(105 ILCS 5/1E-160)
(This Section scheduled to be repealed in accordance with 105 ILCS 5/1E-165) Sec. 1E-160.
Limitations of actions after abolition;
indemnification; legal representation.
(a) Abolition of the Authority pursuant to Section 1E-155 of this Code shall
bar any remedy available against the Authority, its members, employees, or
agents for any right or claim existing or any liability incurred prior to the
abolition unless the action or other proceeding is commenced prior to the
expiration of 2 years after the date of the abolition.
(b) The Authority may indemnify any member, officer, employee, or
agent who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any
threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether
civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, by reason of the fact
that he or she was a member, officer, employee, or agent of the Authority,
against expenses (including attorney's fees, judgments, fines, and
amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in
connection with the action, suit, or proceeding) if he or she acted in good
faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in or not
opposed to the best interests of the Authority and, with respect to any
criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her
conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit, or proceeding by
judgment, order, settlement, or conviction or upon a plea of nolo
contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption
that the person did not act in good faith in a manner that he or she reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Authority and,
with respect to any criminal
action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct
was unlawful.
To the extent that a member, officer, employee, or agent of the
Authority has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the
defense of any such action, suit, or proceeding referred to in this
subsection (b) or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, he or she
shall be indemnified against expenses, including attorney's fees, actually and
reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith. Any such
indemnification shall be made by the Authority only as authorized in the
specific case, upon a
determination that indemnification of the member, officer, employee, or agent
is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable
standard of conduct. The determination shall be made (i) by the Authority by a
majority vote of a quorum consisting of members who are not parties to the
action, suit, or proceeding or (ii) if such a quorum is not obtainable
or, even if obtainable, a quorum of disinterested members so directs,
by independent legal counsel in a written opinion.
Reasonable expenses incurred in defending an action, suit, or
proceeding shall be paid by the Authority in advance of the final
disposition of the action, suit, or proceeding, as authorized by the
Authority in the specific case, upon receipt of an undertaking
by or on behalf of the member, officer, employee, or agent to repay
the amount, unless it is ultimately determined that he or she is
entitled to be indemnified by the Authority as authorized in this
Section.
Any member, officer, employee, or agent against whom any action,
suit, or proceeding is brought may employ his or her own attorney to
appear on his or her behalf.
The right to indemnification accorded by this Section shall not
limit any other right to indemnification to which the member, officer,
employee, or agent may be entitled. Any rights under this Section shall inure
to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of any member,
officer, employee, or agent of the Authority.
The Authority may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any
person who is or was a member, officer, employee, or agent of the
Authority against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him
or her in any such capacity or arising out of his or her status as such,
whether or not the Authority would have the power to indemnify him or her
against the liability under the provisions of this Section.
The Authority shall be considered a State agency for purposes of
receiving representation by the Attorney General. Members, officers,
employees, and agents of the Authority shall be entitled to representation
and indemnification under the State Employee Indemnification Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-547, eff. 6-13-02.)
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