The Board approved the restructuring of the Infraction and Sanctions Guidelines at the September meeting. The new guidelines will go into effect November 1.
The key changes to the infractions and sanctions include:
• current Infractions and Sanctions Matrix and Infractions and Sanctions Guidelines will be replaced by
one document which is available on the website under Resources>Members>Infractions and Sanctions Guidelines for easy member and coordinator reference
• infraction classification categories have expanded from three (Levels 0-2) to five (Levels 0-4) to more effectively group related infractions at the same level, not to create more infractions
• first incident for unscheduled ushers, unauthorized substitute ushers, and unscheduled “friends” accompanying a scheduled usher will be subject to a venue ban rather than to a written warning
• sanctions for repeat incidents in a specific category will escalate over two years, not over four years (infractions and sanctions imposed in 2024-25 will be relevant in 2025-26)
There is a new “Special Consideration” category for behavior which does not neatly fall into existing “Levels.” If a member’s behavior warrants “special consideration,” a decision to apply a sanction will be reviewed and decided by the Saints President, Coordinator Liaison, and Regulations Administrator.
The new document is lengthier and more detailed in comparison to the existing “Matrix” to provide members a fuller understanding of behavior subject to sanctions, sanctions applied to each category, and infractions which can be appealed and those which cannot. Misunderstandings have resulted among both members and coordinators due to the Matrix’s brevity.
Before the new Infractions and Sanctions Guidelines document appears on the website under “Resources” on November 1, 2025, you can preview it
here.
If you have any questions, please direct them to the Regulations Administrator, Mary Christel, at
regadmin@saintschicago.org.