(65 ILCS 115/10-5.3)

Sec. 10-5.3. Certification of River Edge Redevelopment Zones.

(a) Approval of designated River Edge Redevelopment Zones shall be made by the Department by certification of the designating ordinance. The Department shall promptly issue a certificate for each zone upon its approval. The certificate shall be signed by the Director of the Department, shall make specific reference to the designating ordinance, which shall be attached thereto, and shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. A certified copy of the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Certificate, or a duplicate original thereof, shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds of the county in which the River Edge Redevelopment Zone lies.

(b) A River Edge Redevelopment Zone shall be effective upon its certification. The Department shall transmit a copy of the certification to the Department of Revenue, and to the designating municipality. Upon certification of a River Edge Redevelopment Zone, the terms and provisions of the designating ordinance shall be in effect, and may not be amended or repealed except in accordance with Section 10-5.4.

(c) A River Edge Redevelopment Zone shall be in effect for the period stated in the certificate, which shall in no event exceed 30 calendar years. Zones shall terminate at midnight of December 31 of the final calendar year of the certified term, except as provided in Section 10-5.4.

(d) In calendar years 2006 and 2007, the Department may certify one pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zone in the City of East St. Louis, one pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zone in the City of Rockford, and one pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zone in the City of Aurora.

In calendar year 2009, the Department may certify one pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zone in the City of Elgin.

On or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Department may certify one additional pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zone in the City of Peoria.

On or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, the Department may certify 2 additional pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zones, including one in the City of Joliet and one in the City of Kankakee.

After certifying the additional pilot River Edge Redevelopment Zones authorized by the above paragraphs, the Department may not certify any additional River Edge Redevelopment Zones, but it may amend and rescind certifications of existing River Edge Redevelopment Zones in accordance with Section 10-5.4, except that no River Edge Redevelopment Zone may be extended on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. Each River Edge Redevelopment Zone in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall continue until its scheduled termination under this Act, unless the Zone is decertified sooner. At the time of its term expiration each River Edge Redevelopment Zone will become an open enterprise zone, available for the previously designated area or a different area to compete for designation as an enterprise zone. No preference for designation as a Zone will be given to the previously designated area.

(e) A municipality in which a River Edge Redevelopment Zone has been certified must submit to the Department, within 60 days after the certification, a plan for encouraging the participation by minority persons, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans in the zone. The Department may assist the municipality in developing and implementing the plan. The terms "minority person", "woman", and "person with a disability" have the meanings set forth under Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act. "Veteran" means an Illinois resident who is a veteran as defined in subsection (h) of Section 1491 of Title 10 of the United States Code.

(Source: P.A. 103-9, eff. 6-7-23.)