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90_HB0703
310 ILCS 10/3 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 3
310 ILCS 10/6 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 6
Amends the Housing Authority Act. Replaces procedures
for appointment of 3 tenant commissioners for a housing
authority in a city over 1,000,000; provides for appointments
from list of top 5 finishers in a tenant commissioner
election rather than from list presented by official tenants'
associations. Provides that, for an Authority with 10
commissioners, a majority of the duly appointed commissioners
shall constitute a quorum for 240 days after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of 1997. A quorum shall be
deemed present for a meeting held by an Authority with 10
commissioners from January 1, 1992 through 240 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 provided that a
majority of the duly appointed commissioners were present.
Effective immediately.
LRB9003661DJcd
LRB9003661DJcd
1 AN ACT to amend the Housing Authorities Act by changing
2 Sections 3 and 6.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Housing Authorities Act is amended by
6 changing Sections 3 and 6 as follows:
7 (310 ILCS 10/3) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 3)
8 Sec. 3. The governing body of any city, village or
9 incorporated town having more than 25,000 inhabitants, or of
10 any county of this State, may, by resolution, determine that
11 there is need for a housing authority in the city, village,
12 incorporated town or county. Upon adoption, the resolution
13 shall be forwarded to the Department together with a
14 statement of reasons or findings supporting the resolution.
15 The Department shall thereupon issue a certificate to the
16 presiding officer of the city, village, incorporated town or
17 county for the creation of an authority if it shall find (a)
18 that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwelling accommodations
19 exist in the city, village, incorporated town or county, and
20 (b) that there is a shortage of safe or sanitary and
21 affordable dwelling accommodations in the city, village,
22 incorporated town or county available to persons who lack the
23 amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the
24 Department) to enable them without financial assistance to
25 live in decent, safe and sanitary and affordable dwellings
26 without over-crowding. In determining whether dwelling
27 accommodations are unsafe or unsanitary the Department may
28 take into consideration the degree of over-crowding, the
29 percentage of land coverage, the light, air, space and access
30 available to the inhabitants of such dwelling accommodations,
31 the size and arrangement of the rooms, the sanitary
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1 facilities and the extent to which conditions exist in the
2 buildings which endanger life or property by fire or other
3 causes. In making its determination, the Department may also
4 consider whether or not the needs of the applicant are
5 currently being met by an existing housing authority. The
6 Department may also take into consideration whether or not
7 the creation of a new housing authority would be an
8 unnecessary duplication of services.
9 As soon as possible after the issuance of a certificate
10 by the Department the presiding officer of the city, village,
11 incorporated town or county shall appoint, with the approval
12 of the governing body of the unit of local government, 5
13 commissioners with initial terms of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years,
14 except as follows:
15 (i) for the Housing Authority in any municipality
16 having over 500,000 inhabitants, the presiding officer
17 shall appoint 7 commissioners, with initial terms of 4
18 and 5 years for the 2 additional commissioners authorized
19 and appointed under this amendatory Act of 1982, and the
20 presiding officer shall designate one commissioner as
21 Chairman of the Authority; and
22 (ii) if a county has at least 80,000 but fewer than
23 90,000 inhabitants according to the 1990 federal
24 decennial census, then the Housing Authority in any
25 municipality in the county may have 7 commissioners
26 appointed by the presiding officer of the municipality,
27 with initial terms of 4 and 5 years for the 2 additional
28 commissioners authorized and appointed in accordance with
29 this amendatory Act of 1993; and
30 (iii) if a county has at least 170,000 but fewer
31 than 500,000 inhabitants, according to the 1990 Federal
32 decennial census, then the county board may, with respect
33 to one or more commissioners, cede powers of appointment,
34 confirmation, and removal of those commissioners to one
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1 or more municipalities within the county by
2 intergovernmental agreement.
3 In cases where a county of more than 500,000 but less
4 than 3 million population is the area of operation of an
5 Authority, the presiding officer of the county board of the
6 county shall appoint 7 commissioners to the housing
7 authority, 2 of whom may be members of that county board.
8 The county members appointed to the Authority under this
9 Section shall serve such term or until termination of their
10 county board service, whichever first occurs. Upon the
11 approval by the governing body of the appointments, the
12 presiding officer shall cause a certificate of such
13 appointments and of its approval thereof to be filed in the
14 office in which deeds of property in the area of operation
15 are recorded, and upon filing the persons so appointed and
16 approved shall be fully constituted an Authority.
17 At the expiration of the term of each commissioner, and
18 of each succeeding commissioner, or in the event of a
19 vacancy, the presiding officer shall appoint a commissioner,
20 subject to the approval of the governing body as aforesaid,
21 to hold office, in the case of a vacancy for the unexpired
22 term, or in the case of expiration for a term of five years,
23 or until his successor shall have been appointed and
24 qualified. Each appointment shall be effective upon the
25 filing by the presiding officer of a certificate of
26 appointment in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in the
27 County where the Authority is located.
28 In case a county is the area of operation of an
29 Authority, the area shall not be deemed to include any city,
30 village, or incorporated town within the county within which
31 an Authority at that time exists. If thereafter an Authority
32 is organized with respect to any city, village, or
33 incorporated town within the county, the county Authority
34 shall have no power to initiate any further project within
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1 the city, village, or incorporated town. However, if there
2 are any existing projects within the city, village or
3 incorporated town currently owned and operated by the county
4 Authority they shall remain in the county Authority's
5 ownership, custody and control.
6 Every commissioner shall be a resident of the area of
7 operation of the Authority; provided, that in respect to an
8 Authority created for a county, residence in any city,
9 village or incorporated town within such county shall not be
10 a disqualification for appointment as a Commissioner for such
11 county Authority notwithstanding that such city, village or
12 incorporated town may be excluded from the area of operation
13 of such Authority. Any public officer shall be eligible to
14 serve as a commissioner, and the acceptance of appointment as
15 such shall not terminate nor impair his public office, the
16 provision of any statute to the contrary notwithstanding; but
17 no member of the Department shall be eligible to serve as a
18 commissioner, nor shall more than two public officers be
19 commissioners of the same Authority at one time; Provided,
20 that membership on any Authority at the same time of more
21 than two public officers shall not affect or impair the
22 validity of any Act undertaken or power exercised by the
23 Authority pursuant to Law. The term "public officer" as
24 herein used means a person holding a state or local
25 governmental office required to be filled by the vote of
26 electors, and for which provision is made by law for the
27 payment of annual compensation from public funds.
28 Except as otherwise provided, all provisions of this Act
29 shall apply to a Housing Authority established for more than
30 one county, and, unless the context shall otherwise indicate,
31 the word county shall be construed also to mean counties. An
32 Authority may subsequently be established separately for any
33 one or more counties, by compliance with the terms of this
34 Act, and, if an Authority is established, it shall take over
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1 all property and obligations, within the county or counties,
2 of the Authority previously including it or them within its
3 area of operation, and the Authority shall have no further
4 jurisdiction within the territory of the county or counties,
5 but nothing herein shall affect the power of a Housing
6 Authority to operate outside its area of operation, as
7 provided by Section 30. Subsection (b) of Section 17 shall
8 apply to a Housing Authority created under the provisions of
9 this Section. In all cases in which a Housing Authority
10 embraces the territory of more than one county, each county
11 shall have, within its territory, the powers conferred by
12 Section 29, and by the Housing Cooperation Law.
13 In addition to the commissioners provided for in this
14 Section, there are created 3 additional commissioner
15 positions for each housing authority of a municipality of
16 more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. The 3 additional
17 commissioner positions shall be filled according to the
18 following procedure:
19 (1) Within 60 days after the effective date of this
20 amendatory Act of 1997, a 7-member advisory committee,
21 comprised of 4 members appointed by the Illinois
22 Statewide Public Housing Resident Coalition and 3 other
23 housing authority tenants, shall be formed. Within 90
24 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
25 1997, the Housing Authority shall contract with an
26 independent, not-for-profit organization with experience
27 in election procedures to oversee the election of tenant
28 commissioners. The choice of the oversight organization
29 shall be approved by the advisory committee. The
30 advisory committee shall be consulted regularly
31 concerning the work of the oversight organization. The
32 oversight organization shall do the following:
33 (A) Schedule election activity.
34 (B) Publicize election procedures, community
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1 forums, and the location of polling places.
2 (C) Prepare nominating petition forms,
3 ballots, and other necessary forms.
4 (D) Promulgate rules for the conduct of
5 petition and election challenges and validate all
6 nomination petitions and election results.
7 (E) Participate in other tasks as are
8 necessary to accomplish the goals of this Act.
9 Copies of candidate filings, selection process
10 forms, and rules shall be made available for
11 inspection upon request.
12 (2) All Housing Authority tenants over the age of
13 18 shall be eligible to vote for tenant commissioners.
14 The term "Housing Authority tenant" includes a tenant of
15 a family housing development or senior housing
16 development or a tenant participating in the scattered
17 site housing program administered by the Housing
18 Authority who is residing in his or her home under a
19 valid lease agreement. The existence of any past due
20 rents or other alleged lease violations is not a
21 disqualification from participation.
22 (3) To be eligible to run for tenant commissioner,
23 a tenant shall be a Housing Authority tenant and shall
24 file with the oversight organization nominating petitions
25 containing 100 valid signatures of Housing Authority
26 tenants.
27 (4) The oversight organization shall establish at
28 least one polling place in each housing development and
29 sufficient additional polling places for tenants
30 participating in the scattered site housing program. The
31 Housing Authority shall provide the oversight
32 organization with lists of the names and addresses of all
33 Housing Authority tenants, listed by housing development
34 or other program. Housing Authority tenants shall be
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1 eligible to vote only at the housing authority
2 development where they live, except that tenants
3 participating in the scattered site housing program shall
4 be eligible to vote at any polling place established for
5 that purpose.
6 (5) The tenant commissioner election shall occur
7 within 180 days after the effective date of this
8 amendatory Act of 1997.
9 (6) Before the tenant commissioner election, the
10 oversight organization shall conduct at least 3 community
11 forums in at least 3 different areas of the Housing
12 Authority's jurisdiction. The tenant commissioner
13 candidates shall attend the community forums and shall
14 present their qualifications to the assembled tenants;
15 however, no tenant commissioner candidate shall be
16 disqualified for failing to attend a community forum.
17 The community forums shall be open to the public.
18 (7) All tenant commissioner candidates who file
19 valid nominating petitions may receive and spend
20 contributions; however, any contribution in excess of $25
21 shall be reported in a manner determined by the oversight
22 organization. Employees or other commissioners of the
23 Housing Authority shall not be allowed to make
24 contributions to tenant commissioner candidates.
25 (8) Within 30 days after the tenant commissioner
26 election, the oversight organization shall validate the
27 results of the election and shall present to the
28 appointing authority the names of the 5 tenant
29 commissioner candidates who received the highest number
30 of votes. The appointing authority shall have 30 days
31 after receiving this list to appoint 3 tenant
32 commissioners.
33 (9) The tenant commissioners appointed under this
34 Section shall have terms of 6 years, except that one
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1 tenant commissioner appointed under this amendatory Act
2 of 1997 shall have a term of 3 years.
3 (10) If a tenant commissioner resigns, dies, or no
4 longer resides in a public housing development or
5 participates in a scattered site housing program, the
6 appointing authority shall have 60 days to appoint a new
7 tenant commissioner from the list of 5 tenant
8 commissioner candidates.
9 (11) In subsequent tenant commissioner elections,
10 the appointing authority shall alternate between
11 appointing one or 2 commissioners from the list of the 5
12 tenant commissioner candidates who received the highest
13 votes, depending on the number of tenant commissioners
14 whose terms expire that year. The tenant commissioner
15 election may occur concurrently with the Local Advisory
16 Council elections. The oversight organization may make
17 minor alterations in the time frames set forth in this
18 Section as necessary to conform with the Local Advisory
19 Council elections, but shall otherwise conduct the tenant
20 commissioner selection process in conformity with this
21 Section. These new commissioners shall be appointed from
22 current residents of the housing authority and shall be
23 appointed from a list presented to the appointing
24 authority by official tenants' associations of residents
25 of the housing authority. A tenants' association is
26 "official" if it satisfies the requirements of a Resident
27 Council/Resident Organization/Resident Management
28 Organization established by the federal Department of
29 Housing and Urban Development. This paragraph shall not
30 apply to housing authorities in jurisdictions where no
31 official tenants' associations exist. However, upon the
32 creation of an official association, the new commissioner
33 positions shall be created 6 months thereafter.
34 Each tenants' association shall determine the method of
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1 choosing residents to be recommended for appointment.
2 Tenants' associations may act in unison in recommending
3 residents for appointment.
4 In units of local government of more than 1,000,000
5 inhabitants, each tenants' association shall submit not more
6 than 2 residents for consideration. If associations act in
7 unison, they may submit a number representing 2 names for
8 each association. The appointing authority shall make the
9 appointments within 45 days of receiving the recommendations.
10 A Housing Authority created under the preceding terms of
11 this Section shall be designated as the Housing Authority of
12 the city, village, incorporated town, county, or of the
13 several counties within its area of operation.
14 Any 2 or more home rule municipalities within the same
15 county may create a housing authority by intergovernmental
16 agreement. The agreement shall be for an indefinite
17 duration. If a housing authority is created by 2 or more
18 home rule municipalities under this paragraph, appointments
19 and confirmation of commissioners to the board and removal of
20 commissioners from the board shall be made as set forth in
21 the agreement. The agreement may include, in addition to
22 other terms and conditions governing the operation of the
23 board, provisions that increase the number of commissioners
24 otherwise authorized by this Act to a number no greater than
25 9. The agreement also may provide for staggered terms for
26 the commissioners and for the length of the commissioners'
27 initial terms. An intergovernmental agreement between 2 or
28 more home rule municipalities creating a housing authority
29 may include other terms the municipalities deem desirable.
30 The terms may include reporting and oversight requirements
31 binding on the housing authority board agreed upon by the
32 parties. This paragraph shall not be construed as a
33 limitation on home rule municipalities.
34 (Source: P.A. 88-319; 89-351, eff. 1-1-96.)
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1 (310 ILCS 10/6) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 6)
2 Sec. 6. As soon as possible after the creation of an
3 Authority the commissioners shall organize for the
4 transaction of business by choosing from among their number a
5 chairman and a vice-chairman and by adopting by-laws and
6 rules and regulations suitable to the purposes of this Act.
7 Three commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the
8 transaction of the business of an Authority that has 5
9 commissioners, 4 commissioners shall constitute a quorum for
10 an Authority that has 7 commissioners, and 6 commissioners
11 shall constitute a quorum for an Authority that has 10
12 commissioners, except that, for an Authority with 10
13 commissioners, a majority of the duly appointed commissioners
14 shall constitute a quorum for 240 days after the effective
15 date of this amendatory Act of 1997. A quorum shall be
16 deemed present for a meeting held by an Authority with 10
17 commissioners from January 1, 1992 through 240 days after
18 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 provided
19 that a majority of the duly appointed commissioners were
20 present. The commissioners shall, from time to time, select
21 and appoint a chief executive officer and officers and
22 employees, including engineering, architectural and legal
23 assistants, as they may require for the performance of their
24 duties, and may prescribe the duties and compensation of each
25 officer and employee or expressly delegate that authority to
26 the chief executive officer.
27 (Source: P.A. 87-200; 87-657; 87-895; 88-214.)
28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
29 becoming law.