Public Act 095-0641
 
HB0004 Enrolled LRB095 03797 HLH 23827 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Airport Authorities Act is amended by
changing Sections 1, 3.1, 14.1, 14.2, and 14.3 and by adding
Sections 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.6, and 22.7 as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 5/1)  (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.1)
    Sec. 1. Definitions. When used in this Act:
    "Aeronautics" means the act or practice of the art and
science of transportation by aircraft and instruction therein,
and establishment, construction, extension, operation,
improvement, repair or maintenance of airports and airport
facilities and air navigation facilities, and the operation,
construction, repair or maintenance of aircraft.
    "Aircraft" means any contrivance now known or hereafter
invented, used or designed for navigation of, or flight in, the
air.
    "Airport" means any locality, either land or water, which
is used or designed for the landing and taking off of aircraft,
or for the location of runways, landing fields, airdromes,
hangars, buildings, structures, airport roadways and other
facilities.
    "Airport hazard" means any structure, or object of natural
growth, located on or in the vicinity of an airport, or any use
of land near an airport, which is hazardous to the use of such
airport for the landing and take-off of aircraft.
    "Approach" means any path, course or zone defined by an
ordinance of an Authority, or by other lawful regulation, on
the ground or in the air, or both, for the use of aircraft in
landing and taking off from an airport located within an
Authority.
    "Facilities" means and includes real estate and any and all
forms of tangible and intangible personal property and services
used or useful as an aid, or constituting an advantage or
convenience to, the safe landing, taking off and navigation of
aircraft, or the safe and efficient operation or maintenance of
a public airport. In addition, for all airport authorities,
"facilities" means and includes real estate, tangible and
intangible personal property, and services used or useful for
commercial and recreational purposes.
    "Board of Commissioners" and "Board" mean the board of
commissioners of an established authority or an authority
proposed to be established.
    "Commercial aircraft" means any aircraft other than public
aircraft engaged in the business of transporting persons or
property.
    "Airport Authority" means a municipal corporation created
and established under Section 2 of this Act, and includes
Metropolitan Airport Authorities. "Authority" and "Airport
Authority" are synonymous, unless the context requires
otherwise.
    "Metropolitan Airport Authority" and "Metropolitan
Authority" mean an airport authority established in the manner
provided in Section 2.7 of this Act.
    "Municipality" means any city, village or incorporated
town of the State of Illinois.
    "Public Agency" means any political subdivision, public
corporation, quasi-municipal corporation or municipal
corporation of the State of Illinois, excepting public
corporations or agencies owning, operating or maintaining a
college or university with funds of the State of Illinois.
    "Private aircraft" means any aircraft other than public and
commercial aircraft.
    "Public aircraft" means an aircraft used exclusively in the
governmental service of the United States, or of any state or
of any public agency, including military and naval aircraft.
    "Public airport" means an airport owned by an airport
authority or other public agency which is used or is intended
for use by public, commercial and private aircraft and by
persons owning, managing, operating or desiring to use, inspect
or repair any such aircraft or to use any such airport for
aeronautical purposes.
    "Public interest" means the protection, furtherance and
advancement of the general welfare and of public health and
safety and public necessity and convenience in respect to
aeronautics.
    "Rail Authority" means a Rail Authority established as
provided in Section 22.1 of this Act.
    "Rail facility" has the meaning set forth in Section 22.2
of this Act.
    "Related facility" has the meaning set forth in Section
22.2 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 87-854.)
 
    (70 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.3a)
    Sec. 3.1. Boards of commissioners - Appointment. The Boards
of Commissioners of Authorities shall be appointed as follows:
    (1) In case there are one or more municipalities having a
population of 5,000 or more within the Authority, the
commissioners shall be appointed as follows:
        (a) Where there is only one such municipality, 3
    commissioners shall be appointed from such municipality,
    and 2 commissioners shall be appointed at large.
        (a-5) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
    amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, one additional
    commissioner shall be appointed to the board of the
    Springfield Airport Authority from each municipality
    having a population of 5,000 or more within the Authority,
    and one additional commissioner shall be appointed at
    large. The additional commissioners shall serve for a term
    of 4 or 5 years, as determined by lot. Their successors
    shall serve for terms of 5 years.
        (b) Where there are 2 or more such municipalities, one
    commissioner shall be appointed from each municipality
    with a population between 5,000 and 45,000, 2 commissioners
    shall be appointed from each municipality with a population
    of more than 45,000, such municipality and 3 commissioners
    shall be appointed at large; except that when the physical
    facilities of the airport of the Authority are located
    wholly within a single county with a population between
    600,000 and 3,000,000 there shall be one commissioner
    appointed from each municipality within the corporate
    limits of the Authority having 5,000 or more population and
    5 commissioners appointed at large. If the Authority is
    located wholly within the corporate limits of such
    municipalities, 2 commissioners shall be appointed from
    the one of such municipalities having the largest
    population, and one commissioner shall be appointed from
    each of the other such municipalities, and 2 commissioners
    shall be appointed at large.
        (c) Commissioners representing the area within an
    Authority located outside of any municipality having 5,000
    or more population and commissioners appointed at large
    when the authority is wholly contained within a single
    county shall be appointed by the presiding officer of the
    county board with the advice and consent of the county
    board, and when the physical facilities of the airport of
    the Authority are located wholly within a single county
    with a population between 600,000 and 3,000,000 the
    commissioners appointed at large shall be appointed by the
    chairman of the county board of such county, and any
    commissioner representing the area within any such
    municipality shall be appointed by its mayor or the
    presiding officer of its governing body. If however the
    district is located in more than one county other than a
    county with a population between 600,000 and 3,000,000, the
    members of the General Assembly whose legislative
    districts encompass any portion of the Authority shall
    appoint the commissioners representing the area within an
    Authority located outside of any municipality having 5,000
    or more population and commissioners at large but any
    commissioner representing the area within any such
    municipality shall be appointed by its mayor or the
    presiding officer of its governing body.
        (d) A commissioner representing the area within any
    such municipality shall reside within its corporate
    limits. A commissioner appointed at large may reside either
    within or without any such municipality but must reside
    within the territory of the authority. Should any
    commissioner cease to reside within that part of the
    territory he represents, or should the territory in which
    he resides cease to be a part of the authority, then his
    office shall be deemed vacated, and shall be filled by
    appointment for the remainder of the term as hereinafter
    provided.
    (2) In case there are no municipalities having a population
of 5,000 or more within such authority located wholly within a
single county, such order shall so find, and in such case the
Board shall consist of 5 commissioners who shall be appointed
at large by the presiding officer of the county board with the
advice and consent of the county board. If however the district
is located in more than one county, the members of the General
Assembly whose legislative districts encompass any portion of
the Authority shall appoint the commissioners at large.
    (3) Should a municipality which is wholly within an
authority attain, or should such a municipality be established,
having a population of 5,000 or more after the entry of said
order by the circuit court, the presiding officer of such
municipality may petition the circuit court for an order
finding and determining the population of such municipality
and, if it is found and determined upon the hearing of said
petition that the population of such municipality is 5,000 or
more, the board of commissioners of such authority as
previously established shall be increased by one commissioner
who shall reside within the corporate limits of such
municipality and shall be appointed by its presiding officer.
The initial commissioner so appointed shall serve for a term of
1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years, as may be determined by lot, and his
successors shall be similarly appointed and shall serve for
terms of 5 years. All provisions of this section applicable to
commissioners representing municipal areas shall apply to any
such commissioner. Each such commissioner shall reside within
the authority and shall continue to reside therein.
    (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
the Board of Commissioners of a Metropolitan Airport Authority
shall consist of 9 commissioners.
    Seven commissioners shall be residents of the county with a
population between 600,000 and 3,000,000 within which the
Metropolitan Airport Authority was established. These
commissioners shall be appointed by the county board chairman
of the county with a population between 600,000 and 3,000,000
within which the Metropolitan Airport Authority was
established, with the advice and consent of the county board of
that county.
    Two commissioners shall be residents of the territory of
the Authority located outside the county with a population
between 600,000 and 3,000,000. These commissioners shall be
appointed jointly by the mayors of the municipalities having a
population over 5,000 that are located outside the county with
a population between 600,000 and 3,000,000, with the advice and
consent of the governing bodies of those municipalities.
    The transition from the pre-existing composition of the
Metropolitan Airport Authority Board of Commissioners to the
composition specified in this amendatory Act of 1991 shall be
accomplished as follows:
        (A) The appointee who was required to be a resident of
    the area outside of the county with a population between
    600,000 and 3,000,000 may serve until his or her term
    expires. The replacement shall be one of the 2 appointees
    who shall be residents of the territory of the Authority
    located outside the county with a population between
    600,000 and 3,000,000.
        (B) The other 8 commissioners may serve until their
    terms expire. Upon the occurrence of the second vacancy
    among these 8 commissioners after the effective date of
    this amendatory Act of 1991, the replacement shall be the
    second of the 2 appointees who shall be residents of the
    territory of the Authority located outside of the county
    with a population between 600,000 and 3,000,000. Upon the
    expiration of the terms of the other 7 commissioners, the
    replacements shall be residents of the county with a
    population between 600,000 and 3,000,000.
        (C) All commissioners appointed after the effective
    date of this amendatory Act of 1991, and their successors,
    shall be appointed in the manner set forth in this
    amendatory Act of 1991.
(Source: P.A. 94-466, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
    (70 ILCS 5/14.1)  (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.14a)
    Sec. 14.1. Bond limitation. An Authority may secure the
necessary funds to finance part or all of the cost of (i)
acquiring, establishing, constructing, developing, expanding,
extending or further improving a public airport, public
airports, or airport facilities within or without its corporate
limits or within or upon any body of water adjacent thereto;
and (ii) studying, designing, acquiring, constructing,
developing, expanding, extending, or improving any rail
facility or related facility as provided in this Act for a Rail
Authority established by the Board of Commissioners of the
Authority, upon a determination by the Board of Commissioners,
that, in its judgment, the rail or other service to be provided
by those rail facilities or related facilities will benefit the
airport operated by the Airport Authority, through the issuance
of bonds as hereinafter provided in Sections 14.1 to 14.5
inclusive, to the principal amount of which at any one time
outstanding, together with other outstanding indebtedness of
the Authority, shall not exceed 2.3% of the aggregate valuation
of all taxable property within the Authority, as equalized or
assessed by the Department of Revenue or, until January 1,
1983, if greater, the sum that is produced by multiplying the
Authority's 1978 equalized assessed valuation by the debt
limitation percentage in effect on January 1, 1979. No such
airport project shall be financed by the issuance of bonds
under this Section unless such proposed airport project has
been approved by the Department of Transportation as to
location and size and found by the Department to be in the
public interest; provided that the approval of the Department
of Transportation as provided in Sections 14.1 through 14.5 is
not required in the case of airport projects consisting solely
of commercial or recreational facilities or rail facilities or
related facilities.
(Source: P.A. 87-854.)
 
    (70 ILCS 5/14.2)  (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.14b)
    Sec. 14.2. General plans and cost estimate to be approved.
Before the adoption of any ordinance providing for the issuance
of such bonds, the board of commissioners of the authority
shall cause a description and general plan for the project to
be prepared and submitted to the Department of Transportation,
together with an estimate of the cost of the project. The
project and the plans and estimate of cost may be changed with
the approval of the Department. Prior to undertaking the
project, the final plans, specifications and estimate of cost
must be approved by the Department. The requirements of this
Section do not apply to airport projects consisting solely of
commercial or recreational facilities or rail facilities or
related facilities.
(Source: P.A. 87-854; 87-895.)
 
    (70 ILCS 5/14.3)  (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.14c)
    Sec. 14.3. Bond ordinance. Upon the approval of the general
plan and cost estimate for any such project by the Department
of Transportation, if required, the Board of Commissioners of
the authority shall provide by ordinance for the acquisition or
undertaking of such project, and for the issuance of bonds of
the authority payable from taxes to pay the cost of such
project to the authority or for costs with respect to rail
facilities or related facilities as provided in Section 14.1.
The ordinance shall prescribe all details of the bonds and
shall state the time or times when bonds, and the interest
thereon, shall become payable and the bonds shall be payable
within not more than 20 years from the date thereof. Any
authority may agree or contract to sell, issue or deliver bonds
payable from taxes at such price and upon such terms as
determined by the Board of Commissioners of the Authority and
as will not cause the net effective interest rate to be paid by
the Authority on the issue of which such bonds are a part to
exceed the greater of (i) the maximum rate authorized by the
Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of
the contract, or (ii) the greater of 9% per annum or 125% of
the rate for the most recent date shown in the 20 G.O. Bonds
Index of average municipal bond yields as published in the most
recent edition of The Bond Buyer, published in New York, New
York, (or any successor publication or index, or if such
publication or index is no longer published, then any index of
long term municipal tax-exempt bond yields then selected by the
Board of Commissioners of the Authority), at the time the
contract is made for such sale of the bonds. Subject to such
limitation, the interest rate or rates on such bonds may be
established by reference to an index or formula which may be
implemented or administered by persons appointed or retained
therefor by the Authority. A contract is made with respect to
the sale of bonds when an Authority is contractually obligated
to issue or deliver such bonds to a purchaser who is
contractually obligated to purchase them, and, with respect to
bonds bearing interest at a variable rate or subject to payment
upon periodic demand or put or otherwise subject to remarketing
by or for an Authority, a contract is made on each date of
change in the variable rate or such demand, put or remarketing.
The ordinance shall provide for the levy and collection of a
direct annual tax upon all the taxable property within the
corporate limits of such Authority, sufficient to meet the
principal and interest of the bonds as same mature, which tax
shall be in addition to and in excess of any other tax
authorized to be levied by the Authority. The bonds may be
issued in part under the authority of, and may be additionally
secured as provided in, the Local Government Debt Reform Act.
Proceeds of bonds issued with respect to rail facilities or
related facilities shall be provided to, or expended by the
Authority for the benefit of, the Rail Authority.
    A certified copy of the ordinance providing for the
issuance of bonds authorized by this Section shall be filed
with the county clerk of each county in which the authority or
any portion thereof is situated and shall constitute the basis
for the extension and collection of the tax necessary to pay
the principal of and interest and premium, if any, upon the
bonds issued under the ordinance as the same mature.
    The provisions of this amendatory Act of 1985 shall be
cumulative and in addition to any powers or authority granted
in any other laws of the State, and shall not be deemed to have
repealed any provisions of existing laws. This amendatory Act
of 1985 shall be construed as a grant of power to public
corporations and shall not act as a limitation upon any sale of
bonds authorized pursuant to any other law. This amendatory Act
of 1985 shall not be construed as a limit upon any home rule
unit of government.
(Source: P.A. 86-1017; 87-854.)
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.1 new)
    Sec. 22.1. Establishment of a Rail Authority.
    (a) The Board of Commissioners of an airport authority in
Winnebago County may, by resolution, establish a Rail Authority
as provided in Sections 22.1 through 22.7 of this Act. A
certified copy of that resolution shall be filed with the
Secretary of State of Illinois. The Board of Commissioners of
the airport authority shall not have the power to abolish such
a Rail Authority.
    (b) A Rail Authority established pursuant to this Section
shall be a body politic and corporate and a public corporation.
    (c) A Rail Authority shall be governed by a Board of
Directors. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this Section,
the Board of Directors shall consist of the members of the
Board of Commissioners of the airport authority that
establishes the Rail Authority. The Board of Directors of the
Rail Authority shall establish by-laws and procedures for their
actions and may elect such officers of the Rail Authority and
its Board of Directors as they shall determine, who shall serve
terms as set by the by-laws of the Rail Authority, not to
exceed 5 years.
    (d) The composition of the Board of Directors of the Rail
Authority may be increased from time to time to include members
appointed by the Chairman or President of the County Board of
any county that has members on the Board of Directors, all as
shall be agreed by the Board of Directors of the Rail
Authority, the chairman of the county board of the county in
which the establishing airport authority is located, and the
county board of the county for which members shall be added;
upon such agreement providing for financial contribution to the
Rail Authority by the county for which members are added.
    (e) All non-procedural actions of the Board of Directors of
the Rail Authority shall require the concurrence of the
majority of members of the Board of Directors. Members of the
Board of Directors shall serve for terms as provided in the
by-laws of the Rail Authority not to exceed 5 years, and until
their successors are appointed and qualified.
    (f) There shall be no prohibitions on members of the Board
of Directors of the Rail Authority holding any other
governmental office or position.
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.2 new)
    Sec. 22.2. Provision of rail and related transportation
services. The Rail Authority shall also have the power to
provide non-rail transportation services within the Counties,
which may consist of shuttle bus service to or from an airport,
needed storage facilities, and facilities to load, unload, or
transfer freight from one mode of transportation to another
such mode related to rail or highway transportation and any
needed access roads for that service, as the Board of Directors
shall determine are appropriate to advance economic
development in the Counties. All property or facilities
necessary or useful for such related transportation or economic
development services are referred to in this Act as "related
facilities". The Authority, in providing rail related
facilities, may not operate or perform as a rail carrier.
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.3 new)
    Sec. 22.3. Further powers of the Rail Authority.
    (a) Except as otherwise limited by this Act, the Rail
Authority shall have all powers to meet its responsibilities
and to carry out its purposes, including, but not limited to,
the following powers:
        (i) To sue and be sued.
        (ii) To invest any funds or any moneys not required for
    immediate use or disbursement, as provided in the Public
    Funds Investment Act.
        (iii) To make, amend, and repeal by-laws, rules and
    regulations, and resolutions not inconsistent with
    Sections 22.1 through 22.7 of this Act.
        (iv) To set and collect fares or other charges for the
    use of rail or other facilities of the Rail Authority.
        (v) To conduct or contract for studies as to the
    feasibility and costs of providing any particular service
    as authorized by this Act.
        (vi) To publicize services of the Authority and to
    enter into cooperative agreements with non-rail
    transportation service providers, including airport
    operations.
        (vii) To hold, sell, sell by installment contract,
    lease as lessor, transfer, or dispose of such real or
    personal property of the Rail Authority, including rail
    facilities or related facilities, as the Board of Directors
    deems appropriate in the exercise of its powers and to
    mortgage, pledge, or otherwise grant security interests in
    any such property.
        (viii) To enter at reasonable times upon such lands,
    waters, or premises as, in the judgment of the Board of
    Directors of the Rail Authority, may be necessary,
    convenient, or desirable for the purpose of making surveys,
    soundings, borings, and examinations to accomplish any
    purpose authorized by Sections 22.1 through 22.7 of this
    Act after having given reasonable notice of such proposed
    entry to the owners and occupants of such lands, waters, or
    premises, the Rail Authority being liable only for actual
    damage caused by such activity.
        (ix) To enter into contracts of group insurance for the
    benefit of its employees and to provide for retirement or
    pensions or other employee benefit arrangements for such
    employees, and to assume obligations for pensions or other
    employee benefit arrangements for employees of
    transportation agencies, all or part of the facilities of
    which are acquired by the Rail Authority.
        (x) To provide for the insurance of any property,
    directors, officers, employees, or operations of the Rail
    Authority against any risk or hazard, and to self-insure or
    participate in joint self-insurance pools or entities to
    insure against such risk or hazard.
        (xi) To pass all resolutions and make all rules and
    regulations proper or necessary to regulate the use,
    operation, and maintenance of the property and facilities
    of the Rail Authority and, by resolution, to prescribe
    fines or penalties for violations of those rules and
    regulations. No fine or penalty shall exceed $1,000 per
    offense. Any resolution providing for any fine or penalty
    shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
    the metropolitan region. No such resolution shall take
    effect until 10 days after its publication.
        (xii) To enter into arbitration arrangements, which
    may be final and binding.
        (xiii) To make and execute all contracts and other
    instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its
    powers.
    (b) In each case in which this Act gives the Rail Authority
the power to construct or acquire rail facilities or related
facilities or any other real or personal property, the Rail
Authority shall have the power to acquire such property by
contract, purchase, gift, grant, exchange for other property or
rights in property, lease (or sublease), or installment or
conditional purchase contracts, which leases or contracts may
provide for consideration to be paid in installments during a
period not exceeding 40 years, and to dispose of such property
or rights by lease or sale as the Board of Directors shall
determine. Property may be acquired subject to such conditions,
restrictions, liens, or security or other interests of other
parties as the Board of Directors may deem appropriate, and in
each case the Rail Authority may acquire a joint, leasehold,
easement, license, or other partial interest in such property.
Any such acquisition may provide for the assumption of, or
agreement to pay, perform, or discharge outstanding or
continuing duties, obligations, or liabilities of the seller,
lessor, donor, or other transferor of or of the trustee with
regard to such property. In connection with the acquisition of
Rail Facilities or Related Facilities, including, but not
limited to, vehicles, buses, or rapid transit equipment, the
Rail Authority may also execute agreements concerning such
equipment leases, equipment trust certificates, conditional
purchase agreements, and such other security agreements and may
make such agreements and covenants as required, in the form
customarily used in such cases appropriate to effect such
acquisition. The Rail Authority may not acquire property by
eminent domain.
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.4 new)
    Sec. 22.4. Bonds and notes.
    (a) The Rail Authority shall have the power to borrow money
and to issue its negotiable bonds or notes as provided in this
Section. Unless otherwise indicated in this Section, the term
"notes" also includes bond anticipation notes, which are notes
that by their terms provide for their payment from the proceeds
of bonds subsequently to be issued. Bonds or notes of the Rail
Authority may be issued for any or all of the following
purposes: to pay costs to the Rail Authority of constructing or
acquiring any rail facilities or related facilities, to pay
interest on bonds or notes during any period of construction or
acquisition of rail facilities or related facilities, to
establish a debt service reserve fund, to pay costs of issuance
of the bonds or notes, and to refund its bonds or notes.
    (b) The issuance of any bonds or notes shall be authorized
by a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Rail
Authority. The resolution providing for the issuance of any
such bonds or notes shall fix their date or dates of maturity,
the dates on which interest is payable, any sinking fund
account or reserve fund account provisions, and all other
details of the bonds or notes and may provide for such
covenants or agreements necessary or desirable with regard to
the issue, sale, and security of the bonds or notes. The rate
or rates of interest on the bonds or notes may be fixed or
variable and the Rail Authority shall determine or provide for
the determination of the rate or rates of interest of its bonds
or notes issued under this Act in a resolution adopted prior to
their issuance, none of which rates of interest shall exceed
that permitted in the Bond Authorization Act. Bonds and notes
issued under this Section may be issued as serial or term
obligations, shall be of such denomination or denominations and
form, shall be executed in such manner, shall be payable at
such place or places and bear such date as the Rail Authority
shall fix by the resolution authorizing such bonds or notes and
shall mature at such time or times, within a period not to
exceed 40 years from their date of issue, and may be redeemable
prior to maturity, with or without premium, at the option of
the Rail Authority, upon such terms and conditions as the Rail
Authority shall fix by the resolution authorizing the issuance
of the bonds or notes. In case any officer whose signature
appears on any bonds or notes authorized pursuant to this
Section shall cease to be an officer before delivery of such
bonds or notes, the signature shall nevertheless be valid and
sufficient for all purposes, the same as if the officer had
remained in office until the delivery.
    (c) Bonds or notes of the Rail Authority issued pursuant to
this Section shall have a claim for payment as to principal and
interest from such sources as provided by the resolution
authorizing such bonds or notes. Such bonds or notes shall be
secured as provided in the authorizing resolution of the Board
of Directors of the Rail Authority, which may, notwithstanding
any other provision of this Act, include in addition to any
other security, a specific pledge or assignment of and lien on
or security interest in any or all receipts of the Rail
Authority and on any or all other revenues or money of the Rail
Authority from whatever source, which may by law be utilized
for debt service purposes, as well as any funds or accounts
established or provided for the payment of such debt service,
by the resolution of the Rail Authority authorizing the
issuance of the bonds or notes. Any such pledge, assignment,
lien, or security interest for the benefit of holders of bonds
or notes of the Rail Authority shall be valid and binding from
the time the bonds or notes are issued without any physical
delivery or further act and shall be valid and binding as
against and prior to the claims of all other parties having
claims of any kind against the Rail Authority or any other
person irrespective of whether such other parties have notice
of such pledge, assignment, lien, or security interest. The
resolution of the Board of Directors of the Rail Authority
authorizing the issuance of any bonds or notes may provide
additional security for such bonds or notes by providing for
appointment of a corporate trustee (which may be any trust
company or bank having the powers of a trust company within
Illinois) with respect to the bonds or notes. The resolution
shall prescribe the rights, duties, and powers of the trustee
to be exercised for the benefit of the Rail Authority and the
protection of the owners of such bonds or notes. The resolution
may provide for the trustee to hold in trust, invest, and use
amounts in funds and accounts created as provided by the
resolution with respect to the bonds or notes.
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.6 new)
    Sec. 22.6. Exemption from taxation. The Rail Authority and
the Rail Corporation shall be exempt from all State and unit of
local government taxes and registration and license fees. All
property of the Rail Authority or of the Rail Corporation shall
be public property devoted to an essential public and
governmental function and purpose and shall be exempt from all
taxes and special assessments of the State, any subdivision of
the State, or any unit of local government.
 
    (70 ILCS 5/22.7 new)
    Sec. 22.7. Federal, State, and other funds. The Rail
Authority shall have the power to apply for, receive, and
expend grants, loans, or other funds from the State of Illinois
or any of its departments or agencies, from any unit of local
government, or from the federal government or any of its
departments or agencies, for use in connection with any of the
powers or purposes of the Rail Authority as set forth in this
Act, and to enter into agreements with the lending or granting
agency in connection with any such loan or grant.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.