICH MARTY MUNNS
ROSE ANN SPEARS JASON LESLIE
Approved by me, as Mayor of the United City of Yorkville, Kendall County, Illinois, this 0
day of fE,6�UA9 V 2008.
OR
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