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91_SB1184
LRB9106167SMmb
1 AN ACT to amend the Housing Authorities Act by changing
2 Section 3.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Housing Authorities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 3 as follows:
7 (310 ILCS 10/3) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 3)
8 Sec. 3. The governing body of any city, village or
9 incorporated town having more than 25,000 inhabitants, or of
10 any county of this State, may, by resolution, determine that
11 there is need for a housing authority in the city, village,
12 incorporated town or county. Upon adoption, the resolution
13 shall be forwarded to the Department together with a
14 statement of reasons or findings supporting the resolution.
15 The Department shall thereupon issue a certificate to the
16 presiding officer of the city, village, incorporated town or
17 county for the creation of an authority if it shall find (a)
18 that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwelling accommodations
19 exist in the city, village, incorporated town or county, and
20 (b) that there is a shortage of safe or sanitary and
21 affordable dwelling accommodations in the city, village,
22 incorporated town or county available to persons who lack the
23 amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the
24 Department) to enable them without financial assistance to
25 live in decent, safe and sanitary and affordable dwellings
26 without over-crowding. In determining whether dwelling
27 accommodations are unsafe or unsanitary the Department may
28 take into consideration the degree of over-crowding, the
29 percentage of land coverage, the light, air, space and access
30 available to the inhabitants of such dwelling accommodations,
31 the size and arrangement of the rooms, the sanitary
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1 facilities and the extent to which conditions exist in the
2 buildings which endanger life or property by fire or other
3 causes. In making its determination, the Department may also
4 consider whether or not the needs of the applicant are
5 currently being met by an existing housing authority. The
6 Department may also take into consideration whether or not
7 the creation of a new housing authority would be an
8 unnecessary duplication of services.
9 As soon as possible after the issuance of a certificate
10 by the Department the presiding officer of the city, village,
11 incorporated town or county shall appoint, with the approval
12 of the governing body of the unit of local government, 7 5
13 commissioners with initial terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 6 and
14 7 years, except as follows:
15 (i) for the Housing Authority in any municipality
16 having over 500,000 inhabitants, the presiding officer
17 shall appoint 7 commissioners, with initial terms of 4
18 and 5 years for the 2 additional commissioners authorized
19 and appointed under this amendatory Act of 1982, and the
20 presiding officer shall designate one commissioner as
21 Chairman of the Authority; and
22 (ii) if a county has at least 80,000 but fewer than
23 90,000 inhabitants according to the 1990 federal
24 decennial census, then the Housing Authority in any
25 municipality in the county may have 7 commissioners
26 appointed by the presiding officer of the municipality,
27 with initial terms of 4 and 5 years for the 2 additional
28 commissioners authorized and appointed in accordance with
29 this amendatory Act of 1993; and
30 (iii) if a county has at least 170,000 but fewer
31 than 500,000 inhabitants, according to the 1990 Federal
32 decennial census, then the county board may, with respect
33 to one or more commissioners, cede powers of appointment,
34 confirmation, and removal of those commissioners to one
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1 or more municipalities within the county by
2 intergovernmental agreement.
3 In cases where a county of more than 500,000 but less
4 than 3 million population is the area of operation of an
5 Authority, the presiding officer of the county board of the
6 county shall appoint 7 commissioners to the housing
7 authority, 2 of whom may be members of that county board.
8 The county members appointed to the Authority under this
9 Section shall serve such term or until termination of their
10 county board service, whichever first occurs. Upon the
11 approval by the governing body of the appointments, the
12 presiding officer shall cause a certificate of such
13 appointments and of its approval thereof to be filed in the
14 office in which deeds of property in the area of operation
15 are recorded, and upon filing the persons so appointed and
16 approved shall be fully constituted an Authority.
17 At the expiration of the term of each commissioner, and
18 of each succeeding commissioner, or in the event of a
19 vacancy, the presiding officer shall appoint a commissioner,
20 subject to the approval of the governing body as aforesaid,
21 to hold office, in the case of a vacancy for the unexpired
22 term, or in the case of expiration for a term of five years,
23 or until his successor shall have been appointed and
24 qualified. Each appointment shall be effective upon the
25 filing by the presiding officer of a certificate of
26 appointment in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in the
27 County where the Authority is located.
28 In case a county is the area of operation of an
29 Authority, the area shall not be deemed to include any city,
30 village, or incorporated town within the county within which
31 an Authority at that time exists. If thereafter an Authority
32 is organized with respect to any city, village, or
33 incorporated town within the county, the county Authority
34 shall have no power to initiate any further project within
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1 the city, village, or incorporated town. However, if there
2 are any existing projects within the city, village or
3 incorporated town currently owned and operated by the county
4 Authority they shall remain in the county Authority's
5 ownership, custody and control.
6 Every commissioner shall be a resident of the area of
7 operation of the Authority; provided, that in respect to an
8 Authority created for a county, residence in any city,
9 village or incorporated town within such county shall not be
10 a disqualification for appointment as a Commissioner for such
11 county Authority notwithstanding that such city, village or
12 incorporated town may be excluded from the area of operation
13 of such Authority. Any public officer shall be eligible to
14 serve as a commissioner, and the acceptance of appointment as
15 such shall not terminate nor impair his public office, the
16 provision of any statute to the contrary notwithstanding; but
17 no member of the Department shall be eligible to serve as a
18 commissioner, nor shall more than two public officers be
19 commissioners of the same Authority at one time; Provided,
20 that membership on any Authority at the same time of more
21 than two public officers shall not affect or impair the
22 validity of any Act undertaken or power exercised by the
23 Authority pursuant to Law. The term "public officer" as
24 herein used means a person holding a state or local
25 governmental office required to be filled by the vote of
26 electors, and for which provision is made by law for the
27 payment of annual compensation from public funds.
28 Except as otherwise provided, all provisions of this Act
29 shall apply to a Housing Authority established for more than
30 one county, and, unless the context shall otherwise indicate,
31 the word county shall be construed also to mean counties. An
32 Authority may subsequently be established separately for any
33 one or more counties, by compliance with the terms of this
34 Act, and, if an Authority is established, it shall take over
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1 all property and obligations, within the county or counties,
2 of the Authority previously including it or them within its
3 area of operation, and the Authority shall have no further
4 jurisdiction within the territory of the county or counties,
5 but nothing herein shall affect the power of a Housing
6 Authority to operate outside its area of operation, as
7 provided by Section 30. Subsection (b) of Section 17 shall
8 apply to a Housing Authority created under the provisions of
9 this Section. In all cases in which a Housing Authority
10 embraces the territory of more than one county, each county
11 shall have, within its territory, the powers conferred by
12 Section 29, and by the Housing Cooperation Law.
13 In addition to the commissioners provided for in this
14 Section, there are created 3 additional commissioner
15 positions for each housing authority of a municipality of
16 more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. These new commissioners
17 shall be appointed from current residents of the housing
18 authority and shall be appointed from a list presented to the
19 appointing authority by official tenants' associations of
20 residents of the housing authority. A tenants' association
21 is "official" if it satisfies the requirements of a Resident
22 Council/Resident Organization/Resident Management
23 Organization established by the federal Department of Housing
24 and Urban Development. This paragraph shall not apply to
25 housing authorities in jurisdictions where no official
26 tenants' associations exist. However, upon the creation of
27 an official association, the new commissioner positions shall
28 be created 6 months thereafter.
29 Each tenants' association shall determine the method of
30 choosing residents to be recommended for appointment.
31 Tenants' associations may act in unison in recommending
32 residents for appointment.
33 In units of local government of more than 1,000,000
34 inhabitants, each tenants' association shall submit not more
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1 than 2 residents for consideration. If associations act in
2 unison, they may submit a number representing 2 names for
3 each association. The appointing authority shall make the
4 appointments within 45 days of receiving the recommendations.
5 A Housing Authority created under the preceding terms of
6 this Section shall be designated as the Housing Authority of
7 the city, village, incorporated town, county, or of the
8 several counties within its area of operation.
9 Any 2 or more home rule municipalities within the same
10 county may create a housing authority by intergovernmental
11 agreement. The agreement shall be for an indefinite
12 duration. If a housing authority is created by 2 or more
13 home rule municipalities under this paragraph, appointments
14 and confirmation of commissioners to the board and removal of
15 commissioners from the board shall be made as set forth in
16 the agreement. The agreement may include, in addition to
17 other terms and conditions governing the operation of the
18 board, provisions that increase the number of commissioners
19 otherwise authorized by this Act to a number no greater than
20 9. The agreement also may provide for staggered terms for
21 the commissioners and for the length of the commissioners'
22 initial terms. An intergovernmental agreement between 2 or
23 more home rule municipalities creating a housing authority
24 may include other terms the municipalities deem desirable.
25 The terms may include reporting and oversight requirements
26 binding on the housing authority board agreed upon by the
27 parties. This paragraph shall not be construed as a
28 limitation on home rule municipalities.
29 (Source: P.A. 88-319; 89-351, eff. 1-1-96.)
30 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
31 becoming law.
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