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92nd General Assembly

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Public Act 92-0679

HB4956 Enrolled                                LRB9215931REpk

    AN ACT in relation to transportation.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The  State  Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.570 as follows:

    (30 ILCS 105/5.570 new)
    Sec. 5.570.  The McKinley Bridge Fund.

    Section 10. The  Illinois  Highway  Code  is  amended  by
changing  Section  10-102    and  adding  Section 10-102.1 as
follows:

    (605 ILCS 5/10-102) (from Ch. 121, par. 10-102)
    Sec. 10-102. Before acquiring any bridge  or  part  of  a
bridge  and  its  approaches  as provided in this Division of
this Article,  the  Department  shall  ascertain,  except  as
otherwise  provided  in Section 10-102.1, that the bridge and
its approaches are structurally sound and in a good state  of
repair, that all bonds or other obligations issued to finance
the  cost  of  constructing  or  acquiring the bridge and its
approaches have been fully  retired  and  that  all  interest
charges in connection therewith have been fully paid and that
there  are  no mortgages, liens or encumbrances of any nature
outstanding against the bridge and its approaches or the real
property acquired in connection therewith, and, in  case  the
bridge  is  across  a  navigable  stream,  that  authority to
construct, maintain and operate the bridge and approaches was
granted by Act of Congress and that the Act, or a  subsequent
Act or Acts of Congress in connection therewith, granted full
authority  to sell, assign or transfer all rights, powers and
privileges conferred by the Act of Congress.  The  conveyance
shall  be  by warranty deed and run to the State of Illinois.
The conveyance shall include any interest  in  real  property
acquired  in connection with the bridge, and shall assign and
transfer to the  State  all  rights,  powers  and  privileges
conferred  by  any Act or Acts of Congress in connection with
the bridge and approaches.
(Source: Laws 1959, p. 196.)

    (605 ILCS 5/10-102.1 new)
    Sec. 10-102.1. Transfer of McKinley Bridge.
    (a)  Findings. The General Assembly makes  the  following
findings:
         (1)  The    McKinley   Bridge,   which   spans   the
    Mississippi River between Venice, Illinois and St. Louis,
    Missouri, has historically played an  important  role  in
    the regional highway transportation system by carrying as
    many  as  15,000  vehicles  per  day over the Mississippi
    River, with the majority  of  that  traffic  during  rush
    hour.
         (2)  The  City  of  Venice,  Illinois  has owned and
    operated the McKinley Bridge as a toll bridge since 1958.
         (3)  The City of Venice has not been able to collect
    sufficient toll revenue from the McKinley Bridge to  meet
    the cost of operating it.
         (4)  The  McKinley  Bridge  has  deteriorated to the
    point that  the  Illinois  Department  of  Transportation
    closed  it to vehicular traffic due to safety concerns on
    October 30, 2001.
         (5)  The  City  of  Venice  wants  to  transfer  the
    McKinley Bridge to the State of Illinois and the State of
    Missouri.
         (6)  The City of Venice does not have the  financial
    resources  to  defease outstanding toll revenue bonds and
    repair  the  McKinley  Bridge  to  a  structurally  sound
    condition.
    (b)  Transfer of funds. The  Department  shall  determine
the  sum  of  the  amounts  owing  on  all  outstanding bonds
relating to the McKinley Bridge and certify that sum  to  the
Comptroller.  The  Comptroller shall transfer 50% of that sum
or $2,100,000, whichever is less, from the Road Fund  to  the
McKinley  Bridge  Fund,  which is hereby created as a special
fund in the State Treasury. All amounts not expended  by  the
Department as provided in this Section shall be retransferred
to the Road Fund.
    (c)  Payment  by  Department.  Subject  to appropriation,
moneys in the  McKinley  Bridge  Fund  may  be  used  by  the
Department for the purpose of paying or reimbursing up to 50%
of   the   sum  of  the  amounts  necessary  to  defease  all
outstanding bonds relating to the McKinley Bridge.
    (d)  Transfer  of  bridge.  Upon  the  payment   of   all
outstanding  bonds, the release of all liens, and the payment
or release of all debts and other  encumbrances  relating  to
the McKinley Bridge, the City of Venice, or the current owner
or   owners,   shall  convey  the  McKinley  Bridge  and  all
associated improvements, including approaches  and  roadways,
to   the   Department   and   the   Missouri   Department  of
Transportation, jointly. The Department may not  acquire  the
McKinley  Bridge until all of the outstanding bonds have been
paid in full, all of the liens have been  released,  and  all
other  debts and encumbrances relating to the McKinley Bridge
have  been  paid   in   full   or   otherwise   extinguished.
Notwithstanding  any provision in Section 10-102 or any other
provision of this Code to the contrary,  the  Department  may
acquire   the   McKinley  Bridge  pursuant  to  this  Section
regardless of whether it or its approaches  are  structurally
sound and in a good state of repair.
    (e)  Intergovernmental   agreements.  The  Department  is
authorized to enter  into  agreements  with  units  of  local
government within this State, with the State of Missouri, and
with units of local government in Missouri, and to enter into
any  other  agreements  necessary or appropriate to carry out
the provisions of this Section.

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act  takes  effect  upon
becoming law.
    Passed in the General Assembly May 07, 2002.
    Approved July 16, 2002.
    Effective July 16, 2002.

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