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Public Act 099-0668
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| HB4371 Enrolled | LRB099 13772 AWJ 37740 b |
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AN ACT concerning local government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Water Authorities Act is amended by changing |
Section 28 as follows:
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(70 ILCS 3715/28) |
Sec. 28. Cessation or dissolution of authority |
organization. |
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a |
majority vote of the board of trustees is in favor of the |
proposition to annex the authority to another authority whose |
boundaries are contiguous, or consolidate the authority into a |
municipality with which the authority is coterminous or |
substantially coterminous, or consolidate the authority into |
the county in which the authority sits if the authority |
contains territory within only one county, and if the governing |
authorities of the governmental unit assuming the functions of |
the former authority agree by resolution to accept the |
functions (and jurisdiction over the territory, if applicable) |
of the consolidated or annexed authority, then the authority |
shall cease. On the effective date of the annexation or |
consolidation, all the rights, powers, duties, assets, |
property, liabilities, indebtedness, obligations, bonding |
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authority, taxing authority, and responsibilities of the |
authority shall vest in and be assumed by the governmental unit |
assuming the functions of the former authority. |
The employees of the former authority shall be transferred |
to the governmental unit assuming the functions of the former |
authority. The governmental unit assuming the functions of the |
former authority shall exercise the rights and |
responsibilities of the former authority with respect to those |
employees. The status and rights of the employees of the former |
authority under any applicable contracts or collective |
bargaining agreements, historical representation rights under |
the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, or under any pension, |
retirement, or annuity plan shall not be affected by this |
amendatory Act.
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(b) Any authority created under this Act, other than an |
authority servicing any part of the City of Chicago, which does
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not have any outstanding and unpaid revenue bonds issued under |
this Act
may be dissolved any time after a date which is 4 |
years after the date
of its creation as follows: |
Any 500 electors residing within the area of the authority |
may
petition the circuit court to order submitted to referendum
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the question whether the authority
should be dissolved. Upon |
the filing of the petition, and the determination
that it is in |
accordance with the general election law, the circuit court
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shall: designate the election at which this question is to be |
submitted;
order notice of the referendum in the manner
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provided by the general election law; and certify the |
proposition to the
proper election officials for submission in |
accordance with the general election law.
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The proposition shall be in substantially
the following |
form:
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------------------------------------------------------------- |
"Shall the (name of YES |
water authority) -------------- |
be dissolved?" NO |
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If a majority of the
votes cast on this question are in |
favor of dissolution of the authority
under this subsection, |
then such organization shall cease, the authority is dissolved, |
and the circuit court shall direct the
discharge of
all |
outstanding obligations.
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If the vote is in favor of dissolution of the authority
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under this subsection, there shall be no further appointments |
or elections for trustees.
Except as otherwise provided for in |
this subsection, the trustees acting at the time of this vote |
shall close up the business
affairs of the district and make |
the necessary conveyances of the title
to the district |
property. The terms of the trustees acting at the time of a |
vote in favor of dissolution are extended until the business |
affairs are closed up and conveyances of title are completed.
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To the extent that the authority has entered into a |
multiyear lease on a real property asset (including, but not |
limited to, surface water property) that it possesses, the |
court, upon application of the trustees, may order the trustees |
to arrange the transfer of such real property asset, instead of |
liquidating the real property asset, to a unit of local |
government with legal authority to operate the real property |
asset. Such transfer may be made with or without compensation |
in the discretion of the court in accordance with this |
paragraph. In determining whether compensation shall be paid, |
the court shall determine if the same or substantially similar |
groups of citizens will benefit from the real property asset |
after transfer. To the extent that the same or substantially |
similar groups of citizens will continue to benefit from the |
real property asset, the court is not required to order |
compensation paid by the receiving unit of local government to |
the authority. To the extent that a substantial change occurs |
to the groups of citizens that will benefit from the real |
property asset after the transfer, the court shall determine, |
after receiving input from the trustees and the unit of local |
government, an equitable method of compensation, after |
receiving input from the trustees and the unit of local |
government, to be received from the unit of local government to |
whom the real property asset is being transferred. The court |
shall liberally construe this provision to provide for an |
equitable determination of relative benefit. |
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If the vote is against dissolution of the authority, no
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petition for a referendum under this subsection may be filed |
within 4 years
of the previous referendum.
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The dissolution of any authority under this subsection does
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not affect the obligation of any bonds issued or contracts |
entered into
by such authority, nor invalidate the levy, |
extension or collection of
any taxes upon the property in the |
debtor authority, but all such bonds
and contracts shall be |
fulfilled or repaid as required under the terms of the bonds or |
contracts.
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All money remaining after the business affairs of the |
authority have
been closed up and all the debts and obligations |
of the authority have
been paid under this subsection, shall be |
paid to the township or townships in which such authority is |
situated, or the county or counties of any portion of such |
authority that is situated outside of a township, in the |
proportion that the taxable value the real property in the |
authority situated in each township or county bears to the |
taxable value of all the real property in the authority.
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All courts shall take judicial notice of the dissolution of |
such
authority. |
(Source: P.A. 98-1002, eff. 8-18-14.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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