Public Act 096-0239
 
HB0477 Enrolled LRB096 06029 RLJ 16111 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 Downstate Forest Preserve District Act is
amended by changing Section 3a and by adding Section 3d as
follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 805/3a)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6305)
    Sec. 3a. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, and
except as provided in Section 3c, 3d, and 3.5, the affairs of
the district shall be managed by a board of commissioners
consisting of 5 commissioners, who shall be appointed by the
presiding officer of the county board of the county in which
such forest preserve district is situated, with the advice and
consent of such county board. The first appointment shall be
made within 90 days and not sooner than 60 days after such
forest preserve district has been organized as provided herein.
Each member of such board so appointed shall be a legal voter
in such district. The first commissioners shall be appointed to
hold office for terms of one, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, and until
June 30 thereafter, respectively, as determined and fixed by
lot. Thereafter, successor commissioners shall be appointed in
the same manner no later than the first day of the month in
which the term of a commissioner expires. Except as provided in
Section 3c and 3d, a vacancy occurring otherwise than by
expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term by
appointment of a commissioner by the county board chairman with
the advice and consent of the members of the county board. In
the one district in existence on July 1, 1977, that is managed
by an appointed board of commissioners, the incumbent 5
commissioners shall complete their respective terms as
originally prescribed in this Act. However, upon the expiration
of the terms of 2 of the incumbent commissioners on January 1,
1978, they or their successors shall be appointed to hold
office for terms of 3 and 5 years, and until June 30
thereafter, respectively, as determined and fixed by lot.
Furthermore, upon the expiration of the terms of the remaining
incumbent commissioners on January 1, 1980, they or their
successors shall be appointed to hold office for terms of 2, 4,
and 5 years, and until June 30 thereafter, respectively, as
determined and fixed by lot. Thereafter, each successor
commissioner shall be appointed for a term of 5 years. Each
member of the board before entering upon the duties of his
office shall take the oath prescribed by the constitution. From
the time of the appointment of the first board of
commissioners, such forest preserve district shall be
construed in all courts to be a body corporate and politic by
the name and style determined as aforesaid and by such name may
sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, acquire and
hold real and personal estate necessary for its corporate
purposes and adopt a seal and alter the same at its pleasure.
    In case the boundaries of a district are co-extensive with
the boundaries of any county, city, village, incorporated town
or sanitary district, the corporate authorities of such county
(until the commissioners elected under Section 3c and 3d take
office), city, village, incorporated town or sanitary district
shall have and exercise the powers and privileges and perform
the duties and functions of the commissioners provided for in
this Act and in that case no commissioner shall be appointed
for that district. The corporate authorities, other than
members of a county board in counties under township
organization having a population of less than 3,000,000 and
members of a county board in a county not under township
organization who were elected prior to July 1, 1965, shall act
without any other pay than that already provided by law. The
members of a county board of a county under township
organization and members of a county board of a county not
under township organization who were elected prior to July 1,
1965, who also act as commissioners of a forest preserve
district in counties having a population of less than 3,000,000
may receive for their services as commissioners of a forest
preserve district a per diem fee to be fixed by such board, but
not to exceed $36 per day, which shall be in full for all
services rendered on such day, or an annual salary to be fixed
by such board, but not to exceed $3,000, plus mileage expenses
at a rate not more than the amount allowed for members of the
county board of such county, as fixed by the board, for each
mile necessarily traveled in attending meetings of the board of
such district, plus any expense incurred while, or in
connection with, carrying out the business of such district
outside the boundaries of such district, payable from the
forest preserve district treasury. The president of the Board
of Commissioners of the Forest Preserve District in counties of
less than 3 million may receive in lieu of a per diem fee an
annual salary to be fixed by such board. No Forest Preserve
Commissioner shall file for a per diem payment for services
rendered on the same day for which he filed for a per diem
payment as a county supervisor. When the county board also acts
as such commissioners, a member of the county board of a county
under township organization and a member of the county board of
a county not under township organization, who is elected prior
to July 1, 1965 may, with the permission of the county board,
work alone as such a commissioner and be paid in the usual
manner.
    Unless otherwise qualified, the term "board", when used in
this Act, means the board of commissioners of any forest
preserve district, or the corporate authorities of any county,
city, village, incorporated town, or sanitary district, when
acting as the governing body of a forest preserve district.
(Source: P.A. 88-443; 89-577, eff. 1-1-97.)
 
    (70 ILCS 805/3d new)
    Sec. 3d. Elected board of commissioners in certain other
counties. If the boundaries of a district are co-extensive with
the boundaries of a county having a population of more than
200,000 but less than 800,000, bordering the State of Wisconsin
but not adjoining any county with a population of over
2,000,000, all commissioners of the forest preserve district
shall be elected at large by the voters of the county,
beginning with the general election held in 2010 and each
succeeding general election. Nomination of candidates for the
office of commissioner at the initial and each succeeding
election shall be made by petition signed in the aggregate for
each candidate by not less than 100 qualified voters of the
forest preserve district. Seven commissioners shall be
elected, with candidates receiving the highest,
second-highest, and third-highest number of votes being
elected for 6-year terms. Candidates receiving the
fourth-highest and fifth-highest number of votes shall be
elected for 4-year terms. Candidates receiving the
sixth-highest and seventh-highest number of votes shall be
elected for 2-year terms. Thereafter, each commissioner shall
be elected for a 6-year term.
    After each general election, the forest preserve district
commissioners shall elect a president from among their members
for a 2-year term.
    Each commissioner shall be a resident of the county from
which he or she was elected no later than the date of the
commencement of the term of office. The term of office for the
president and commissioners elected under this Section shall
commence on the first Monday of the month following the month
of election.
    Neither a commissioner nor the president of the board of
commissioners shall serve simultaneously in any other elective
or appointive office in the county. The president, with the
advice and consent of the board of commissioners, shall appoint
a secretary, treasurer, and any other officer deemed necessary
by the board of commissioners. The officers need not be members
of the board of commissioners. The president shall have the
powers and duties as set forth in Section 12 of this Act.
    Candidates for commissioner shall not be candidates of
established political parties, but shall be non-partisan.
    If a vacancy in the office of president or commissioner
occurs, other than by expiration of the president's or a
commissioner's term, the forest preserve district board of
commissioners shall declare that a vacancy exists, and the
board of commissioners shall, within 60 days after the date of
the vacancy, upon the majority vote of the commissioners then
serving, elect a person to serve for the remainder of the
unexpired term. If, however, more than 28 months remain in the
unexpired term of a commissioner, at the time of appointment,
the appointment shall be until the next general election, at
which time the vacated office of commissioner shall be filled
by election for the remainder of the term. All other vacancies
in nomination shall be filled in accordance with the provisions
of the Election Code.
    The president and commissioners elected under this Section
shall serve without compensation. The president and
commissioners may be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses
actually incurred in performing their official duties under
this Act in accordance with the provisions of Section 3a. The
cost of reimbursement under this Section shall be paid by the
forest preserve district.
    This Section does not apply to a forest preserve district
created under Section 18.5 of the Conservation District Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.