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Policies and Procedures

General Introduction

The ILGenWeb Project is a member of the non-profit, volunteer genealogical organization called The USGenWeb Project. As such The ILGenWeb Project website and all associated county websites must conform to the established policy and procedures set forth by our parent organization. The guidelines that are described on the USGenWeb Volunteers Information page and the USGenWeb Project Bylaws describe in great detail the organizational structure, election procedures, and general policies of this organization, and form the foundation for each state project. All project members should carefully review the above websites before agreeing to participate in any USGenWeb State Project.

ILGenWeb Project Policies
These policies and procedures were adopted by a vote of the membership in 2004. Some are out of date and/or no longer in use. (annotations by Cheryl Rothwell, 2015)
The following policies and procedures are specific to our state project. All ILGenWeb Project members are required to read and understand the following information prior to their participation in this project.

Project Name

The name of our organization is “The ILGenWeb Project.” The name, “The ILGenWeb Project,” and “The XXGenWeb Project” (where XX is the county name) are service marks and reserved exclusively for The ILGenWeb Project and any websites representing The ILGenWeb Project. Please note that the correct name and spelling is in upper and lower case letters without any space breaks in form (correct: ILGenWeb; incorrect: IL GenWeb or ILGen Web).

Our Mission

The ILGenWeb Project is an organized group of volunteers working to create an online center for genealogical research by linking sites representing every county in the State of Illinois. The purpose of this organization is to gather genealogical and historical information for free online access by researchers. This is accomplished by creating websites which are central repositories of historical and genealogical research data donated either by the website coordinator or other contributors and kept at the local county level. To further the mission of The ILGenWeb Project, the domains of: http://illinoisgenweb.org/, http://illinoisgenweb.net/, http://ilgenweb.us/, and http://ilgenweb.info/ have been registered with InterNIC as the domains for the sole use of The ILGenWeb Project. The agent for the domains will be the membership of The ILGenWeb Project in the person of the elected State Coordinator.

Organizational Status

The ILGenWeb Project, as a group of volunteers participating in a not-for-profit organization, is considered to be an “Unincorporated Non-Profit Association.”

The History of the ILGenWeb Project

In the spring of 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project, which evolved into the KYGenWeb Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for genealogy data and research for all counties in Kentucky. In addition, the information for each county would be indexed and cross-linked to make it easier for researchers to find a name or data that they sought.

In June 1996, as the KYGenWeb Project was nearing 100 percent county coverage, interested volunteers decided to create a similar set of pages for all states, thus establishing The USGenWeb Project. Volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate these efforts for each state, and additional volunteers were sought to create and maintain websites for every county in the United States.

The ILGenWeb Project was created shortly thereafter. Since then, the Project has grown and changed dynamically. The ILGenWeb Project maintains a high level of excellence among its coordinators and takes great pride in the service provided to researchers.

Project Administration

The ILGenWeb Project is administered by a team of members including a State Coordinator (SC) and up to two (2) Assistant State Coordinators (ASC’s). There is a provision for up to are five (5) Regional Coordinators over a designated area of the state and one (1) Regional Coordinator over the state Special Projects. There are 102 county websites and there are a maximum of 102 County Coordinator positions, although from time to time a single county’s responsibilities may be shared by Co-Coordinators. However, many coordinators volunteer to host more than one website. It is recommended that no coordinator host more than two websites at any one time. For each Special Project there is one Special Project Coordinator, and this position may be shared by Co-Coordinators in the same way that County Coordinators share responsibility with Co-Coordinators.

Responsibilities of Project Members

State Coordinator

The State Coordinator (SC) is elected by the project membership and can serve an unlimited number of terms. Although the SC may serve in an unlimited capacity, he or she must be re-elected by the project membership every two years (see election procedures below). Duties for the SC include representing The ILGenWeb Project to The USGenWeb Project, recruiting and training new project volunteers, maintaining an internal mailing list, and creating and maintaining the state web site. The SC may appoint other members to serve in volunteer positions such as Webmaster or Webmistress, Archivist, Welcome Host or Hostess, New Member Training Coordinator, Special Projects Coordinator, etc. These positions should be held by members in good standing and do not merit any special project authority or position other than meeting specific needs of the project. The State Coordinator is required to be subscribed to the State Coordinator’s list and the Regional Coordinator list.

Additionally, it is the responsibility of the SC as the registered agent to maintain possession of the domains. The SC is authorized to secure funding for registration in the form of donations from project members, not to exceed the cost of registration, and all contributions by project members are strictly voluntary. Should solicitation of funds be conducted, the collection of funds shall be done by two or more individuals designated by the SC, and a full accounting of the funds collected and dispersed shall be available to the membership upon request.

Assistant State Coordinator

The Assistant State Coordinator(s) (ASC) are selected by the State Coordinator based upon volunteer interest. The ASC is responsible for assisting the SC in any special projects that the project may develop and perform those functions of the State Coordinator’s responsibilities which are delegated to him or her by the SC, if they are consistent with the abilities of the individual ASC. They also serve as Acting SC in the event that the elected SC resigns, becomes ill, is on extended vacation, or is unable to meet the SC position requirements. The ASC’s primary duty, other than assisting the SC with state matters, is that of Quality Control Coordinator for the websites located in The ILGenWeb Project. Each ASC performs a bi-annual check of all project websites. These checks help ensure the smooth operation of the project, help maintain a consistent standard throughout the project, and identify any problems with links, navigation, or html coding. The ASC should be a member of The ILGenWeb Project in good standing. The Assistant State Coordinator(s) are required to be subscribed to the State Coordinator List and Regional Coordinator list.

Regional Coordinators (not currently in use)

The Regional Coordinators (RC) are selected by the State Coordinator and have responsibility for the counties or projects within their specific region. Regional Coordinators serve as a liaison between the County and Special Project Coordinators and the researchers, if and when needed; and they serve as the liaison between the Coordinators and the State Coordinator, unless the problem is not a resolvable issue between the CC/SPC and the RC. In the case of an absence in a County Coordinator or Special Project Coordinator, the Regional Coordinator serves as, or designates, a temporary back-up for the County or Special Project Coordinators to maintain the county webpage, mailing lists, and message boards (i.e., if a Coordinator is gone for an extended period of time, or resigns, etc.) A Regional Coordinator should check ILGenWeb Project pages within their region periodically to make sure all requirements are met and encourage the responsible coordinator to keep and maintain the local county or project pages to the high level of excellence expected in The ILGenWeb Project. Regional Coordinators are also the initial contact with potential new County or Special Project Coordinators, determine their interest and qualifications, and ultimately forward to the SC and ASC names of individuals interested in becoming County or Special Project Coordinators. In the event of a new county or project adoption within their region, the Regional Coordinator serves as a mentor for new County and Special Project Coordinators, helping as much as possible so that there is a fairly smooth transition from one coordinator to the next. All Regional Coordinators are required to be subscribed to the Regional Coordinator list, which will be used to discuss concerns and address problems.

County and Special Projects Coordinators

The County Coordinators (CC) and Special Projects Coordinators (SPC) are responsible for creating and maintaining websites, mailing lists, and message boards at the county or special project level. The CC and SPC should try to include as much reference and resource information as is available for their area or topic. Each website should strive to include the following types of elements:

county or area maps
local history
county or topical mail list
query boards as set out in the requirements for webpages
county or topical resource addresses
lookup resources

All webpages within the ILGenWeb Project must meet the requirements of The USGenWeb Project, and the requirements for ILGenWeb pages as listed below. All County Coordinators and Special Projects Coordinators are required to be subscribed to the IL-Gen list (the official list; the chat list is voluntary).

State Coordinator Election Procedures

1. A Committee and Committee Chairman to oversee elections in The ILGenWeb Project shall be appointed by the State Coordinator, or as otherwise designated by these procedures, with input from any Assistant State Coordinators and the Regional Coordinators. The committee is to be composed of a minimum of four members of The ILGenWeb Project. In the event an Elections Committee member is nominated and accepts candidacy, the committee member shall immediately resign from the Elections Committee and the State Coordinator shall appoint a replacement committee member. In no circumstances may a candidate serve on the Elections Committee.

2. Members of The ILGenWeb Project are defined as State Coordinator, Assistant State Coordinators, Regional Coordinators, County Coordinators, Co-Coordinators or Assistant Coordinators, and ILGenWeb Special Project Coordinators, Co-Coordinators, or Assistant Coordinators.

3. The Elections Committee will announce any upcoming elections on ILGen-L (the official mailing list). The Elections Committee shall post a list of eligible voters, received from the State Coordinator, to ILGen-L (the official mailing list) with instructions to the membership to check the list and send in corrections within 72 hours. Any member of ILGenWeb may nominate another member of ILGenWeb provided that the nominee meets the requirements to fulfill the office for which he or she is nominated. The Elections Committee shall determine whether the nominee meets the requirements of the position.

4. Qualifications for State Coordinator are to have served as an active member (as defined in Section 2) of The ILGenWeb Project for at least two years (the twenty-four months immediately preceding an election) of continuous service and current activity as a member in good standing, and eligibility to vote within The ILGenWeb Project. “In good standing” is demonstrated by responding promptly to e-mail, actively supporting researchers’ efforts to find information, maintaining their website with appropriate, up-to-date content, and serving as a good example of the guidelines and standards of The ILGenWeb Project.

5. The Elections Committee shall poll the nominees to see if they are willing to serve, and to inform those willing to serve to submit a short profile or biography. Candidates may put up a campaign page, and post the URL to ILGen-L (the official mailing list). The URL shall also be posted on a state page. Regardless of whether or not they have a campaign page, all candidates will post their profile or biography at least 3 days prior to the beginning of the voting period to ILGen-L  (the official mailing list). The voting period will be open for a period of no less than five (5) days. Terms of office shall begin on first day of the next month.

6. In the event of a single candidate for the position of State Coordinator, the Chairman of the Elections Committee shall call for an email vote of the membership indicating “Yea” for acceptance of the candidate or “Nay” for non-acceptance of the candidate. If the results indicate a majority “Nay” vote, the Elections Committee shall reopen the floor for nominations.

7. In multiple-candidate elections a simple majority of those members voting shall elect. No member shall cast more than one vote. No member shall vote more than once, no matter how many positions he/she holds within The ILGenWeb Project, and there is a limit of 2 votes per county, and two (2) votes per ILGenWeb Special Project.

In the counties or special projects that have more than two members of The ILGenWeb Project, it is the responsibility of the County or Special Project Coordinator to designate the two voting members from that County or Special Project to the Election Committee.

8. The Committee Chairman will contact each candidate for a representative to serve as Ballot Counters. Ballot Counters (which will include The Committee Chairman) each must agree to pledge to not reveal any individual’s voting record. The ballots shall be counted by a minimum of three Ballot Counters who will independently receive the votes cast and keep a tally of the votes. At the end of the voting period all three shall compare their tallies for accuracy and report the results to ILGen-L (the official mailing list).

9. The State Coordinator shall be elected to a Two Year Term. The State Coordinator’s term of office will run from July 1 to June 30. If the current State Coordinator resigns, is absent without explanation, and cannot be contacted for 21 days he or she will relinquish the position. If the remaining term is less than 6 months, an Assistant State Coordinator will complete the term. If the remaining term is more than six (6) months, the Assistant State Coordinator(s) will start the election process to elect a new State Coordinator to serve out the remaining term.

10. The duties of the outgoing State Coordinator include transfer of The ILGenWeb Project account and the pages therein, as they are property of The ILGenWeb Project. Likewise, the state mail lists (ILGen-L, IL-Chat-L, ILGWRC-L, illinois@usroots.com address and any administrative lists that may be created in the future) are property of The ILGenWeb Project. The outgoing State Coordinator shall give the passwords for the websites and mail lists, as well as the state pages to the new State Coordinator before he or she assumes office.

Selection of County and Special Project Coordinators

The positions of County Coordinator and Special Project Coordinator are selected by the SC. All interested persons should contact the RC in the Region that the adoptable county is located to see if the county of interest is available, or contact the RC over special projects if the interest is not county based. If it is available, the RC will determine qualifications for hosting the county or topic to be covered. (Qualifications include but are not limited to: a strong interest in genealogy, knowledge of the county or topic history, ability to create and maintain a website, file transfer protocol (FTP) (if required to load pages), and desire to serve.) The most important quality is a desire to serve as part of this project. If a person is interested and is knowledgeable in the county or topic but is new to the internet or to website design, help is available from other project members. The coordinator needs to be available to make updates to the website, answer researcher queries (no research is conducted), and generally provide assistance as needed. Time requirements for this position can range from 30 minutes per week to several hours. The amount of time given to each project is solely dependant on the volunteer but a minimum amount of upkeep is required to keep the website on active status within the project. New CC’s and SPC’s are expected to have a site meeting minimum USGenWeb and ILGenWeb standards (listed below) within two weeks of appointment, and if this does not happen the coordinator may be replaced. In the event that the RC is satisfied that the CC or SPC candidate has the desire and ability to serve, the RC will forward the name and information to the SC for review. Again, the approval of the SC is required before the adoption of the County or Special Project site can take place.

Coordinators are encouraged to solicit assistance from Co-Coordinators or Assistant Coordinators when necessary, needed, or desired. A Co-Coordinator would be a person who shares the responsibility as an equal partner in the presentation and development of the county or special project site. An Assistant Coordinator would be a person who provides assistance in a specific area of the county or special project site, but whose contribution to the site is subject to the approval of the Coordinator. Both positions, Co-Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator are considered members of The ILGenWeb Project. Any Coordinator wishing to add an Assistant or Co-Coordinator to their county or special project should contact the Regional Coordinator for their area with the name and email contact information of the person involved. The Regional Coordinator is required to ensure that the person is willing to assist the Coordinator with the project, is aware of the USGenWeb and ILGenWeb requirements, and obtain the required contact information to submit to the State Coordinator. With the consent of the State Coordinator, the Assistant or Co-Coordinator will be approved and subscribed to the appropriate mailing list, and their name and appropriate title added to the electoral rolls.

Active Status

It is imperative that all websites remain active once they are networked as part of this project. A website is considered active when regular updates and additions are made to the website. The Project Administrative team understands that not all volunteers have access to materials and are not able to transcribe volumes of information for use online. However, it is expected that every CC/SPC will maintain their sites to the best of their ability. Date stamps on all pages are encouraged. If used, date stamps should be updated regularly even if the page has not changed much. Regular website checks will be performed by the RC(s). Website checks will include all required elements and links, query board usage (or email page updated regularly), as well as general appearance and functionality of the site (link checks, etc.). Obvious errors in coding will be brought to the CC/SPC’s attention but choice of layout, design, colors, etc., are not part of the check process. However, if any background choice makes type elements practically illegible, this will be brought to the CC/SPC’s attention for modification. Website checks will be conducted periodically and email notification will be sent to each CC/SPC with a copy sent to the SC. Any websites that do not meet the project standards will be noted and the CC/SPC will have approximately two weeks to make corrections. If the CC/SPC doesn’t make corrections within the two week period (exceptions include vacations, illness, etc.) the website will be placed on an “inactive status” and the link will be removed from the State webpage. If after 30 days the website corrections have not been made and the CC/SPC is unresponsive to email requests the website will be removed from the project and a new host will be recruited to fill the position.

Resignation of a Coordinator

In the event that a coordinator no longer wishes to volunteer with this project, notice must be given to the SC as soon as possible. The SC will announce to the mail list that the coordinator is stepping down and can offer the county or special project up for adoption to the membership first. Existing Co-Coordinators and Assistant Coordinators will be given first consideration for adoption, as will any recommendations made by the retiring coordinator. If no one is interested in adopting the county, a notice will be placed on the county or special project website and the state webpage. A new host will be recruited to fill the vacancy. The outgoing coordinator may choose to remain with the project until a new coordinator is found or may choose to step down immediately. If they choose to step down immediately, the RC will put up a temporary page, or maintain the existing page, so that interested persons can adopt the site. The contents of the website may be donated to the new coordinator or it may remain with the outgoing coordinator, however data provided by persons other than the coordinator and donated to The ILGenWeb Project, or data or materials existing with the project prior to the coordinators appointment, shall remain with the project.

Recall of State Coordinator

As an elected authority in The ILGenWeb Project, the State Coordinator may only be removed from office by a recall vote of the membership. When a situation arises that a group of the membership of The ILGenWeb Project believe that a recall election is necessary to remove an elected State Coordinator, the recall election shall be conducted according to the following procedure.

  1. A request for a recall election of the SC must be made by a group of no less than five members of The ILGenWeb Project. The group making the request for the recall election must post the reasons for the request on an unlinked (unlinked to any page on any state, county, or special project website) webpage, and provide the URL of the webpage to the membership by posting the same to the ILGen-L (the official mailing list).
  2. The SC may provide his or her reply to the posted reasons requesting the recall election on a similar unlinked webpage and provide the URL of the reply to the membership through the ILGen-L (the official mailing list).
  3. Upon the request for the recall request being announced on the ILGen-L (the official mailing list), the ASC’s shall arrange for a Petition for Recall webpage providing the URL’s of both the requesting party’s Request for Recall webpage and any reply to the same by the SC. The Petition for Recall webpage will provide the opportunity for any project member to “sign” the Petition for Recall. No name shall be added to the Petition for Recall without first being verified by an ASC. The URL of the Petition for Recall will be announced to the membership through the ILGen-L (the official mailing list), and remain available to the membership for a period of sixty (60) days after the announcement. Upon the request of either the requesting party or the SC, a moderated mail list shall be created where interested members of The ILGenWeb Project can subscribe to discuss the issues of the recall petition. The moderator shall be an ASC who shall maintain the discussion on a constructive basis. Any derogatory, abusive, inflammatory, or in the opinion of the moderator, irrelevant or non-productive messages shall be deleted without warning or appeal.
  4. No recall election shall be conducted unless the Petition for Recall is signed by a minimum twenty (20) percent of the membership of The ILGenWeb Project within that sixty (60) day time period.
  5. Provided that the minimum twenty (20) percent of the membership signs the Petition for Recall within the required time frame, the ASC(s) will arrange for a special election to fulfill the remainder of the SC’s term of office. Special elections are conducted in the same manner prescribed by the State Coordinator Election Procedures, with the ASC’s appointing the election committee in the place of the SC.

Removal of a Coordinator

Every coordinator is guaranteed due process in the ILGenWeb Project and is provided 30 days to rectify any problems or issues that arise surrounding their participation in The ILGenWeb Project. However, certain actions may be grounds for immediate removal of either a CC or SPC.

Failure to comply with USGenWeb or ILGenWeb requirements on any USGenWeb Project webpage will result in removal of the CC or SPC.

A coordinator that cannot be contacted for a period of 30 days by e-mail, phone, or letter will be replaced.

The following are types of behavior that are considered inappropriate for this project:

  1. Use of foul, derogatory, or abusive language on the state mail list
  2. Any derogatory, inflammatory, or abusive comments made towards any member of the project

 Arbitration, Grievance Procedures

All problems between the membership of The ILGenWeb Project should be handled privately and with discretion. If a resolution is not forthcoming the two parties should contact the State Coordinator for assistance, or if the problem includes the State Coordinator, the Assistant State Coordinators should be contacted to initiate formal arbitration. The ILGenWeb Project’s formal arbitration process can be found here.

Project Guidelines

The following guidelines are to be in effect for all members of this project until further notice.

Elements required on all ILGenWeb Pages include these USGenWeb Requirements.

  • All USGenWeb members are required to be subscribed to official state mailing list.
  • All USGenWeb members sites must provide a query page. This can be handled with an e-mail link to you and posted manually or, if you have the resources, you can create an automatic mailmerge form page for receiving information. Several posting Boards may be used instead.
  • All USGenWeb members sites must have The USGenWeb Project logo prominently displayed near the top of the main page of your site.
  • All USGenWeb members sites must provide a pointer to his or her State County Selection List. For The ILGenWeb Project, this link is at: http://illinoisgenweb.org/county.html and is maintained by the state coordinator.
  • All USGenWeb members should review County Page Guidelines/Standards of USGenWeb located at http://usgenweb.org/volunteers/guidelines.shtml.
  • All ILGenWeb county sites are required to have the logo and links for The USGenWeb Project and ILGenWeb State project prominently displayed near the top of your main site page. (For those who are members of other organizations or projects you will need to have a separate main page for each so as not to show preference between them.)
  • All ILGenWeb county Sites must first and foremost represent The ILGenWeb Project!
  • The Required links are: 
    The USGenWeb Project: http://www.usgenweb.org  .
  • The ILGenWeb Project: http://illinoisgenweb.org .
  • You can find the Required Logos here along with some cute Illinois bullets if you want them.
  • All ILGenWeb members are required to keep the SC or ASC advised of their current working e-mail address and, if possible, an alternate contact source.
  • If you are contacted by any of the ILGenWeb State or Assistant State Coordinators or members of the ILGenWeb Regional Coordinator Team, please respond promptly. If you are asked to correct something please do so as soon as possible. We check to see that queries are updated and proper logos are in place. We also let you know about broken links that need to be fixed or removed and let you know if we see any broken graphics. We are helpful, friendly people and our purpose is to assist you as much as possible. If you have a problem that prevents you from taking care of something in a timely manner please contact one of us so we may lend assistance if possible. You may view our Regional Coordinators Responsibilities for further information about what they do.
  • Always keep in mind that we have volunteered to provide a service to our visitors. In order to fulfill that role the following are required of every county coordinator:
  • If you volunteer to coordinate a county, you will be required to have the web site on-line in a reasonable amount of time.
  • If you are adopting a county web site that already exists, you must change the coordinator contact e-mail as soon as possible.
  • Your name and e-mail address must be on the main page, and should be displayed on each page.
  • When a visitor asks you to update or remove his or her query, change his or her e-mail address etc., please do so as soon as possible.
  • The USGenWeb Project and The ILGenWeb Project will not support any form of copyright violation by you or your volunteers. The USGenWeb copyright FAQ may be viewed at http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/copyright.shtml.
  • A Lookup page is not required by The USGenWeb Project or The ILGenWeb Project. If you have one on your site you are required to study and adhere to the following guidelines. The USGenWeb Project and The ILGenWeb Project will not support any form of copyright violation by you or your volunteers. For your own protection from possible lawsuits by publishers or authors, there are a few steps that you should follow:
    1. If the reference material is not in the public domain you should first check the Authors Who Have Submitted Permission page to see if the author has already granted permission. Also check the Authors Who Have Refused Permission page. If they are not on either list you should obtain written permission from the author or publisher of that material and be sure it is on file with The USGenWeb Project. You may obtain a copy of the permission to do lookups form, and instruction on how to file that permission HERE.
    2. You should also include The USGenWeb Project copyright disclaimer on your lookup page and be sure that your lookup volunteers read this disclaimer. Suggested versions of wording you may use can be found here. The complete USGenWeb copyright FAQ may be viewed at: http://www.usgenweb.net/volunteers/copyright.html.
  • The ILGenWeb Project is an association of individuals from around the country for private, non-commercial research and sharing of genealogical information. No profits are made or permitted by the ILGenWeb Project, its subgroups or its individual members, at least so far as their activities in The ILGenWeb Project and affiliated Subgroups are concerned.
  • Links to Third Party Sites are not under the control of The ILGenWeb Project or members, and The ILGenWeb Project or members are not responsible for the contents of any linked site. The ILGenWeb Project or members provides links to you only as a convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply the endorsement by The ILGenWeb Project of the site.
  • Any previously published and copyrighted materials used or displayed by The ILGenWeb Project is done so entirely for non-commercial, nonprofit research of individual persons. It is the intention of The ILGenWeb Project only to utilize materials for which it has permission or which constitutes “fair use.”
  • In addition to The USGenWeb Project requirement of a query page, ILGenWeb requires that you: Update your Query page at least once in a 30 day period; Date all queries, so that your visitors, and we, can easily tell which are the new ones; When a visitor asks you to update or remove his or her query, change his or her e-mail address etc., please do so as soon as possible. Several posting Boards will take care of this for you and may be used. (ILGenWeb requires a link to a query board such as Rootsweb for so long as they are available.)
  • All ILGenWeb county sites are required to keep his or her sites and links clear of any non-family viewable material. (We ask you to use your own good judgment. If you have a doubt ask any RC, ASC or SC.)
  • All website contents remain the property of each webmaster and The ILGenWeb Project maintains no rights to any materials on any project website. All copyrighted material contributed to the website by someone other than the webmaster should contain a copyright notice granting permission to publicly display the material from the author of said material. Any material that is copyrighted and published without permission from the author must be removed immediately.
  • Policies of Present ILGenWeb Project State Coordinator. These policies may be added, changed, or removed as needed to deal with ILGenWeb business, or change of State Coordinator.
  • To act in the best interest of The ILGenWeb Project.
  • To promote the image of The ILGenWeb Project as a friendly helpful medium for finding information on Illinois genealogy and history.
  • To promote a climate of friendly helpful medium for the members of The ILGenWeb Project to work at providing free genealogy and history information for private individuals seeking his or her Illinois Ancestral lines.
  • To encourage the use of Co-CC, ACC and ASPC by CCs approved by SC or ASC.
  • If a CC wishes to do “for pay research” while remaining an ILGenWeb Project member any mention of this will be on a separate page from The ILGenWeb Project county sites main pages. The page will be clearly marked as: Researchers who charge for his or her effort; Not associated with The ILGenWeb Project.
  • Material which ILGenWeb County Coordinators post on his or her sites that is from other published information sources will be posted as is published. If someone wishes to dispute the correctness of information, they should dispute it with the writer of that information. CC’s may, if they like, add an *, and list the change as a possible mistake. All CC’s will be discouraged from correcting any errors to published works they display on county accounts. It is not our job to change published works.
  • Each CC or SPC may place his or her entrusted ILGenWeb site on his or her choice of server. It shall be of no interest of the SC or The ILGenWeb Project so long as that server or server guidelines place no objectionable material on site.

IN CONCLUSION

All coordinators are required to keep fresh in their minds the mission of this project. Our goal is to help visiting researchers find useful resource and reference information online and assist them in tracing their family history. Our job is to be friendly, responsive, helpful, cordial, and most of all available. This is a volunteer position and as such the mandates as written above are only relevant if the membership agrees to abide by them. The Project Administration team has worked hard to try and cover every possible scenario that may occur given the nature of internet genealogical projects. However, we cannot guarantee that your experience as part of our project will be perfect or stress free. We have created a working policy that will serve this project well so long as all members agree to participate fully and without any measure of distrust or dishonesty. That said, the Project Administrative team reserves the right to implement any and all of the above procedures as needed to maintain a well-working, thoughtful, internet project.

These policies were adopted on July 31, 2004.

Revisions:

1. March 16, 2008: updated domain name [Deb Haines]
2. December 28, 2008: updated domain names to current [Deb Haines]
3. March 1, 2015: annotations, corrections [Cheryl Rothwell]


For corrections or additions, please contact me: Webmaster

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