(70 ILCS 410/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7105)

Sec. 5. Board of trustees.

(a) The affairs of a conservation district shall be managed by a board consisting of 5 trustees, except as otherwise provided in this Section. If the boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of one county, the trustees shall be residents of that county. If the district embraces 2 counties, 3 trustees shall be residents of the county with the larger population and 2 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the district embraces 3 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of the county with the smallest population and each of the other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the district embraces 4 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of the county with the largest population and each of the other counties shall have one resident trustee. If the district embraces 5 counties, each county shall have one resident trustee.

(b) A district that is entirely within a county of under 750,000 inhabitants and contiguous to a county of more than 2,000,000 inhabitants and that is authorized by referendum as provided in subsection (d) of Section 15 to incur indebtedness over 0.575% but not to exceed 1.725% shall have a board consisting of 7 trustees, all of whom shall be residents of the county. The additional 2 trustees shall be appointed by the chairman of the county board, with the consent of the county board, and shall hold office for terms expiring on June 30 as follows: one trustee after 4 years and one trustee after 5 years from the date of the referendum. Successor trustees shall be appointed in the same manner no later than June 1 before the commencement of the term of the trustee.

(c) Trustees shall be qualified voters of the district who do not hold any other public office and are not officers of any political party. Trustees, if nominated by the county board chairman as hereinafter provided, shall be selected on the basis of their demonstrated interest in the purpose of conservation districts.

(d) If the trustees are appointed, the chairman of the county board for the county of which the trustee is a resident shall, with the consent of the county board of that county, appoint the first trustees who shall hold office for terms expiring on June 30 after one, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year periods respectively as determined and fixed by lot. Thereafter, successor appointed trustees shall be appointed for a term of 5 years in the same manner no later than June 1 prior to the commencement of term of the trustee. If the term of office of any appointed trustee expires before the first election of trustees under subsection (i) after referendum approval of elected trustees, the chairman of the county board who appointed that trustee under this subsection shall appoint a successor to serve until a successor is elected and has qualified.

(e) When a vacancy occurs in the office of trustee, whether by death, resignation, refusal to qualify, no longer being a qualified voter of the district, or for any other reason, the board of trustees shall declare that a vacancy exists. The vacancy shall be filled within 60 days. A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, for appointed trustees, shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of a trustee by the county board chairman of the county of which the trustee shall be a resident, with the approval of the county board of that county. An appointed trustee who has served a full term of 5 years is ineligible to serve as a trustee for a period of one year following the expiration of his or her term. In the case of an elected trustee, appointment of an eligible person shall be by the president of the board of trustees with the advice and consent of the other trustees. The appointee shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If, however, more than 28 months remain in the term of the elected trustee and the vacancy occurs at least 182 days before the next general election, the appointment shall be until the next general election, at which time the vacated office of the elected trustee shall be filled by election for the remainder of the term.

If a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the board of trustees, the remaining trustees shall select one of their number to serve as president for the balance of the unexpired term of the president in whose office the vacancy occurred.

When any trustee during his or her term of office shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the district, or shall move from one township or congressional township in the district to another so that the township residency requirements of this Section are no longer met, then he is disqualified as a trustee and his office becomes vacant. If the district has decided to elect or appoint trustees from single member subdistricts under subsection (i), then when any trustee during his or her term of office shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the subdistrict he or she is disqualified as a trustee and the office becomes vacant.

(f) Trustees shall serve without compensation, but may be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

(g) An appointed trustee may be removed for cause by the county board chairman for the county of which the trustee is a resident, with the approval of the county board of that county, but every removal shall be by a written order and shall be filed with the county clerk.

(h) A conservation district with 5 trustees may determine by majority vote of the board to increase the size of the board to 7 trustees. With respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3 members may be residents of any township in a county under township organization or of any congressional township in a county not under township organization. In the case of a 7-member board representing a district that embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be residents of the county with the larger population and 3 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the district embraces 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of each of the 2 counties with the smallest population and the largest county shall have 3 resident trustees. If the district embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of the county with the smallest population and each of the other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest population shall each have 2 resident trustees and each of the other counties shall have one resident trustee. The pertinent appointing authorities shall appoint the additional 2 trustees to initial terms as equally staggered as possible from the terms of the trustees already appointed from that township or county so that 2 trustees representing the same area shall not be succeeded in the same year.

(i) Except as provided in subsection (b), a conservation district in a county adjacent to a county with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants may determine by referendum (i) to have an elected or appointed board of trustees, (ii) to have a board of trustees with 5 or 7 members, and (iii) to have trustees chosen at large or from single member subdistricts. If the boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of a single county, the county board may determine by ordinance to hold the referendum; or if the boundaries of the district are embraced by more than one county, the county boards of each county in the district, jointly, may determine by ordinance to hold the referendum; or a petition signed by not less than 5% of the electors of the entire district who voted in the last gubernatorial election may be submitted to the board of trustees requiring the district to hold the referendum.

The secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the proposition to the appropriate election authorities who shall submit the proposition at a consolidated or general election according to the Election Code. The Election Code shall apply to and govern the election. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the (insert name) Conservation District have an (insert "elected" or "appointed") board of trustees with (insert "5" or "7") trustees chosen (insert "at large" or "from single member subdistricts")?

The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".

If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in the affirmative, the trustees of the district shall thereafter be chosen as provided in this paragraph. At the next consolidated election, a district that has decided by referendum to have its trustees elected rather than appointed shall elect 5 or 7 trustees as provided in the ordinance or petition and in the proposition. The trustees shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis. The provisions of the general election law shall apply to and govern the nomination and election of the trustees.

(1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint at large trustees, then with respect to a 5-member board, the residency of members shall be the same as prescribed in subsection (a).

With respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3 members may be residents of any township in a county under township organization or of any congressional township in a county not under township organization. In the case of a 7-member board representing a district that embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be residents of the county with the larger population and 3 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the district embraces 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of each of the 2 counties with the smaller populations and the county with the largest population shall have 3 resident trustees. If the district embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of the county with the smallest population and each of the other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest populations shall each have 2 resident trustees and each of the other counties shall have one resident trustee.

(2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint trustees from single member subdistricts, then with respect to a 5-member board of a district embracing a single county, the county board shall apportion the district into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 5 subdistricts. In the case of a 5-member board of a district embracing more than one county, the members of each county board shall, jointly, apportion the district into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 5 subdistricts. The initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90 days after the referendum is approved, and the subdistricts shall be reapportioned after each decennial census.

With respect to a 7-member board of a district embracing a single county, the county board shall apportion the district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 7 subdistricts. In the case of a 7-member board of a district embracing more than one county, the members of each county board shall, jointly, apportion the district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 7 subdistricts. The initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90 days after the referendum is approved, and the subdistricts shall be reapportioned after each decennial census.

(j) When a conservation district determines to elect or appoint trustees as provided in subsection (i), the terms of these trustees shall commence on the first Monday of December following the election. The terms of all trustees previously appointed or elected under this Section shall expire on the first Monday of December following the first election.

(1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint at-large trustees, then the initial elected board of trustees shall, no later than 45 days after taking office, divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as possible into 2 groups. Trustees or their successors from the larger group shall serve for terms of 4 years; the initial elected trustees from the second group shall serve for terms of 2 years, and their successors shall be elected for terms of 4 years.

(2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint trustees from single member subdistricts, then the members of the initial elected board of trustees and each subsequent board elected prior to the first decennial census following the initial apportionment shall be elected to a term of 2 years. In the year following the first decennial census occurring after the initial apportionment and in the year following each subsequent decennial census, the 5 or 7 subdistricts shall be reapportioned to reflect the results of the census. The board of trustees elected in the first election following a decennial census shall, no later than 45 days after taking office, divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as possible into 3 groups. Trustees or their successors from one group shall be elected to terms of 4 years, 4 years, and 2 years. Trustees or their successors from the second group shall be elected to terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 4 years. The trustee or successors from the third group shall be elected to terms of 2 years, 4 years, and 4 years.

(Source: P.A. 94-617, eff. 8-18-05; 95-54, eff. 8-10-07.)