(70 ILCS 805/1)
(from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6302)
Sec. 1. Whenever any area of
contiguous territory lying wholly within one county contains one or more
natural forests or parks thereof and one or more cities, towns or
villages, such territory may be incorporated as a forest preserve
district by a referendum passed under Section 18.1 of the Conservation
District Act or in the following manner, to wit:
Any 500 legal voters residing within the limits of such
proposed district may petition the circuit court of the county in which
such proposed district lies, to order the question to be submitted to
the legal voters of such proposed district whether or not it shall be
organized as a forest preserve district under this act. Such petition
shall be addressed to the circuit court of the county in which
such proposed forest preserve district is situated and shall contain a
definite description of the territory intended to be embraced in such
district, and the name of such district. Upon the filing of such
petition in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county
in which such territory is situated, it shall be the duty of such
circuit court to fix a
day and hour for the public consideration thereof, which shall not be less than
15 days after the filing of such petition. Such circuit
court shall cause a notice of the time and place of such public
consideration to be published 3 successive days in some newspaper
having a general circulation in the territory proposed to be placed in such
district. The
date of the last publication of such notice shall not be less than 5
days prior to the time set for such public hearing. At the time and
place fixed for such public hearing the circuit court shall
hear any person owning property in such proposed district who desires to
be heard, and if the circuit judge finds that all of the
provisions of this act have been complied with, the court shall
enter an order
fixing and defining the boundaries and the name of such proposed
district in accordance with the prayer of the petition. In the event
that any other petition or petitions for the organization of a forest
preserve district or districts in the same county is filed under
this act before the time fixed for the public hearing of the first
petition, the circuit court shall postpone the
public consideration of the first petition so that the hearing of all
petitions shall be set for the same day and hour. In any county where there
are 2 or more judges sitting at the time of filing such first
petitions the clerk of the circuit court shall cause all petitions
filed subsequent to the first petition to be assigned to the
judge to whom the first petition
is assigned so that all such petitions may be heard by the same judge.
Should 2 or more petitions be filed under this act and come
on for hearing at the same time and it shall be found by the
circuit court that any of the territory embraced in any one
of the petitions is included in or contiguous with the territory
embraced in any other
petition or petitions, the circuit court may
include all of the
territory described in such petitions in one district and shall fix the
name proposed in the petition first filed as the name for the district.
After the entry of the order fixing and defining the boundaries and the
name of such proposed district, it shall be the duty of the
circuit court to order to be submitted to the legal voters
of such proposed district at any election, the question
of the organization of such proposed district. The clerk of the circuit
court shall certify the order and the question to the proper election officials
who shall submit the question to the voters of the proposed district in
accordance with the general election law.
Notice of the referendum shall contain a definite description of the territory
intended to be embraced in such district, and the name of such district.
(Source: P.A. 95-54, eff. 8-10-07.)
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