(30 ILCS 350/17) (from Ch. 17, par. 6917)

Sec. 17. Leases and installment contracts.

(a) Interest not debt; debt on leases and installment contracts. Interest on bonds shall not be included in any computation of indebtedness of a governmental unit for the purpose of any statutory provision or limitation. For bonds consisting of leases and installment or financing contracts, (1) that portion of payments made by a governmental unit under the terms of a bond designated as interest in the bond or the ordinance authorizing such bond shall be treated as interest for purposes of this Section (2) where portions of payments due under the terms of a bond have not been designated as interest in the bond or the ordinance authorizing such bond, and all or a portion of such payments is to be used for the payment of principal of and interest on other bonds of the governmental unit or bonds issued by another unit of local government, such as a public building commission, the payments equal to interest due on such corresponding bonds shall be treated as interest for purposes of this Section and (3) where portions of payments due under the terms of a bond have not been designated as interest in the bond or ordinance authorizing such bond and no portion of any such payment is to be used for the payment of principal of and interest on other bonds of the governmental unit or another unit of local government, a portion of each payment due under the terms of such bond shall be treated as interest for purposes of this Section; such portion shall be equal in amount to the interest that would have been paid on a notional obligation of the governmental unit (bearing interest at the highest rate permitted by law for bonds of the governmental unit at the time the bond was issued or, if no such limit existed, 12%) on which the payments of principal and interest were due at the same times and in the same amounts as payments are due under the terms of the bonds. The rule set forth in this Section shall be applicable to all interest no matter when earned or accrued or at what interval paid, and whether or not a bond bears interest which compounds at certain intervals. For purposes of bonds sold at amounts less than 95% of their stated value at maturity, interest for purposes of this Section includes the difference between the amount set forth on the face of the bond as the original principal amount and the bond's stated value at maturity.

This subsection may be made applicable to bonds issued prior to the effective date of this Act by passage of an ordinance to such effect by the governing body of a governmental unit.

(b) Purchase or lease of property. The governing body of each governmental unit may purchase or lease either real or personal property, including investments, investment agreements, or investment services, through agreements that provide that the consideration for the purchase or lease may be paid through installments made at stated intervals for a period of no more than 20 years or another period of time authorized by law, whichever is greater; provided, however, that investments, investment agreements, or investment services purchased in connection with a bond issue may be paid through installments made at stated intervals for a period of time not in excess of the maximum term of such bond issue. Each governmental unit may issue certificates evidencing the indebtedness incurred under the lease or agreement. The governing body may provide for the treasurer, comptroller, finance officer, or other officer of the governing body charged with financial administration to act as counter-party to any such lease or agreement, as nominee lessor or seller. When the lease or agreement is executed by the officer of the governmental unit authorized by the governing body to bind the governmental unit thereon by the execution thereof and is filed with and executed by the nominee lessor or seller, the lease or agreement shall be sufficiently executed so as to permit the governmental unit to issue certificates evidencing the indebtedness incurred under the lease or agreement. The certificates shall be valid whether or not an appropriation with respect thereto is included in any annual or supplemental budget adopted by the governmental unit. From time to time, as the governing body executes contracts for the purpose of acquiring and constructing the services or real or personal property that is a part of the subject of the lease or agreement, including financial, legal, architectural, and engineering services related to the lease or agreement, the governing body shall order the contracts filed with its nominee officer, and that officer shall identify the contracts to the lease or agreement; that identification shall permit the payment of the contract from the proceeds of the certificates; and the nominee officer shall duly apply or cause to be applied proceeds of the certificates to the payment of the contracts. The governing body of each governmental unit may sell, lease, convey, and reacquire either real or personal property, or any interest in real or personal property, upon any terms and conditions and in any manner, as the governing body shall determine, if the governmental unit will lease, acquire by purchase agreement, or otherwise reacquire the property, as authorized by this subsection or any other applicable law.

All indebtedness incurred under this subsection, when aggregated with the existing indebtedness of the governmental unit, may not exceed the debt limits provided by applicable law.

(Source: P.A. 91-493, eff. 8-13-99; 91-868, eff. 6-22-00; 92-879, eff. 1-13-03.)