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093_SB0368eng
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1 AN ACT with regard to schools.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Sections 11A-2 and 11A-8 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/11A-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 11A-2)
7 Sec. 11A-2. Organization of community unit districts;
8 territorial requirement. (1) Any contiguous and compact
9 territory of at least $12,000,000 equalized assessed
10 valuation and having a population of not less than 4,000 and
11 not more than 500,000, no part of which is included within
12 any unit district, may be organized into a community unit
13 school district as provided in this Article; (2) the
14 territory of 2 or more entire unit school districts that are
15 contiguous to each other and the territory of which taken as
16 a whole is compact may be organized into a community unit
17 school district as provided in this Article; or (3) the
18 territory of one or more entire unit school districts that
19 are contiguous to each other plus any contiguous and compact
20 territory, no part of which is included within any unit
21 district, and the territory of which taken as a whole is
22 compact may be organized into a community unit school
23 district as provided in this Article; however, a petition or
24 petitions may be filed hereunder proposing to divide a unit
25 school district into 2 or more parts and proposing to include
26 all of such parts in 2 or more community unit districts. As
27 used in this Section, a unit school district includes, but is
28 not limited to, a special charter unit school district.
29 The territory of any high school district and all of the
30 elementary school districts included within that high school
31 district may be organized into a community unit school
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1 district. A petition signed by at least 10% of the voters
2 residing in the affected school districts included in the
3 proposal shall be filed with the regional superintendent of
4 schools of the region in which the territory described in the
5 petition is situated, or the petition may be filed by the
6 school board of the high school district. The petition shall
7 (i) request the submission of the proposition at a regular
8 scheduled election for the purpose of voting for or against
9 the creation of a community unit school district; (ii)
10 describe the territory comprising the proposed district; and
11 (iii) set forth the maximum tax rates for educational,
12 operations and maintenance, pupil transportation, and fire
13 prevention and safety purposes that the proposed district
14 will be authorized to levy.
15 The regional superintendent shall not accept for filing
16 hereunder any petition which includes therein any territory
17 already included as part of the territory described in
18 another petition filed hereunder. Hearings on a petition
19 filed hereunder shall not be commenced so long as any part of
20 the territory described therein shall include territory
21 described, whether by amendment or otherwise, in another
22 petition filed hereunder. A petition may be filed hereunder
23 which contains less than the required minimum equalized
24 assessed valuation or population requirements provided that
25 such a petition shall not be approved by the regional
26 superintendent and State Superintendent unless it is
27 determined: (1) that there is a compelling reason for
28 granting the petition; (2) that the territory involved cannot
29 currently be organized as part of a petition which meets the
30 minimum requirements; (3) that the granting of the petition
31 will not interfere with the ultimate reorganization of the
32 territory into a school district which meets the minimum
33 requirements; (4) that the granting of the petition is in the
34 best educational interests of the pupils affected; and (5)
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1 that the granting of the petition is financially beneficial
2 to the affected school districts.
3 (Source: P.A. 88-555, eff. 7-27-94.)
4 (105 ILCS 5/11A-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 11A-8)
5 Sec. 11A-8. Passage requirements.
6 (a) Except as otherwise provided by Section 11A-7, the
7 proposition to create a community unit school district shall
8 be submitted only to the voters of the territory which
9 comprises the proposed community unit school district, and if
10 a majority of the voters in each of the affected school
11 districts voting at such election vote in favor of the
12 establishment of such community unit school district, the
13 proposition shall be deemed to have passed. Unless the board
14 of education of a new community unit school district is
15 elected at the same election at which the proposition
16 establishing that district is deemed to have passed, the
17 regional superintendent of schools shall order an election to
18 be held on the next regularly scheduled election date for the
19 purpose of electing a board of education for that district.
20 In either event, the board of education elected for a new
21 community unit school district created under this Article
22 shall consist of 7 members who shall have the terms and the
23 powers and duties of school boards as defined in Article 10
24 of this Act. Nomination papers filed under this Section are
25 not valid unless the candidate named therein files with the
26 regional superintendent a receipt from the county clerk
27 showing that the candidate has filed a statement of economic
28 interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics
29 Act. Such statement shall be so filed either previously
30 during the calendar year in which his nomination papers were
31 filed or within the period for the filing of nomination
32 papers in accordance with the general election law. The
33 regional superintendent shall perform the election duties
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1 assigned by law to the secretary of a school board for such
2 election, and shall certify the officers and candidates
3 therefor pursuant to the general election law.
4 (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), for
5 school districts formed before January 1, 1975, if the
6 territory of such district is greater than 2 congressional
7 townships or 72 square miles, then not more than 3 board
8 members may be selected from any one congressional township,
9 but congressional townships of less than 100 inhabitants
10 shall not be considered for the purpose of such mandatory
11 board representation, and in any such community unit district
12 where at least 75% but not more than 90% of the population is
13 in one congressional township 4 board members shall be
14 selected therefrom and 3 board members shall be selected from
15 the rest of the district, but in any such community unit
16 district where more than 90% of the population is in one
17 congressional township all board members may be selected from
18 one or more congressional townships; and whenever the
19 territory of any community unit district shall consist of not
20 more than 2 congressional townships or 72 square miles, but
21 shall consist of more than one congressional township, or 36
22 square miles, outside of the corporate limits of any city,
23 village or incorporated town within the school district, not
24 more than 5 board members shall be selected from any city,
25 village or incorporated town in such school district.
26 (c) The provisions of subsection (b) for mandatory board
27 representation shall no longer apply to a community unit
28 school district formed prior to January 1, 1975, and the
29 members of the board of education shall be elected at large
30 from within that school district and without restriction by
31 area of residence within the district if both of the
32 following conditions are met with respect to that district:
33 (1) A proposition for the election of board members
34 at large and without restriction by area of residence
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1 within the district rather than in accordance with the
2 provisions of subsection (b) for mandatory board
3 representation is submitted to the school district's
4 voters at a regular school election or at the general
5 election as provided in this subsection (c).
6 (2) A majority of those voting at the election in
7 each congressional township comprising the territory of
8 the school district, including any congressional township
9 of less than 100 inhabitants, vote in favor of the
10 proposition.
11 The board of education of the school district may by
12 resolution order submitted or, upon the petition of the
13 lesser of 2,500 or 5% of the school district's registered
14 voters, shall order submitted to the school district's voters
15 at a regular school election or at the general election the
16 proposition for the election of board members at large and
17 without restriction by area of residence within the district
18 rather than in accordance with the provisions of subsection
19 (b) for mandatory board representation; and the proposition
20 shall thereupon be certified by the board's secretary for
21 submission. If a majority of those voting at the election in
22 each congressional township comprising the territory of the
23 school district, including any congressional township of less
24 than 100 inhabitants, vote in favor of the proposition: (i)
25 the proposition to elect board members at large and without
26 restriction by area of residence within the district shall be
27 deemed to have passed, (ii) new members of the board shall be
28 elected at large and without restriction by area of residence
29 within the district at the next regular school election, and
30 (iii) the terms of office of the board members incumbent at
31 the time the proposition is adopted shall expire when the new
32 board members that are elected at large and without
33 restriction by area of residence within the district have
34 organized in accordance with Section 10-16. In a community
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1 unit school district that formerly elected its members under
2 subsection (b) to successive terms not exceeding 4 years, the
3 members elected at large and without restriction by area of
4 residence within the district shall be elected for a term of
5 4 years, and in a community unit school district that
6 formerly elected its members under subsection (b) to
7 successive terms not exceeding 6 years, the members elected
8 at large and without restriction by area of residence within
9 the district shall be elected for a term of 6 years;
10 provided, that in each case the terms of the board members
11 initially elected at large and without restriction by area of
12 residence within the district as provided in this subsection
13 shall be staggered and determined in accordance with the
14 provisions of Sections 10-10 and 10-16.
15 (Source: P.A. 89-129, eff. 7-14-95.)
16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17 becoming law.
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