(75 ILCS 10/8.1) (from Ch. 81, par. 118.1)

Sec. 8.1. The State Librarian shall make grants annually under this Section to all qualified public libraries in the State from funds appropriated by the General Assembly. Such grants shall be in the amount of up to $1.475 per capita for the population of the area served by the respective public library and, in addition, the amount of up to $0.19 per capita to libraries serving populations over 500,000 under the Illinois Major Urban Library Program. If the moneys appropriated for grants under this Section fail to meet the $1.475 and the $0.19 per capita amounts above, the funding shall be decreased pro rata so that qualifying public libraries receive the same amount per capita. If the moneys appropriated for grants under this Section exceed the $1.475 and the $0.19 per capita amounts above, the funding shall be increased pro rata so that qualifying public libraries receive the same amount per capita.

To be eligible for grants under this Section, a public library must:

(1) Provide, as determined by the State Librarian, library services which either meet or show progress toward meeting the Illinois library standards, as most recently adopted by the Illinois Library Association.

(2) Be a public library for which is levied a tax for library purposes at a rate not less than .13% or a county library for which is levied a tax for library purposes at a rate not less than .07%. If a library is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code and its tax levy for library purposes has been lowered to a rate of less than .13%, this requirement will be waived if the library qualified for this grant in the previous year and if the tax levied for library purposes in the current year produces tax revenue for library purposes that is an increase over the previous year's extension of 5% or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. Beginning in State Fiscal Year 2012, the eligibility requirement in this subsection shall be waived if a library's tax levy for library purposes has been lowered to a rate of less than 0.13%, and the State Librarian determines that the library (i) continues to meet the requirements of item (1) of this Section and (ii) received a grant under this Section in the previous fiscal year.

Any other language in this Section to the contrary notwithstanding, grants under this Section 8.1 shall be made only upon application of the public library concerned, which applications shall be entirely voluntary and within the sole discretion of the public library concerned.

In order to be eligible for a grant under this Section, the corporate authorities, in lieu of a tax levy at a particular rate, may provide funds from other sources, an amount equivalent to the amount to be produced by that levy.

(Source: P.A. 102-39, eff. 6-25-21.)