(20 ILCS 3805/7.31)

Sec. 7.31. Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Program.

(a) The Authority shall establish and administer an Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Program. The Authority shall use moneys in the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, and any other funds appropriated for this purpose, to make grants to municipalities and to counties to assist with costs incurred by the municipality or county for: cutting of neglected weeds or grass, trimming of trees or bushes, and removal of nuisance bushes or trees; extermination of pests or prevention of the ingress of pests; removal of garbage, debris, and graffiti; boarding up, closing off, or locking windows or entrances or otherwise making the interior of a building inaccessible to the general public; surrounding part or all of an abandoned residential property's underlying parcel with a fence or wall or otherwise making part or all of the abandoned residential property's underlying parcel inaccessible to the general public; demolition of abandoned residential property; and repair or rehabilitation of abandoned residential property, as approved by the Authority under the Program. For purposes of this subsection (a), "pests" has the meaning ascribed to that term in subsection (c) of Section 11-20-8 of the Illinois Municipal Code. The Authority shall promulgate rules for the administration, operation, and maintenance of the Program and may adopt emergency rules as soon as practicable to begin implementation of the Program.

(b) Subject to appropriation and the annual receipt of funds, the Authority shall make grants from the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund derived from fees paid as specified in paragraph (1) of subsection (a-5) of Section 15-1504.1 and subsection (a) of Section 15-1507.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure as follows:

(1) 30% of the moneys in the Fund shall be used to make grants to municipalities other than the City of Chicago in Cook County and to Cook County;

(2) 25% of the moneys in the Fund shall be used to make grants to the City of Chicago;

(3) 30% of the moneys in the Fund shall be used to make grants to municipalities in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, and to those counties; and

(4) 15% of the moneys in the Fund shall be used to make grants to municipalities in Illinois in counties other than Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties, and to counties other than Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. Grants distributed to the municipalities and counties shall be based on (i) areas of greatest need within these counties, which shall be determined, to the extent practicable, proportionately on the amount of fees paid to the respective clerks of the courts within these counties, and (ii) on any other factors that the Authority deems appropriate.

The percentages set forth in this subsection (b) shall be calculated after deduction of reimbursable administrative expenses incurred by the Authority, but shall not be greater than 4% of the annual appropriated amount.

(c) Where the jurisdiction of a municipality is included within more than one of the geographic areas set forth in this Section, the Authority may elect to fully fund the municipality from one of the relevant geographic areas.

(Source: P.A. 97-1164, eff. 6-1-13; 98-20, eff. 6-11-13.)