093_SB0526

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning zoos.

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

 4        Section 5.  The Forest Preserve Zoological Parks  Act  is
 5    amended by changing Section 1 as follows:

 6        (70 ILCS 835/1) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6801)
 7        Sec.  1.  The  corporate  authorities  of forest preserve
 8    districts, containing a population of 140,000 or more located
 9    in counties of less than 3,000,000  inhabitants,  having  the
10    control or supervision of any forest preserves, may erect and
11    maintain  within  such forest preserves, under the control or
12    supervision of such corporate  authorities,  edifices  to  be
13    used  for  the collection and display of animals as customary
14    in  zoological  parks,  and  may  collect  and  display  such
15    animals,  or  permit  the  directors  or  trustees   of   any
16    zoological society devoted to the purposes aforesaid to erect
17    and  maintain  a  zoological  park and to collect and display
18    zoological collections within  any  forest  preserve  now  or
19    hereafter  under  the  control  or supervision of such forest
20    preserve district, out of funds belonging to such  zoological
21    society, or to contract with the directors or trustees of any
22    zoological  society  on  such  terms and conditions as may to
23    such  corporate  authorities  seem  best,  relative  to   the
24    erection,  operation and maintenance of a zoological park and
25    the collection and display of such animals within such forest
26    preserve, out of the tax hereinafter in this Act provided.
27        This Act applies to any  forest  preserve  district  that
28    maintains  a  zoological park that was established under this
29    Act prior to  1964,  regardless  of  whether  the  population
30    requirements continue to be met.
31        Such  a  forest  preserve  district,  or the directors or
 
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 1    trustees of such zoological society when so authorized by the
 2    forest preserve district, may (a) police the property of  the
 3    zoological  park, (b) employ, establish, maintain and equip a
 4    security  force  for  fire  and  police  protection  of   the
 5    zoological  park  and  (c)  provide that the personnel of the
 6    security force shall perform  other  tasks  relating  to  the
 7    maintenance  and operation of the zoological park. Members of
 8    the security force shall be conservators of  the  peace  with
 9    all  the powers of policemen in cities and of sheriffs, other
10    than to serve or execute civil processes, but such powers may
11    be exercised only within the area comprising  the  zoological
12    park  when required to protect the zoological park's property
13    and interests, its personnel and persons using the facilities
14    or at the specific request of appropriate federal,  State  or
15    local law enforcement officials.
16        Such  forest preserve district may charge, or permit such
17    zoological society to charge, an admission fee. The  proceeds
18    of  such  admission  fee  shall be devoted exclusively to the
19    operation and maintenance of such  zoological  park  and  the
20    collections  therein. All such zoological parks shall be open
21    to the public without charge (i) a total number of  days,  to
22    be scheduled at any time during the calendar year, equivalent
23    to  at  least  one day for each 7 days the zoological park is
24    open during the calendar year for at least one day each  week
25    and (ii) to the children in actual attendance upon any of the
26    schools  in the State at all times. The managing authority of
27    the zoological park may limit the  number  of  school  groups
28    that  may  attend  the zoo on any given day and may establish
29    other rules and regulations  that  reasonably  ensure  public
30    safety,  accessibility,  and  convenience,  including without
31    limitation standards of conduct  and  supervision.  ,  except
32    that Charges may be made at any time for special services and
33    for  admission  to  special  facilities within any zoological
34    park for  the  education,  entertainment  or  convenience  of
 
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 1    visitors.
 2    (Source: P.A. 91-817, eff. 6-13-00; 92-548, eff. 6-24-02.)