Public Act 90-0509 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0509
HB1197 Enrolled LRB9002542THpk
AN ACT to amend the Public Community College Act by
changing Section 2-12.1.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended
by changing Section 2-12.1 as follows:
(110 ILCS 805/2-12.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 102-12.1)
Sec. 2-12.1. Experimental district; abolition of
experimental district and establishment of new community
college district.
(a) The State Board shall establish an experimental
community college district, referred to in this Act as the
"experimental district", to be comprised of territory which
includes the City of East St. Louis, Illinois. The State
Board shall determine the area and fix the boundaries of the
territory of the experimental district. Within 30 days of the
establishment of the experimental district, the State Board
shall file with the county clerk of the county, or counties,
concerned a map showing the territory of the experimental
district.
Within the experimental district, the State Board shall
establish, maintain and operate, until the experimental
district is abolished and a new community college district is
established under subsection (c), an experimental community
college to be known as the State Community College of East
St. Louis.
(b) (Blank).
(c) The experimental district shall be abolished and
replaced by a new community college district as follows:
(1) The establishment of the new community college
district shall become effective for all purposes on July
1, 1996, notwithstanding any minimum population,
equalized assessed valuation or other requirements
provided by Section 3-1 or any other provision of this
Act for the establishment of a community college
district.
(2) The experimental district established pursuant
to subsection (a) shall be abolished on July 1, 1996 when
the establishment of the new community college district
becomes effective for all purposes.
(3) The territory of the new community college
district shall be comprised of the territory of, and its
boundaries shall be coterminous with the boundaries of
the experimental district which it will replace, as those
boundaries existed on November 7, 1995.
(4) Notwithstanding the fact that the establishment
of the new community college district does not become
effective for all purposes until July 1, 1996, the
election for the members of the initial board of the new
community college district, to consist of 7 members,
shall be held at the nonpartisan election in November of
1995 in the manner provided by the general election law,
nominating petitions for members of the initial board
shall be filed with the regional superintendent in the
manner provided by Section 3-7.10 with respect to newly
organized districts, and the persons entitled to nominate
and to vote at the election for the members of the board
of the new community college district shall be the
electors in the territory referred to in paragraph (3) of
this subsection. In addition, for purposes of the levy,
extension, and collection of taxes as provided in
paragraph (5.5) of this subsection and for the purposes
of establishing the territory and boundaries of the new
community college district within and for which those
taxes are to be levied, the new community college
district shall be deemed established and effective when
the 7 members of the initial board of the new community
college district are elected and take office as provided
in this subsection (c).
(5) Each member elected to the initial board of the
new community college district must, on the date of his
election, be a citizen of the United States, of the age
of 18 years or over, and a resident of the State and the
territory referred to in paragraph (3) of this subsection
for at least one year preceding his election. Election
to the initial board of the new community college
district of a person who on July 1, 1996 is a member of a
common school board constitutes his resignation from, and
creates a vacancy on that common school board effective
July 1, 1996.
(5.5) The members first elected to the board of
trustees shall take office on the first Monday of
December, 1995, for the sole and limited purpose of
levying, at the rates specified in the proposition
submitted to the electors under subsection (b), taxes for
the educational purposes and for the operations and
maintenance of facilities purposes of the new community
college district. The taxes shall be levied in calendar
year 1995 for extension and collection in calendar year
1996, notwithstanding the fact that the new community
college district does not become effective for the
purposes of administration of the community college until
July 1, 1996. The regional superintendent shall convene
the meeting under this paragraph and the members shall
organize for the purpose of that meeting by electing, pro
tempore, a chairperson and a secretary. At that meeting
the board is authorized to levy taxes for educational
purposes and for operations and maintenance of facilities
purposes as authorized in this paragraph without adopting
any budget for the new community college district and
shall certify the levy to the appropriate county clerk or
county clerks in accordance with law. The county clerks
shall extend the levy notwithstanding any law that
otherwise requires adoption of a budget before extension
of the levy. The funds produced by the levy made under
this paragraph to the extent received by a county
collector before July 1, 1996 shall immediately be
invested in lawful investments and held by the county
collector for payment and transfer to the new community
college district, along with all accrued interest or
other earnings accrued on the investment, as provided by
law on July 1, 1996. All funds produced by the levy and
received by a county collector on or after July 1, 1996
shall be transferred to the new community college
district as provided by law at such time as they are
received by the county collector.
(5.75) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Section or the fact that establishment of the new
community college district as provided in this subsection
does not take effect until July 1, 1996, the members
first elected to the board of trustees of the new
community college district are authorized to meet,
beginning on June 1, 1996 and thereafter for purposes of:
(i) arranging for and approving educational programs,
ancillary services, staffing, and associated expenditures
that relate to the offering by the new community college
district of educational programs beginning on or after
July 1, 1996 and before the fall term of the 1996-97
academic year, and (ii) otherwise facilitating the
orderly transition of operations from the experimental
district known as State Community College of East St.
Louis to the new community college district established
under this subsection. The persons elected to serve, pro
tempore, as chairperson and secretary of the board for
purposes of paragraph (5.5) shall continue to serve in
that capacity for purposes of this paragraph (5.75).
(6) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs
(5.5) and (5.75), each of the members first elected to
the board of the new community college district shall
take office on July 1, 1996, and the Illinois Community
College Board, publicly by lot and not later than July 1,
1996, shall determine the length of term to be served by
each member of the initial board as follows: 2 shall
serve until their successors are elected at the
nonpartisan election in 1997 and have qualified, 2 shall
serve until their successors are elected at the
nonpartisan election in 1999 and have qualified, and 3
shall serve until their successors are elected at the
nonpartisan election in 2001 and have qualified. Their
successors shall serve 6 year terms.
(7) The regional superintendent shall convene the
initial board of the new community college district on
July 1, 1996, and the non-voting student member initially
selected to that board as provided in Section 3-7.24
shall serve a term beginning on the date of selection and
expiring on the next succeeding April 15. Upon being
convened on July 1, 1996, the board shall proceed to
organize in accordance with Section 3-8, and shall
thereafter continue to exercise the powers and duties of
a board in the manner provided by law for all boards of
community college districts except where obviously
inapplicable or otherwise provided by this Act.
Vacancies shall be filled, and members shall serve
without compensation subject to reimbursement for
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with their
service as members, as provided in Section 3-7. The duly
elected and organized board of the new community college
district shall levy taxes at a rate not to exceed .175
percent for educational purposes and at a rate not to
exceed .05 percent for operations and maintenance of
facilities purposes; provided that the board may act to
increase such rates at a regular election in accordance
with Section 3-14 and the general election law.
(d) Upon abolition of the experimental district and
establishment of the new community college district as
provided in this Section, all tangible personal property,
including inventory, equipment, supplies, and library books,
materials, and collections, belonging to the experimental
district and State Community College of East St. Louis at the
time of their abolition under this Section shall be deemed
transferred, by operation of law, to the board of trustees of
the new community college district. In addition, all real
property, and the improvements situated thereon, held by
State Community College of East St. Louis or on its behalf by
its board of trustees shall, upon abolition of the
experimental district and college as provided in this
Section, be conveyed by the Illinois Community College Board,
in the manner prescribed by law, to the board of trustees of
the new community college district established under this
Section for so long as that real property is used for the
conduct and operation of a public community college and the
related purposes of a public community college district of
this State. Neither the new community college district nor
its board of trustees shall have any responsibility to any
vendor or other person making a claim relating to the
property, inventory, or equipment so transferred. On the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, the endowment
funds, gifts, trust funds, and funds from student activity
fees and the operation of student and staff medical and
health programs, union buildings, bookstores, campus centers,
and other auxiliary enterprises and activities that were
received by the board of trustees of State Community College
of East St. Louis and held and retained by that board of
trustees at the time of the abolition of the experimental
district and its replacement by the new community college
district as provided in this Section shall be deemed
transferred by operation of law to the board of trustees of
that new community college district, to be retained in its
own treasury and used in the conduct and operation of the
affairs and related purposes of the new community college
district. On the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1997, all funds held locally in the State Community College
of East St. Louis Contracts and Grants Clearing Account, the
State Community College of East St. Louis Income Fund
Clearing Account and the Imprest Fund shall be transferred by
the Board to the General Revenue Fund.
(e) The outstanding obligations incurred for fiscal
years prior to fiscal year 1997 by the board of trustees of
State Community College of East St. Louis before the
abolition of that college and the experimental district as
provided in this Section shall be paid by the State Board
from appropriations made to the State Board from the General
Revenue Fund for purposes of this subsection. To facilitate
the appropriations to be made for that purpose, the State
Comptroller and State Treasurer, without delay, shall
transfer to the General Revenue Fund from the State Community
College of East St. Louis Income Fund and the State Community
College of East St. Louis Contracts and Grants Fund, special
funds previously created in the State Treasury, any balances
remaining in those special funds on the effective date of
this amendatory Act of 1997.
(Source: P.A. 89-141, eff. 7-14-95; 89-473, eff. 6-18-96.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.