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91_HB2008eng
HB2008 Engrossed LRB9104634DHmg
1 AN ACT creating the 25th Avenue Railroad Relocation and
2 Redevelopment Authority.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 25th Avenue Railroad Relocation and Development Authority
7 Act.
8 Section 5. Legislative declaration. The General
9 Assembly declares that the welfare, health, prosperity, and
10 moral and general well being of the people of the State are,
11 in large measure, dependent upon the sound and orderly
12 development of municipal areas. The Village of Bellwood and
13 the Village of Melrose Park, by reason of the location
14 therein of 25th Avenue and its use for vehicular travel in
15 access to the entire west metropolitan Chicago area,
16 including municipalities in 2 counties, as well as commercial
17 and industrial growth patterns and accessibility to O'Hare
18 International Airport, Midway Airport, manufacturing, and
19 freight related facilities, have become and will increasingly
20 be the hub of transportation from all parts of the region and
21 throughout the west metropolitan area. Motor vehicle
22 traffic, pedestrian travel, and the safety of both motorists
23 and pedestrians are substantially aggravated by the location
24 of a major railroad right of way that divides the Village of
25 Bellwood and the Village of Melrose Park. Additionally,
26 certain development opportunities may exist in the project
27 area that would stabilize and enhance the tax base of
28 existing communities, maintain and revitalize existing
29 commerce and industry, create opportunities for intersurface
30 modal transportation efficiencies, and promote comprehensive
31 planning within and between communities. This area is
32 characterized now by deleterious land uses, aged,
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1 dilapidated, and poorly arranged buildings, deteriorated and
2 inadequate infrastructure, and blight. The presence of the
3 railroad right of way at the 25th Avenue grade crossing is
4 detrimental to the orderly expansion of industry and commerce
5 and to progress of the region. To alleviate this situation
6 it is necessary to relocate the railroad tracks and right of
7 way on 25th Avenue, to separate the grades at crossing, to
8 acquire property for relocation or submergence of the
9 railroad or highways, to create an agency to facilitate and
10 accomplish that relocation, and to direct infrastructure and
11 development improvements in the 25th Avenue vicinity between
12 St. Charles Road and Lake Street.
13 Section 10. Creation; duration. There is created a body
14 politic and corporate, a unit of local government, named the
15 25th Avenue Railroad Relocation and Development Authority,
16 embracing that portion of Proviso Township embracing that
17 portion of the Village of Bellwood and the Village of Melrose
18 Park from St. Charles Road on the South to Lake Street on the
19 North, and from the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad on the West
20 to 22nd Avenue on the East, Cook County, Illinois. The
21 Authority shall continue in existence until the
22 accomplishment of its objective, the relocation of the
23 railroad tracks and 25th Avenue, the grade separation of
24 railroads from the right of way and at-grade crossing
25 closures within the Village of Bellwood and the Village of
26 Melrose Park, and the establishment of a transit-oriented
27 intersurface modal development facility in the project area,
28 or until the Authority officially resolves that it is
29 impossible or economically unfeasible to fulfill that
30 objective.
31 Section 15. Intergovernmental tax increment allocation
32 redevelopment. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the
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1 25th Avenue Railroad Relocation and Development Authority
2 from entering into agreements by and between the Village of
3 Bellwood and the Village of Melrose Park for the purposes of
4 establishing one or more intergovernmental tax increment
5 finance districts as provided in the Illinois Municipal Code.
6 Section 20. Board; composition; qualification;
7 compensation and expenses. The Authority shall be governed
8 by a board consisting of 5 members. The members of the
9 Authority shall serve without compensation, but may be
10 reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by them in the
11 performance of duties prescribed by the Authority. However,
12 any member of the Authority who serves as secretary or
13 treasurer may receive compensation for services as that
14 officer.
15 Section 25. Appointments; tenure; oaths; vacancies. The
16 members of the Authority shall be appointed by the Governor,
17 who shall give notice of the member's selection to each other
18 member within 10 days after selection and before the member's
19 entering upon the duties of office. Two of the members shall
20 be recommended to the Governor from a list of 3 candidates
21 provided by the village president of the Village of Bellwood,
22 and 2 of the members shall be recommended to the Governor
23 from a list of 3 candidates provided by the village president
24 of the Village of Melrose Park. The office of chairman shall
25 rotate annually and shall represent the Village of Bellwood,
26 the Village of Melrose Park, and the Governor's appointments,
27 respectively, for each of the 3 years of the term of office.
28 Each representative member of the Authority shall take and
29 subscribe to the constitutional oath of office and file it
30 with the Secretary of State. If a vacancy occurs by death,
31 resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled by the
32 appropriate selecting party. All appointments of members
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1 shall be for a 3-year term. Each member shall continue to
2 serve an additional 3-year term unless that member is
3 replaced by appointment within 60 days of the end of his or
4 her term.
5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6 becoming law.
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