Public Act 100-0921
 
SB0452 EnrolledLRB100 04894 MLM 14904 b



    AN ACT concerning education.

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






 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by changing Section 
5-1 as follows:
 



    (105 ILCS 5/5-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 5-1)


    Sec. 5-1. County school units. 

    (a) The territory in each county, exclusive of
any school 
district governed by any special act which requires the 
district
to appoint its own school treasurer, shall constitute 
a county school unit.
County school units of less than 
2,000,000 inhabitants shall be known as
Class I county school 
units and the office of township trustees, where
existing on 
July 1, 1962, in such units shall be abolished on that date and

all books and records of such former township trustees shall be 
forthwith
thereafter transferred to the county board of school 
trustees. County
school units of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants 
shall be known as Class II
county school units and shall retain 
the office of township trustees
unless otherwise provided in 
subsection (b) or (c).

    (b) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the
school 
board of any elementary school district having a fall, 1989

aggregate enrollment of at least 2,500 but less than 6,500 
pupils and
having boundaries that are coterminous with the 
boundaries of a high school
district, and the school board of 
any high school district having a fall,
1989 aggregate 
enrollment of at least 2,500 but less than 6,500 pupils and

having boundaries that are coterminous with the boundaries of 
an elementary
school district, may, whenever the territory of 
such school district forms
a part of a Class II county school

unit, by proper resolution withdraw such school district from 
the
jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of 
the township in
which such school district is located and from 
the jurisdiction and
authority of the township treasurer in 
such Class II county school unit;
provided that the school 
board of any such school district shall, upon the
adoption and 
passage of such resolution, thereupon elect or appoint its own

school treasurer as provided in Section 8-1.  Upon the adoption 
and passage
of such resolution and the election or appointment 
by the school board of
its own school treasurer: (1) the 
trustees of schools in such township
shall no longer have or 
exercise any powers and duties with respect to the
school 
district governed by such school board or with respect to the 
school
business, operations or assets of such school district; 
and (2) all books
and
records of the township trustees relating 
to the school business and
affairs of such school district 
shall be transferred and delivered to the
school board of such 
school district.  Upon the effective date of this
amendatory Act 
of 1993, the legal title to, and all right, title
and interest

formerly held by the township trustees in any school buildings 
and
school sites
used and occupied by the school board of such 
school district for school
purposes, that legal title, right, 
title and interest thereafter having
been transferred to and 
vested in the regional
board
of school trustees under P.A. 
87-473 until the abolition of that regional
board of school 
trustees by P.A. 87-969, shall be deemed transferred by

operation of law to and shall vest in the school board of that 
school
district.

    Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the school boards 
of Oak Park & River Forest District 200, Oak Park Elementary 
School District 97, and River Forest School District 90 may, by 
proper resolution, withdraw from the jurisdiction and 
authority of the trustees of schools of Proviso and Cicero 
Townships and the township treasurer, provided that the school 
board shall, upon the adoption and passage of the resolution, 
elect or appoint its own school treasurer as provided in 
Section 8-1 of this Code.  Upon the adoption and passage of the 
resolution and the election or appointment by the school board 
of its own school treasurer: (1) the trustees of schools in the 
township or townships shall no longer have or exercise any 
powers or duties with respect to the school district or with 
respect to the school  business, operations, or assets of the 
school district; (2) all books and records of the  trustees of 
schools and all moneys, securities, loanable funds, and other 
assets relating to the school business and affairs of the 
school district shall be transferred and delivered to the 
school board; and (3) all legal title to and all right, title, 
and interest formerly held by the trustees of schools in any 
common school lands, school buildings, or school sites used and 
occupied by the school board and all rights of property and 
causes of action pertaining to or constituting a part of the 
common school lands, buildings, or sites shall be deemed 
transferred by operation of law to and shall vest in the school 
board.

    Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the respective 
school boards of Berwyn North School District 98, Berwyn South 
School District 100, Cicero School District 99, and J.S. Morton 
High School District 201 may, by proper resolution, withdraw 
from the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools 
of Cicero Township and the township treasurer, provided that 
the school board shall, upon the adoption and passage of the 
resolution, elect or appoint its own school treasurer as 
provided in Section 8-1 of this Code.  Upon the adoption and 
passage of the resolution and the election or appointment by 
the school board of its own school treasurer: (1) the trustees 
of schools in the township shall no longer have or exercise any 
powers or duties with respect to the school district or with 
respect to the school  business, operations, or assets of the 
school district; (2) all books and records of the  trustees of 
schools and all moneys, securities, loanable funds, and other 
assets relating to the school business and affairs of the 
school district shall be transferred and delivered to the 
school board; and (3) all legal title to and all right, title, 
and interest formerly held by the trustees of schools in any 
common school lands, school buildings, or school sites used and 
occupied by the school board and all rights of property and 
causes of action pertaining to or constituting a part of the 
common school lands, buildings, or sites shall be deemed 
transferred by operation of law to and shall vest in the school 
board.

    Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c) of this Section and 
upon final judgment, including the exhaustion of all appeals or 
a settlement between all parties, regarding claims set forth in 
the case of Township Trustees of Schools Township 38 North, 
Range 12 East v. Lyons Township High School District No. 204 
case N. 13 CH 23386 pending in 2018 in the Circuit Court of 
Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division, 
and all related pending claims, the
school board of Lyons 
Township High School District 204 may commence, by proper 
resolution, to withdraw  from the jurisdiction and authority of 
the trustees of schools of Lyons Township and the township 
treasurer, provided that
the school board shall, upon the 
adoption and passage of the
resolution, elect or appoint its 
own school treasurer as
provided in Section 8-1 of this Code. 
Upon the adoption and
passage of the resolution and the 
election or appointment by
the school board of its own school 
treasurer commencing with the first day of the succeeding 
fiscal year, but not prior to July 1, 2019: (1) the trustees  of 
schools in the township shall no longer have or exercise any  
powers or duties with respect to the school district or with  
respect to the school business, operations, or assets of the  
school district; (2) all books and records of the trustees of

schools and all moneys, securities, loanable funds, and other

assets relating to the school business and affairs of the

school district shall be transferred and delivered to the

school board, allowing for a reasonable period of  time not to 
exceed 90 days to liquidate any pooled investments; and (3) all 
legal title to and all right, title,
and interest formerly held 
by the trustees of schools in any
common school lands, school 
buildings, or school sites used and
occupied by the school 
board and all rights of property and
causes of action 
pertaining to or constituting a part of the
common school 
lands, buildings, or sites shall be deemed
transferred by 
operation of law to and shall vest in the school
board. The 
changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 
100th General Assembly are prospective only, starting from the 
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General 
Assembly, and shall not affect any legal action pending on the 
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General 
Assembly in the Illinois courts in which Lyons Township High 
School District 204 is a listed party.
    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the 
offices of
township treasurer and trustee of schools of any 
township located in a Class
II county school unit shall be 
abolished as provided in this subsection
if all of the 
following conditions are met:

        (1) During the same 30 day period, each school board of 
    each
elementary and unit school district that is subject to 
    the jurisdiction and
authority of the township treasurer 
    and trustees of schools of the township
in which those 
    offices are sought to be abolished gives written notice by

    certified mail, return receipt requested to the township 
    treasurer and
trustees of schools of that township of the 
    date of a meeting of the school
board, to be held not more 
    than 90 nor less than 60 days after the date
when the 
    notice is given, at which meeting the school board is to 
    consider
and vote upon the question of whether there shall 
    be submitted to the
electors of the school district a 
    proposition to abolish the offices of
township treasurer 
    and trustee of schools of that township.  None of the

    notices given under this paragraph to the township 
    treasurer and trustees
of schools of a township shall be 
    deemed sufficient or in compliance with
the requirements of 
    this paragraph unless all of those notices are given
within 
    the same 30 day period.

        (2) Each school board of each elementary and unit 
    school district that
is subject to the jurisdiction and 
    authority of the township treasurer and
trustees of schools 
    of the township in which those offices are sought to
be 
    abolished, by the affirmative vote of at least 5 members of 
    the school
board at a school board meeting of which notice 
    is given as required by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, 
    adopts a resolution requiring the
secretary of the school 
    board to certify to the proper election authorities
for 
    submission to the electors of the school district at the 
    next
consolidated election in accordance with the general

    election law a
proposition to abolish the offices of 
    township treasurer and trustee of
schools of that township. 
    None of the resolutions adopted under this
paragraph by any 
    elementary or unit school districts that are subject to
the 
    jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and 
    trustees of
schools of the township in which those offices 
    are sought to be abolished
shall be deemed in compliance 
    with the requirements of this paragraph or
sufficient to 
    authorize submission of the proposition to abolish those

    offices to a referendum of the electors in any such school 
    district unless
all of the school boards of all of the 
    elementary and unit school districts
that are subject to 
    the jurisdiction and authority of the township
treasurer 
    and trustees of schools of that township adopt such a 
    resolution
in accordance with the provisions of this 
    paragraph.

        (3) The school boards of all of the elementary and unit 
    school
districts that are subject to the jurisdiction and 
    authority of the
township treasurer and trustees of schools 
    of the township in which those
offices are sought to be 
    abolished submit a proposition to abolish the
offices of 
    township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township 
    to
the electors of their respective school districts at the 
    same consolidated
election in accordance with the general 
    election law, the ballot in each
such district to be in 
    substantially the following form:

    -------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICIAL BALLOT


            Shall the offices of township

            treasurer and                       YES

            trustee of                      -------------

            schools of Township .....           NO

            Range ..... be abolished?

    -------------------------------------------------------------

        (4) At the consolidated election at which the

    proposition to abolish
the offices of township treasurer 
    and trustee of schools of a township is
submitted to the 
    electors of each elementary and unit school district that

    is subject to the jurisdiction and authority of the 
    township treasurer and
trustee of schools of that township, 
    a majority of the electors voting on
the proposition in 
    each such elementary and unit school district votes in

    favor of the proposition as submitted to them.

    If in each elementary and unit school district that is 
subject to the
jurisdiction and authority of the township 
treasurer and trustees of
schools of the township in which 
those offices are sought to be abolished a
majority of the 
electors in each such district voting at the consolidated

election on the proposition to abolish the offices of township 
treasurer
and trustee of schools of that township votes in 
favor of the proposition
as submitted to them, the proposition 
shall be deemed to have passed; but
if in any such elementary 
or unit school district a majority of the
electors voting on 
that proposition in that district fails to vote in favor
of the 
proposition as submitted to them, then notwithstanding the vote 
of
the electors in any other such elementary or unit school 
district on that
proposition the proposition shall not be 
deemed to have passed in any of
those elementary or unit school 
districts, and the offices of township
treasurer and trustee of 
schools of the township in which those offices
were sought to 
be abolished shall not be abolished, unless in each of those

elementary and unit school districts remaining subject to the 
jurisdiction
and authority of the township treasurer and 
trustees of schools of that
township proceedings are again 
initiated to abolish those offices and all
of the proceedings 
and conditions prescribed in paragraphs (1) through (4)
of this 
subsection are repeated and met in each of those elementary and

unit school districts.

    Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 
or any other
provision of the School Code, the offices of 
township treasurer and trustee of
schools of a township that 
has a population of less than 200,000 and that
contains a unit 
school district and is located in a Class II county school unit

shall also be
abolished as provided in this subsection if all 
of the conditions set forth in
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of 
this subsection are met
and if the following additional 
condition is met:

        The electors in all of the school districts subject to 
    the jurisdiction and
authority of the township treasurer 
    and trustees of schools of the township in
which those 
    offices are sought to be abolished shall vote at the

    consolidated
election on the proposition to abolish the 
    offices of township treasurer and
trustee of schools of 
    that township.  If a majority of the electors in all of
the 
    school districts combined voting on the proposition vote in 
    favor of the
proposition, then the proposition shall be 
    deemed to have passed; but if a
majority of the electors 
    voting on the proposition in all of the school
district 
    fails to vote in favor of the proposition as submitted to 
    them, then
the proposition shall not be deemed to have 
    passed and the offices of township
treasurer and trustee of 
    schools of the township in which those offices were
sought 
    to be abolished shall not be abolished, unless and until 
    the proceedings
detailed in paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
    this subsection and the conditions
set forth in this 
    paragraph are met.

    If the proposition to abolish the offices of township 
treasurer and
trustee of schools of a township is deemed to 
have passed at the
consolidated election as provided in this 
subsection,
those offices shall be
deemed abolished by 
operation of law effective on January 1
of the
calendar year 
immediately following the calendar year in which that

consolidated election is held, provided that if after the

election, the trustees of schools by resolution elect to 
abolish the offices of
township treasurer and trustee of 
schools effective on July 1 immediately
following the election, 
then the offices shall be abolished on July 1
immediately 
following the election.
On the date that
the offices of 
township treasurer and trustee of schools of a
township are 
deemed abolished by operation of law, the school board of each

elementary and unit school district and the school board of 
each high
school district that is subject to the jurisdiction 
and authority of the
township treasurer and trustees of schools 
of that township at the time
those offices are abolished: (i) 
shall appoint its own school treasurer as
provided in Section 
8-1; and (ii) unless the term of the contract of a
township 
treasurer expires on the date that the office of township

treasurer is abolished, shall pay to the former township 
treasurer its
proportionate share of any aggregate 
compensation that, were the office of
township treasurer not 
abolished at that time, would
have been payable to the former 
township treasurer after that date over the
remainder of the 
term of the contract of the former township treasurer that

began prior to but ends after that date. In addition, on the 
date that the offices of township treasurer and trustee of

schools of a township are deemed abolished as provided in this 
subsection,
the school board of each elementary school, high 
school and unit school
district that until that date is subject 
to the jurisdiction and authority
of the township treasurer and 
trustees of schools of that township shall be
deemed by 
operation of law to have agreed and assumed to pay and, when

determined, shall pay to the Illinois Municipal Retirement
Fund 
a proportionate share of the unfunded liability existing in 
that Fund
at the time these offices are abolished in that

calendar year for all annuities or other benefits then or

thereafter to become payable from that Fund with respect to all 
periods of
service performed prior to that date as a 
participating employee in that
Fund by persons serving during 
those periods of service as a trustee of
schools, township 
treasurer or regular employee in the office of the
township 
treasurer of that township.  That unfunded liability shall be

actuarially determined by the board of trustees of the Illinois 
Municipal
Retirement Fund, and the board of trustees shall 
thereupon notify each
school board required to pay a 
proportionate share of that unfunded
liability of the aggregate 
amount of the unfunded liability so determined.
The amount so 
paid to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund by each of
those 
school districts shall be credited to the account of the 
township in
that Fund. For each elementary school, high school 
and unit school district
under the jurisdiction and authority 
of a township treasurer and trustees
of schools of a township 
in which those offices are abolished as provided
in this 
subsection, each such district's proportionate share of the

aggregate compensation payable to the former township 
treasurer as provided
in this paragraph and each such 
district's proportionate share of the
aggregate amount of the 
unfunded liability payable to the Illinois
Municipal 
Retirement Fund as provided in this paragraph shall be computed

in accordance with the ratio that the number of pupils in 
average daily
attendance in each such district for the school 
year last ending prior to the date on which
the offices of 
township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township
are 
abolished bears to the aggregate number of pupils in average 
daily
attendance in all of those districts as so reported for 
that school year.

    Upon abolition of the offices of township treasurer and 
trustee of
schools of a township as provided in this 
subsection: (i) the regional
board of school trustees, in its 
corporate capacity, shall be deemed the
successor in interest 
to the former trustees of schools of that township
with respect 
to the common school lands and township loanable funds of the

township; (ii) all right, title and interest existing or vested 
in the
former trustees of schools of that township in the 
common school lands and
township loanable funds of the 
township, and all records, moneys,
securities and other assets, 
rights of property and causes of action
pertaining to or 
constituting a part of those common school lands or
township 
loanable funds, shall be transferred to and deemed vested by

operation of law in the regional board of school trustees, 
which shall hold
legal title to, manage and operate all common 
school lands and township
loanable funds of the township, 
receive the rents, issues and profits
therefrom, and have and 
exercise with respect thereto the same powers and
duties as are 
provided by this Code to be exercised by regional boards of

school trustees when acting as township land commissioners in 
counties
having at least 220,000 but fewer than 2,000,000 
inhabitants; (iii) the
regional board of school trustees shall 
select to serve as its treasurer
with respect to the common 
school lands and township loanable funds of the
township a 
person from time to time also serving as the appointed school

treasurer of any school district that was subject to the 
jurisdiction and
authority of the township treasurer and 
trustees of schools of that
township at the time those offices 
were abolished, and the person selected
to also serve as 
treasurer of the regional board of school trustees shall
have 
his compensation for services in that capacity fixed by the 
regional
board of school trustees, to be paid from the township 
loanable funds, and
shall make to the regional board of school 
trustees the reports required to be
made by treasurers of 
township land commissioners, give bond as required by

treasurers of township land commissioners, and perform the 
duties and
exercise the powers of treasurers of township land 
commissioners; (iv) the
regional board of school trustees shall 
designate in the manner provided by
Section 8-7, insofar as 
applicable, a depositary for its treasurer, and the
proceeds of 
all rents, issues and profits from the common school lands and

township loanable funds of that township shall be deposited and 
held in the
account maintained for those purposes with that 
depositary and shall be
expended and distributed therefrom as 
provided in Section 15-24 and other
applicable provisions of 
this Code; and (v) whenever there is vested in the
trustees of 
schools of a township at the time that office is abolished

under this subsection the legal title to any school buildings 
or school
sites used or occupied for school purposes by any 
elementary school, high
school or unit school district subject 
to the jurisdiction and authority of
those trustees of school 
at the time that office is abolished, the legal
title to those 
school buildings and school sites shall be deemed
transferred 
by operation of law to and invested in the
school board of that 
school district, in its corporate
capacity under Section 
10-22.35B of this Code, the
same to be held, sold, exchanged 
leased or otherwise transferred in
accordance with applicable 
provisions of this Code.

    Notwithstanding Section 2-3.25g of this Code, a waiver of a 
mandate
established under this Section may not be requested.

(Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.)

 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.