70 ILCS 3455/25

(70 ILCS 3455/25)

Sec. 25. Public hearing.

(a) The governing body shall hold a public hearing on the proposed district at the day and time indicated in the resolution of intent. The governing body shall give notice of the public hearing by United States mail to each governmental unit within the district and each business owner that may be subjected to a transaction charge, based on the governmental unit's most recent records. The notice shall include the resolution of intent and the name, address, email address, and phone number of the clerk of the governing body, and it shall be mailed not less than 30 days before the public hearing.

(b) At the hearing, the governing body shall consider public testimony regarding the proposed district. Any business owner that may be subjected to a transaction charge may submit a written objection to the formation of the district to the clerk at any time before voting has begun on the formation ordinance. If written objections are received from hotels that would pay 50% or more of the proposed transaction charges in the proposed district, as determined by the last 12 months of State hotel operators' occupation taxes paid preceding the date of the petition, the hearing shall end and no further proceedings to form a district may be undertaken by the governmental unit for a period of one year from the date of the hearing.

The hearing may be adjourned to another date without further notice, other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes fixing the time and place the governing body will reconvene.

(c) At the public hearing, the governing body may remove territory or hotels from the district that will not benefit from the district's services or improvements, reduce a transaction charge rate, or make administrative clarifications to the district plan.

(d) If, at the conclusion of the public hearing, the clerk determines that the written objections submitted under subsection (b) do not represent hotels that would pay 50% or more of the proposed transaction charges, as determined by the last 12 months of State hotel operators' occupation taxes paid preceding the date of the petition, then the governing body may adopt an ordinance forming the district under Section 30.

(Source: P.A. 102-1127, eff. 2-10-23.)