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1 | AN ACT concerning local government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 16 as follows:
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6 | (70 ILCS 705/16) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 37)
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7 | Sec. 16. Territory included within the limits of any fire | ||||||
8 | protection district
may be disconnected from the district and | ||||||
9 | added to another district to which
the territory is contiguous, | ||||||
10 | in the manner hereinafter set forth; (1) if
the territory would | ||||||
11 | receive equal or greater benefits from the district
to which it | ||||||
12 | seeks to be transferred; (2) if the transfer will not cause
the | ||||||
13 | territory remaining in the district from which the transfer is | ||||||
14 | to be
made, to be noncontiguous; (3) if the transfer will not | ||||||
15 | cause a serious
injury to the district from which the transfer | ||||||
16 | is to be made; and, (4)
if the trustees of the district to | ||||||
17 | which the transfer is sought to be made
do not file a written | ||||||
18 | refusal to accept the territory within the time hereinafter
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19 | provided.
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20 | Territory disconnected pursuant to this Section shall | ||||||
21 | remain liable for
its proportionate share of the bonded | ||||||
22 | indebtedness outstanding as of the
date of disconnection, if | ||||||
23 | any, of the district from which it was disconnected
and shall |
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1 | assume a proportionate share of the bonded indebtedness, if | ||||||
2 | any,
of the district to which it is transferred.
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3 | One per cent or more of the legal voters residing within | ||||||
4 | the limits of
the territory proposed to be transferred may file | ||||||
5 | a petition, in the court
of the county where the district to | ||||||
6 | which it seeks to be transferred is
organized, setting forth: | ||||||
7 | the description of the territory sought to be
transferred; that | ||||||
8 | the territory would receive equal or greater benefits
by the | ||||||
9 | transfer; that the transfer will not cause a serious injury to | ||||||
10 | the
district or districts from which the transfer is proposed | ||||||
11 | to be made; and
the amount of any outstanding bonded | ||||||
12 | indebtedness against the district or
districts in which the | ||||||
13 | territory is then situated which has been incurred
pursuant to | ||||||
14 | this Act; and praying that the question whether the transfer
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15 | shall be made, and whether the voters of such territory shall | ||||||
16 | remain liable
for a proportionate share of the bonded | ||||||
17 | indebtedness outstanding as of the
date of disconnection, if | ||||||
18 | any, of the district from which it was disconnected
and also | ||||||
19 | assume a proportionate share of the bonded indebtedness, if | ||||||
20 | any,
of the district to which the transfer is to be made, be | ||||||
21 | submitted to the
voters of the entire district from which the | ||||||
22 | transfer is sought to be made territory sought to be | ||||||
23 | transferred .
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24 | Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall set a day | ||||||
25 | for hearing,
not less than 2 weeks nor more than 4 weeks from | ||||||
26 | the filing thereof, and
the court, or the circuit clerk or |
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1 | sheriff upon order of the court, (i) shall
give 2 weeks notice | ||||||
2 | of such hearing in one or more daily or weekly newspapers
of | ||||||
3 | general circulation in the county or in each county wherein the | ||||||
4 | district
or districts from which the territory sought to be | ||||||
5 | transferred is organized
and by posting at least 10 copies of | ||||||
6 | the notice in conspicuous places in
the district or in each of | ||||||
7 | the districts from which the territory is sought
to be | ||||||
8 | transferred, (ii) shall cause a copy of the notice to be | ||||||
9 | personally served upon each trustee of the district from which | ||||||
10 | the transfer is sought to be made, and (iii) in addition shall | ||||||
11 | cause a copy of the notice to be
personally served upon each of | ||||||
12 | the trustees of the district to which the
transfer is sought to | ||||||
13 | be made at least one week before the date set for
the hearing, | ||||||
14 | and in the notice, or in any accompanying notice to be served
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15 | upon the Trustees at the same time, a recital shall be made | ||||||
16 | stating that
the Trustees may at any time prior to the date of | ||||||
17 | the hearing, or within
such additional time as may be granted | ||||||
18 | by the court upon request in writing
filed on or before such | ||||||
19 | date, file a written refusal to accept the territory
as a part | ||||||
20 | of their district, provided, that such notification need not be
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21 | given to the trustees if they file in the proceeding their | ||||||
22 | written appearances
or written consent to a transfer of the | ||||||
23 | territory to their district. Both the fire protection district | ||||||
24 | from which the territory seeks to be transferred and the fire | ||||||
25 | protection district to which the territory seeks to be | ||||||
26 | transferred are necessary parties in any action to disconnect |
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1 | under this Section.
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2 | At any time prior to the date set for the hearing, or | ||||||
3 | within such additional
time as may be granted by the court, the | ||||||
4 | trustees of the district to which
the transfer is sought to be | ||||||
5 | made may file a written refusal to accept the
territory as a | ||||||
6 | part of their district and in case of such refusal the court
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7 | shall enter an order dismissing the petition for the transfer. | ||||||
8 | The trustees
may withdraw their refusal at any time prior to | ||||||
9 | the entry of an order dismissing
the petition. In case the | ||||||
10 | trustees fail to file a written refusal within
the time | ||||||
11 | hereinbefore authorized, they shall be deemed to have consented
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12 | to a transfer of the territory to their district, and consent | ||||||
13 | once given
may not be withdrawn without leave of court for good | ||||||
14 | cause shown. In case
of such consent, the court shall proceed | ||||||
15 | with the matter as herein provided
but if the court finds that | ||||||
16 | any of the conditions herein required for the
making of a | ||||||
17 | transfer do not exist it shall enter an order dismissing the
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18 | petition. In taking any action upon the petition the findings | ||||||
19 | of the court
shall be filed of record in the case.
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20 | All property owners in the district from which the transfer | ||||||
21 | is sought and
all persons interested therein, may file | ||||||
22 | objections, and at the hearing
may appear and contest the | ||||||
23 | transfer and the matters averred in the petition,
and both | ||||||
24 | objectors and petitioners may offer any competent evidence in | ||||||
25 | regard
thereto. In addition, all persons residing in or | ||||||
26 | interested in any of the
property situated in the territory |
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1 | sought to be transferred shall have an
opportunity to be heard | ||||||
2 | touching the location and boundary of the territory
to be voted | ||||||
3 | upon for such transfer, and may make suggestions regarding the | ||||||
4 | same.
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5 | If the court shall, upon hearing the petition, find that | ||||||
6 | the territory
described in the petition would receive equal or | ||||||
7 | greater benefits by being
so transferred and meet the | ||||||
8 | conditions hereinbefore set forth, it shall
certify to the | ||||||
9 | proper election officials the question of whether the territory
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10 | shall be transferred,
and its order, and such officials shall | ||||||
11 | submit that question at an election
in the entire district from | ||||||
12 | which the transfer is sought to be made such territory in | ||||||
13 | accordance with the general election law. The proposition
shall | ||||||
14 | be in substantially the following form:
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15 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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16 | For making the transfer from the
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17 | ..... Fire Protection District to the
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18 | ..... Fire Protection District, remaining
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19 | liable for a proportionate share of the
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20 | bonded indebtedness outstanding as of the
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21 | date of disconnection, if any, of the district
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22 | from which disconnection is proposed and also
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23 | assuming a proportionate share of the bonded
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24 | indebtedness, if any, of the district
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25 | to which transfer is proposed.
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26 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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1 | Against making the transfer from the
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2 | ..... Fire Protection District to the
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3 | ..... Fire Protection District, remaining
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4 | liable for a proportionate share of the
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5 | bonded indebtedness outstanding as of the
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6 | date of disconnection, if any, of the district
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7 | from which disconnection is proposed and also
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8 | assuming a proportionate share of the bonded
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9 | indebtedness, if any, of the district
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10 | to which transfer is proposed.
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11 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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12 | If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of making | ||||||
13 | the transfer
shall be in favor of the transfer, the territory | ||||||
14 | shall thenceforth cease
to be a part of the fire protection | ||||||
15 | district or districts to which it has
been attached and shall | ||||||
16 | become an integral part of the fire protection district
to | ||||||
17 | which the transfer shall have been sought and shall be subject | ||||||
18 | to all
the enjoyments and responsibilities of the latter | ||||||
19 | district. In each case
in which a transfer is effected pursuant | ||||||
20 | to the provisions
hereof, the circuit clerk in whose court the | ||||||
21 | transfer proceedings have been conducted,
shall certify copies | ||||||
22 | of all orders entered in effecting such transfer and
file or | ||||||
23 | send them to the proper county clerk or clerks for filing and | ||||||
24 | to
the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
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25 | (Source: P.A. 94-806, eff. 1-1-07.)
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26 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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1 | becoming law.
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