CHAMPAIGN — When it comes to dealing with city council issues or constituents during business hours, incoming mayor Don Gerard and District 5 representative Paul Faraci may already be at a disadvantage.

Their hands are tied by state ethics laws: They cannot take calls, return emails or meet with voters while they are being compensated in their roles as full-time state employees. But Faraci said it is not going to hamper his city council work.

The two are the only council members who work in government jobs. While someone in a private industry might not curry favor with a boss if by engaging in council-related business at work, that person is not bound by state law like Gerard and Faraci.

The other seven council members have full-time jobs outside of government: Will Kyles is a sanitation auditor at Kraft, Michael La Due works at Jon's Pipe Shop, Kyle Harrison is a Realtor, and Karen Foster is a preschool teacher for First Baptist Church in Savoy, to name a few.

The law prohibits state employees from engaging in political activity or campaigning while using state resources. Resources would include phones, computers, email accounts and their own time, for example. State employees must also complete annual ethics training to ensure they understand the law.

Faraci said he cannot imagine a situation where his response as a city council member would be a requirement urgent enough to conflict with his work as a region manager at the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

He said he will just have to save the council-related calls and emails until after 5 p.m. And if an event requires his physical presence, he has vacation time.

"I think the only difference is, if something comes up, I have to take time off," Faraci said.

Faraci said he was careful to monitor his state time and his election-related activities during his campaign. He said he took vacation from April 4 to April 8 the week of the election.

Gerard took vacation time from his job as a facilities manager at the University of Illinois on the day before, the day of and the day after the April 5 election, according to time sheets which The News-Gazette obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

Gerard took a full day of vacation Feb. 16, the day he hosted a forum involving local business leaders and union representatives, among others. He also took two hours of vacation on Nov. 18, the day he officially filed papers in the city clerk's office to enter the mayoral race.

Whether or not the time off listed on his UI time sheets was directly connected to the campaign events is not certain — Gerard did not meet with The News-Gazette to discuss his upcoming mayoral tenure after three weeks' worth of requests from the newspaper.

According to UI spokesman Tom Hardy, Gerard is current on the mandatory ethics training all UI employees are required to complete annually.