70 ILCS 1205/ Park District Code.

(70 ILCS 1205/Art. 6 heading) ARTICLE SIX. GENERAL INDEBTEDNESS

(70 ILCS 1205/6-1) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-1)

Sec. 6-1. Neither this code nor anything contained herein shall be deemed to preclude any park district from exercising the powers available to park districts for issuance of refunding bonds as set forth in an act entitled "An Act authorizing any park district to issue refunding bonds and to provide for the levy of taxes for the payment thereof", approved August 15, 1941. The power to issue such bonds and the method of procedure therefor described in said Act is hereby specifically reserved to and granted all park districts.

(Source: Laws 1951, p. 113.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-2) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-2)

Sec. 6-2. For the payment of land condemned or purchased for parks or boulevards, for the building, maintaining, improving and protecting of the same and for the payment of the expenses incident thereto, or for the acquisition of real estate and lands to be used as a site for an armory, or for the refunding of its bonds which are payable solely from the revenues derived from the operation of any of its facilities, any park district is authorized to issue the bonds or notes of such park district and pledge its property and credit therefor to an amount including existing principal indebtedness of such district so that the aggregate principal indebtedness of such district does not exceed 2.875% of the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes previous to the issue from time to time of such bonds or notes, unless a petition, signed by voters in number equal to not less than 2% of the voters of the district, who voted at the last general election in the district, asking that the authorized aggregate principal indebtedness of the district be increased to not more than 5.75% of the value of the taxable property therein, is presented to the board and such increase is approved by the voters of the district at a referendum held on the question, in which case such aggregate principal indebtedness may not exceed 5.75% of the value of the taxable property in the district. Notice of the referendum shall be given and the referendum conducted in the manner provided by the general election law. Bonds for airport purposes issued by a park district under Section 9-2b, up to $15,000,000 in bonds issued by the Carol Stream Park District approved by referendum at the February 2, 2010 general primary election, and up to $13,000,000 in bonds issued by the Midlothian Park District approved by referendum at the March 20, 2018 general primary election are not subject to the percentage limitations imposed by, and shall not be considered as part of the existing principal indebtedness of that district for the purposes of, this Section or any other applicable statutory debt limitation.

(Source: P.A. 100-1125, eff. 11-28-18.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-3) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-3)

Sec. 6-3. The question as to the increase of the authorized aggregate principal indebtedness of a park district under Section 6-2 hereof shall be submitted to the voters of the district at the next regular election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition as to the increase of the authorized aggregate principal indebtedness shall be in substantially the following form:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Shall the authorized aggregate

principal indebtedness of the.... YES

Park District (naming it) be increased ---------------------

to not more than.... per centum of the NO

value of the taxable property therein?

--------------------------------------------------------------

If a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition are in the affirmative, the increase of the authorized aggregate principal indebtedness shall be deemed approved.

(Source: P.A. 86-494.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-4) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-4)

Sec. 6-4. The issue of bonds or notes by any park district shall be authorized by ordinance, and a copy of that ordinance properly certified by the secretary shall be filed in the office of the clerk in each of the counties wherein such district lies. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, bonds and notes the aggregate outstanding unpaid principal balance of which exceeds 0.575% of the total assessed valuation of all taxable property in the district may not be issued by any park district, until the proposition to issue the same has been certified by the secretary to the proper election officials who shall submit the proposition at an election in accordance with the general election law. Notice of the referendum shall be given and the referendum shall be conducted in the manner provided by the general election law.

Submission of any proposition of issuing bonds or notes shall be authorized by resolution to be adopted by the board which shall designate the election at which the proposition is to be submitted and designate the amount of bonds and purpose for which the bonds are to be issued.

Any proposition to issue bonds shall be in substantially the following form:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Shall bonds or notes of the

..... Park District (name it) to YES

the amount of..... Dollars

($.....) be issued for the ----------------------------

purpose of.....? (Here insert

any one or more of the NO

purposes authorized in

Section 6-2 hereof)

--------------------------------------------------------------

This Section shall not be construed to require a referendum for bonds issued under Section 9-2b nor for bonds to refund any maturing bond issues as provided in the Park District Refunding Bond Act, or to refund any judgment indebtedness including any unpaid public benefits and amounts assessed against any park district, whether due or not due under Division 2 of Article 9 of the Illinois Municipal Code, but bonds may be issued for such purposes without referendum.

Bonds heretofore or hereafter issued and outstanding that are approved by referendum, refunding bonds issued under the Park District Refunding Bond Act (70 ILCS 1270/) that refund or continue to refund bonds approved by referendum, bonds issued under this Section that have been paid in full or for which provisions for payment have been made by an irrevocable deposit of funds in an amount sufficient to pay the principal and interest on those bonds to their respective maturity date, non-referendum bonds issued under any other provision of this Act, promissory notes or similar debt instruments issued under Section 6-7, and bonded indebtedness assumed from another park district do not limit in any way the right of a park district to issue non-referendum bonds in accordance with this Section.

This Section shall not be construed to permit issuance of bonds for the purpose of refunding revenue bonds as provided in Section 6-2 until the proposition to issue the same has been submitted as herein provided at an election in accordance with the general election law.

(Source: P.A. 98-906, eff. 8-15-14.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-5) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-5)

Sec. 6-5. Such bonds or notes of a park district shall be issued when authorized under Sections 6-2, 6-3 or 6-4, hereof in the name of the district, signed by the president and secretary, and countersigned by the treasurer, with the seal of said district affixed. They shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, payable semiannually and the principal shall be payable at such time and place as may be determined by the board, not exceeding 25 years from their date. The board of such district may sell such bonds in any manner it deems for the best interests of the district, at not less than par, and the proceeds thereof shall be used exclusively for the purpose in this code authorized.

With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.

(Source: P.A. 96-321, eff. 8-11-09.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-6) (from Ch. 105, par. 6-6)

Sec. 6-6. All park districts, at or before the time of issuance of bonds or notes, shall provide for the levy of taxes, in addition to all other taxes, sufficient to pay the principal of and interest upon said bonds or notes as the same becomes due, and shall file a certified copy of the ordinance or ordinances providing for the levy of said taxes with the county clerk of the county in which the district is located. Where said district lies in more than one county, said tax shall be certified, apportioned and levied as provided in Section 5-4 hereof.

(Source: P.A. 79-434.)

(70 ILCS 1205/6-7)

Sec. 6-7. Borrowing from financial institutions. The board may borrow money for any corporate purpose from any bank or other financial institution provided such money shall be repaid within 2 years from the time the money is borrowed. The president and secretary shall execute a promissory note or similar debt instrument to evidence the indebtedness incurred by the borrowing. The obligation to make the payments due under the promissory note or other debt instrument shall be a lawful direct general obligation of the park district payable from the general funds of that district and such other sources of payment as are otherwise lawfully available. The promissory note or other debt instrument shall be authorized by an ordinance passed by the board and shall be valid whether or not an appropriation with respect to that ordinance is included in any annual or supplemental appropriation adopted by the board. The indebtedness incurred under this Section, when aggregated with the existing indebtedness of the park district, may not exceed any debt limitation otherwise provided for by law. "Financial institution" means any bank subject to the Illinois Banking Act, any savings and loan association subject to the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985, any savings bank subject to the Savings Bank Act, any credit union subject to the Illinois Credit Union Act, and any federally chartered commercial bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union organized and operated in this State pursuant to the laws of the United States.

(Source: P.A. 98-906, eff. 8-15-14.)