(70 ILCS 5/22.3)

Sec. 22.3. Further powers of the Rail Authority.

(a) Except as otherwise limited by this Act, the Rail Authority shall have all powers to meet its responsibilities and to carry out its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following powers:

(i) To sue and be sued.

(ii) To invest any funds or any moneys not required for immediate use or disbursement, as provided in the Public Funds Investment Act.

(iii) To make, amend, and repeal by-laws, rules and regulations, and resolutions not inconsistent with Sections 22.1 through 22.7 of this Act.

(iv) To set and collect fares or other charges for the use of rail or other facilities of the Rail Authority.

(v) To conduct or contract for studies as to the feasibility and costs of providing any particular service as authorized by this Act.

(vi) To publicize services of the Authority and to enter into cooperative agreements with non-rail transportation service providers, including airport operations.

(vii) To hold, sell, sell by installment contract, lease as lessor, transfer, or dispose of such real or personal property of the Rail Authority, including rail facilities or related facilities, as the Board of Directors deems appropriate in the exercise of its powers and to mortgage, pledge, or otherwise grant security interests in any such property.

(viii) To enter at reasonable times upon such lands, waters, or premises as, in the judgment of the Board of Directors of the Rail Authority, may be necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, borings, and examinations to accomplish any purpose authorized by Sections 22.1 through 22.7 of this Act after having given reasonable notice of such proposed entry to the owners and occupants of such lands, waters, or premises, the Rail Authority being liable only for actual damage caused by such activity.

(ix) To enter into contracts of group insurance for the benefit of its employees and to provide for retirement or pensions or other employee benefit arrangements for such employees, and to assume obligations for pensions or other employee benefit arrangements for employees of transportation agencies, all or part of the facilities of which are acquired by the Rail Authority.

(x) To provide for the insurance of any property, directors, officers, employees, or operations of the Rail Authority against any risk or hazard, and to self-insure or participate in joint self-insurance pools or entities to insure against such risk or hazard.

(xi) To pass all resolutions and make all rules and regulations proper or necessary to regulate the use, operation, and maintenance of the property and facilities of the Rail Authority and, by resolution, to prescribe fines or penalties for violations of those rules and regulations. No fine or penalty shall exceed $1,000 per offense. Any resolution providing for any fine or penalty shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the metropolitan region. No such resolution shall take effect until 10 days after its publication.

(xii) To enter into arbitration arrangements, which may be final and binding.

(xiii) To make and execute all contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers.

(b) In each case in which this Act gives the Rail Authority the power to construct or acquire rail facilities or related facilities or any other real or personal property, the Rail Authority shall have the power to acquire such property by contract, purchase, gift, grant, exchange for other property or rights in property, lease (or sublease), or installment or conditional purchase contracts, which leases or contracts may provide for consideration to be paid in installments during a period not exceeding 40 years, and to dispose of such property or rights by lease or sale as the Board of Directors shall determine. Property may be acquired subject to such conditions, restrictions, liens, or security or other interests of other parties as the Board of Directors may deem appropriate, and in each case the Rail Authority may acquire a joint, leasehold, easement, license, or other partial interest in such property. Any such acquisition may provide for the assumption of, or agreement to pay, perform, or discharge outstanding or continuing duties, obligations, or liabilities of the seller, lessor, donor, or other transferor of or of the trustee with regard to such property. In connection with the acquisition of Rail Facilities or Related Facilities, including, but not limited to, vehicles, buses, or rapid transit equipment, the Rail Authority may also execute agreements concerning such equipment leases, equipment trust certificates, conditional purchase agreements, and such other security agreements and may make such agreements and covenants as required, in the form customarily used in such cases appropriate to effect such acquisition. The Rail Authority may not acquire property by eminent domain.

(Source: P.A. 95-641, eff. 10-11-07.)