Chapter Policies for Conferences, Meetings, and Other Gatherings

Event & Office Health & Safety Protocols

The health and safety of attendees, volunteers, and CAI staff will drive all in-person event decisions, and events and meetings must comply with current guidance and restrictions from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), local government, venue, and CAI Illinois policy. If you feel sick, especially if you have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, please stay home. CAI Illinois reserves the right to remove sick people from the office or an event.

By attending or participating in CAI-Illinois events or meetings, you release, covenant not to sue, discharge, and hold harmless CAI-Illinois, its employees, Board of Directors, agents, and representatives from any and all claims, damages, costs or expenses of any kind (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to your participation or attendance at such meeting or event, including but not limited to any claims arising out of your illness or death.

Code of Conduct/Anti-Harassment Policy

The Illinois Chapter (hereinafter “CAI”) is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all participants. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, staff, and other individuals are expected to abide by this Safety & Responsibility Policy. This Policy applies to all CAI-hosted events, programs, and meetings, including those sponsored by organizations other than CAI but held in conjunction with CAI events, in public or private facilities.

Alcohol and Illegal Substances

At some CAI events and programs, alcoholic beverages may be served to those who are of legal age. CAI expects participants at our events to drink responsibly and in compliance with all federal, state and local laws. CAI and the event hosts and event staff shall have the right to deny service to participants for any reason, and may require a participant to leave the event at the discretion of either CAI or the event host.

Serving or providing of alcohol, in any form, is strictly prohibited at CAI hosted events and programs by anyone other than event hosts and venue staff. No attendees, speakers, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, staff, service providers, and other individuals subject to this Safety & Responsibility Policy shall provide alcohol, in any form, at any CAI events or programs.

Serving, providing, or use of any illegal substances is strictly prohibited at CAI-hosted events and programs. CAI and the event hosts and staff shall have the right to require a participant serving, providing, or using any illegal substance to leave the event at the discretion of either CAI or the event host.

Guns at Chapter Events

The possession or use of any gun or other weapon is strictly prohibited at CAI-hosted events and programs. CAI and the event hosts and staff shall have the right to require a participant possessing or using any gun or other weapon to leave the event at the discretion of either CAI or the event host.

Personal Safety and Security

All CAI participants are asked to report any questionable or concerning activity to CAI staff so that they can take immediate action. No concern is too small, if you see something, say something. In addition, CAI strongly recommends that all participants:

Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Use the buddy system when walking to and from the event venue or networking event locations during early or late hours.
Do not wear your meeting name badge on the street. Take it off as soon as you leave the building/venue.
Do not leave personal property unattended anywhere, anytime. CAI is not responsible for lost or stolen property at any CAI events.

If it is an emergency or if you need immediate assistance, you should call 911 and thereafter, you should ask any CAI staff member or the on-site security personnel, if any, to help you.

Unacceptable Behavior

The following shall be considered a non-exhaustive list of unacceptable behavior at any CAI-hosted events and programs that may subject a participant to removal:

Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
Coercion based upon a position as a board member, committee member or any position of influence
Physical or verbal abuse, lewd or threatening conduct of or towards any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, staff member, service provider, or other individual.
Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to, bullying, verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
Disruption of presentations at sessions, in the exhibit hall, or at other events organized by CAI at the event or meeting venue, hotels, or other CAI-contracted facilities.

CAI has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment by participants or our staff at our events. If you experience harassment or hear of any incidents of unacceptable behavior, CAI asks that you inform the Chapter Executive Director so that we can take the appropriate action.
CAI reserves the right to take any action deemed to be necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the event without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and to censure, suspend, expel and to terminate members in accordance with CAI’s Bylaws for any violations of this policy.

CHAPTER CODE OF CONDUCT

In order to promote high standards of conduct and ethics, and to promote respect and professionalism among members, the chapter Board of Directors has adopted this Code of Conduct and encourages all members and attendees at chapter functions to comply with this code.

1. Chapter members and attendees at chapter functions are expected to maintain high standards of conduct and treat fellow attendees, participants, sponsors, exhibitors and speakers with respect at all chapter functions and meetings.

2. Chapter members and attendees at chapter functions will address each other with respect even in circumstances of disagreement.

3. Attendees will act with the highest ethical standards, recognizing that whenever competitors within an industry gather, appropriate care must be exercised to ensure that violations of anti-trust laws do not occur. All participants in any chapter function or meeting should avoid any collusive practices or discussions. Collusion is an agreement to restrain trade and most usually is evidenced in the following anti-trust violations: product boycott, restrictive market allocations, refusal to deal with a third party, and price restraining activities. There need not be written or verbal agreements to restrain trade. Conversation regarding any of these sensitive areas may be construed as implicit violations.

4. Chapter members and attendees at chapter functions are discouraged from making inaccurate or misleading representations or statements to current or potential clients, or disparaging statements about fellow members, competitors or attendees.

5. Chapter members and attendees at chapter functions are encouraged to be aware of and avoid any real or apparent conflicts of interest in performing their duties and obligations and to promptly disclose any such conflicts.

6. While the chapter does not restrain the exchange of business cards at any chapter function, attendees should display respect towards the function’s sponsors. Only sponsors of an individual program may distribute company literature or otherwise promote their company during a sponsored event. Please refer to CAI’s anti-suitcasing policy.

7. The chapter encourages members to refrain from criticizing peers and/or competitors or their business practices and to maintain a healthy and professional relationship with other members of the chapter and industry at large.

8. Members with any CAI professional certification or designation are expected to honor their oath to abide by CAI’s Professional Code of Ethics or other code of conduct associated with such designation. Any chapter member or attendee at a chapter function who believes a member with a CAI designation may have violated the CAI Code of Ethics is encouraged to report such violation to the national office.

9. Chapter members and attendees at chapter functions shall meet all financial obligations of participation in various chapter activities and functions in a timely fashion and according to any terms listed on chapter invoices.

10. Violations of this code may be grounds for the chapter Board of Directors to designate a chapter member as “not in good standing,” and to be afforded the loss of rights and privileges that accompany such designation. Under the chapter by-laws, the chapter Board of Directors has the power to suspend members for nonpayment of dues, fees, assessments and other financial obligations to the Chapter or to CAI and further has the power to censure, to suspend, to expel and to terminate members in accordance with CAI’s Bylaws.

11. Complaints regarding alleged violations of this code of conduct may be made only by a member of the Illinois Chapter of CAI. Notices of alleged violations other than those raised during an event must be in writing, signed by the member making the complaint and submitted to the Executive Director of the chapter in care of the chapter office. The Executive Director shall report the violation to the executive committee, which shall have sole authority to investigate the complaint and administer due process within a reasonable period of time. The executive committee will report its findings and a recommendation for action on the complaint to the chapter board of directors. The chapter board of directors will accept or reject the recommendation of the executive committee and the chapter president shall notify the parties involved as to the actions taken by the chapter board.

Payment/Cancellation Policy

All member activities/benefits including advertising, event sponsorships and program and event registrations must be pre-paid before usage. Advertising space and sponsor benefits cannot be guaranteed until full payment is received. At each event, if attendance is not pre-paid, admittance will not be allowed.

Invoices will be dated as of the date the invoice is created.
Invoices are due upon receipt and delinquent 30 days thereafter. Invoices may be paid by check, money order or credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express).
No refunds shall be issued for an event registration unless notice of the cancellation is received ten (10) days prior to the date of the event. This refund policy applies to all Chapter events unless an event specific refund policy exists and is expressly stated in the event registration form.
All sponsorships including event, program and annual partnerships are not refundable.
Sponsorships are granted on a first come and paid basis. All details subject to change according to sponsorship attained and event planning needs of CAI-IL.
No refunds shall be issued for advertising cancellations unless a written notice of the cancellation is received in the Chapter office prior to the advertising closing date.
All unpaid balances will incur a $25.00 late fee per month past due.

Annual Partner Policy

Submission of commitment forms must be received by December 15 to take full advantage of benefits for the following year.
Annual Partners will be invoiced as stated in the Annual Partner contract, but payments must be received before applicable activity dates or participation will not be allowed.
Organizations with past due balances are required to pay the past due balance in full prior to partnership forms being processed.
If funds are sent for partnership prior to settling past due balances, the monies will be credited to the past due balance first and partnership fees will remain unpaid. Partners shall be responsible for all expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by CAI to collect any past due amounts.
The Illinois Chapter of CAI will not be liable for incidental or consequential damages, including loss of profits or other business damages resulting from errors or omissions or other breaches of contract regarding this partnership. Partner agrees that any damages will be limited to the amount of selected partnership item.
Annual Partners must register for events and submit insertion orders to utilize partner credits. All unused partner or advertising credits expire on December 31 of the partnership year. No partnership credits will be carried over into future years.

Photo Policy

Attendance at CAI events authorizes CAI to use photographs or video of the event for promotional purposes, which may include attendees’ images, To opt out please contact the chapter office.

Attendee Lists

CAI Illinois may share attendee registration lists with program sponsors. To remove your information from these lists, please notify the chapter office.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy

Community Associations Institute is committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion a core aspect in our membership, on our staffs, and within the community association housing model at large. We firmly believe in the unique strengths of every individual and that diversity makes organizations more successful and communities more fulfilling. By actively cultivating diversity, we benefit from a vastly richer mix of ideas, perspectives, and life experiences that expand our thinking and our possibilities. We strive to foster a culture of discovery, innovation, and service as we continue to focus on our mission to build better communities.

Chapter Policies