Public Act 93-0308

HB0138 Enrolled                      LRB093 03373 MKM 04177 b

    AN ACT in relation to counties.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The  Election  Code  is amended by changing
Section 28-1 as follows:

    (10 ILCS 5/28-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-1)
    Sec. 28-1.  The initiation and submission of  all  public
questions to be voted upon by the electors of the State or of
any   political   subdivision  or  district  or  precinct  or
combination of precincts shall be subject to  the  provisions
of this Article.
    Questions  of  public  policy which have any legal effect
shall be submitted to referendum  only  as  authorized  by  a
statute  which  so  provides or by the Constitution. Advisory
questions of public policy shall be submitted  to  referendum
pursuant  to  Section  28-5 or pursuant to a statute which so
provides.
    The method of  initiating  the  submission  of  a  public
question shall be as provided by the statute authorizing such
public question, or as provided by the Constitution.
    All  public  questions  shall be initiated, submitted and
printed on the ballot in the form required by Section 16-7 of
this Act, except as may otherwise be specified in the statute
authorizing a public question.
    Whenever a statute  provides  for  the  initiation  of  a
public  question by a petition of electors, the provisions of
such statute shall govern  with  respect  to  the  number  of
signatures  required,  the qualifications of persons entitled
to sign the petition,  the  contents  of  the  petition,  the
officer with whom the petition must be filed, and the form of
the  question  to  be  submitted.  If  such  statute does not
specify any  of  the  foregoing  petition  requirements,  the
corresponding  petition  requirements  of  Section 28-6 shall
govern such petition.
    Irrespective of the method of initiation, not more than 3
public questions other than  (a)  back  door  referenda,  (b)
referenda to determine whether a disconnection may take place
where  a  city  coterminous  with  a township is proposing to
annex territory from an adjacent township, or  (c)  referenda
held  under  the  provisions  of  the  Property Tax Extension
Limitation Law in the Property Tax  Code,  or  (d)  referenda
held  under  Section  2-3002  of  the  Counties  Code  may be
submitted  to  referendum  with  respect   to   a   political
subdivision at the same election.
    If  more  than  3  propositions  are  timely initiated or
certified for submission at an election  with  respect  to  a
political  subdivision, the first 3 validly initiated, by the
filing of a petition or by the adoption of  a  resolution  or
ordinance  of  a  political  subdivision, as the case may be,
shall  be  printed  on  the  ballot  and  submitted  at  that
election. However, except as expressly authorized by law  not
more than one proposition to change the form of government of
a  municipality  pursuant  to Article VII of the Constitution
may be submitted at  an  election.  If  more  than  one  such
proposition  is  timely initiated or certified for submission
at an election with respect  to  a  municipality,  the  first
validly  initiated shall be the one printed on the ballot and
submitted at that election.
    No public question shall be submitted to the voters of  a
political  subdivision at any regularly scheduled election at
which such voters are not scheduled to  cast  votes  for  any
candidates  for  nomination  for, election to or retention in
public office, except that if, in any  existing  or  proposed
political  subdivision  in  which  the submission of a public
question at a regularly scheduled election  is  desired,  the
voters  of  only  a  portion  of  such  existing  or proposed
political subdivision are not scheduled  to  cast  votes  for
nomination  for, election to or retention in public office at
such election, but the voters in one or more  other  portions
of  such  existing  or  proposed  political  subdivision  are
scheduled  to  cast  votes for nomination for, election to or
retention in public  office  at  such  election,  the  public
question  shall  be voted upon by all the qualified voters of
the entire existing or proposed political subdivision at  the
election.
    Not   more  than  3  advisory  public  questions  may  be
submitted to the voters of the  entire  state  at  a  general
election.  If  more  than  3  such  advisory propositions are
initiated, the first 3 timely and validly initiated shall  be
the  questions  printed  on  the ballot and submitted at that
election; provided however, that a question  for  a  proposed
amendment  to  Article  IV  of  the  Constitution pursuant to
Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution, or for a question
submitted under the Property Tax Cap  Referendum  Law,  shall
not be included in the foregoing limitation.
(Source: P.A. 88-116; 89-510, eff. 7-11-96.)

    Section  10.   The  Counties  Code is amended by changing
Sections 2-3002 and 2-3003 as follows:

    (55 ILCS 5/2-3002) (from Ch. 34, par. 2-3002)
    Sec.  2-3002.  Counties  with  population  of  less  than
3,000,000 and with township form of government.
    (a)  Reapportionment required. By July 1, 1971, and  each
10 years thereafter, the county board of each county having a
population   of  less  than  3,000,000  inhabitants  and  the
township form of government shall reapportion its  county  so
that  each  member  of  the  county board represents the same
number of inhabitants.  In  reapportioning  its  county,  the
county  board  shall  first  determine the size of the county
board to be elected, which may consist of not less than 5 nor
more than 29 members and may  not  exceed  the  size  of  the
county  board  in that county on October 2, 1969.  The county
board shall also determine whether  board  members  shall  be
elected   at  large  from  the  county  or  by  county  board
districts.
    If the chairman of the county board is to be  elected  by
the  voters  in  a  county of less than 450,000 population as
provided in  Section  2-3007,  such  chairman  shall  not  be
counted  as  a  member of the county board for the purpose of
the limitations on the size of a  county  board  provided  in
this Section.
    (b)  Advisory  referenda.   The  voters  of  a county may
advise the county board, through an advisory  referendum,  on
questions  concerning (i) the number of members of the county
board to be elected, (ii) whether the board members should be
elected from single-member districts, multi-member districts,
or at-large, (iii) whether voters will have cumulative voting
rights in the election of county board members, or  (iv)  any
combination  of  the  preceding  3  questions.   The advisory
referendum  may  be  initiated  either  by  petition  or   by
ordinance  of  the  county  board.  A written petition for an
advisory referendum authorized by this Section  must  contain
the  signatures  of  at  least  8%  of  the  votes  cast  for
candidates   for  Governor  in  the  preceding  gubernatorial
election by the registered voters of the county and  must  be
filed  with the appropriate election authority.  An ordinance
initiating an advisory referendum authorized by this  Section
must  be  approved by a majority of the members of the county
board  and  must  be  filed  with  the  appropriate  election
authority.   An  advisory  referendum  initiated  under  this
Section shall be placed on the ballot at the general election
designated in the petition or ordinance.
(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

    (55 ILCS 5/2-3003) (from Ch. 34, par. 2-3003)
    Sec. 2-3003.  Apportionment plan. (1) If the county board
determines that members shall be  elected  by  districts,  it
shall develop an apportionment plan and specify the number of
districts  and  the  number  of  county  board  members to be
elected from each  district  and  whether  voters  will  have
cumulative voting rights in multi-member districts. Each such
district:
    a.  Shall be equal in population to each other district;
    b.  Shall be comprised of contiguous territory, as nearly
compact as practicable; and
    c.  May  divide  townships  or  municipalities  only when
necessary  to  conform  to  the  population  requirement   of
paragraph a. of this Section.
    d.  Shall be created in such a manner so that no precinct
shall  be  divided between 2 or more districts, insofar as is
practicable.
    (2)  The county board of each county having a  population
of  less  than  3,000,000  inhabitants  may,  if it should so
decide,  provide  within  that  county  for   single   member
districts  outside  the  corporate  limits  and  multi-member
districts  within  the  corporate  limits of any municipality
with a population in excess of 75,000.  Paragraphs  a,  b,  c
and  d  of  subsection (1) of this Section shall apply to the
apportionment  of  both  single  and  multi-member  districts
within a county to the extent that compliance with paragraphs
a, b,  c  and  d  still  permit  the  establishment  of  such
districts,  except  that  the  population of any multi-member
district shall be equal  to  the  population  of  any  single
member  district,  times  the  number of members found within
that multi-member district.
(Source: P.A. 86-962.)
    Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
becoming law.