(70 ILCS 3205/8) (from Ch. 85, par. 6008)

Sec. 8. Powers. In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this Act, the Authority may:

(1) Adopt and alter an official seal;

(2) Sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, all in its own name, and agree to binding arbitration of any dispute to which it is a party;

(3) Adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Section;

(4) Maintain an office or offices at such place as the Authority may designate;

(5) Employ, either as regular employees or independent contractors, consultants, engineers, architects, accountants, attorneys, financial experts, construction experts and personnel, superintendents, managers and other professional personnel, and such other personnel as may be necessary in the judgment of the Authority, and fix their compensation;

(6) Determine the locations of, develop, design, establish, construct, erect, acquire, own, repair, reconstruct, renovate, remodel, add to, extend, improve, equip, operate, regulate and maintain facilities, and provide financial assistance to governmental owners or their tenants, or both, pursuant to an assistance agreement to do the foregoing, in each case to the extent necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Authority;

(7) Acquire, hold, lease as lessor or as lessee, use, encumber, transfer, or dispose of real and personal property, including the alteration of or demolition of improvements to real estate;

(8) Enter into contracts of any kind;

(9) Regulate the use and operation of facilities that are developed under the provisions of this Act;

(10) Enter into one or more management agreements which conform to the requirements of this Act and which may contain such provisions as the Authority shall determine, including, without limitation, (i) provisions allocating receipts from rents, rates, fees and charges for use of the facility or for services rendered in connection with the facility between the Authority and the tenant of the facility; (ii) provisions providing for or limiting payments to the Authority for use of the facility based on levels of attendance or receipts, or both attendance and receipts, of the tenant from admission charges, parking concessions, advertising, radio and television and other sources; (iii) provisions obligating the Authority to make payments to the tenant with respect to expenses of routine maintenance and operation of any facility and operating expenses of the tenant with respect to use of the facility; (iv) provisions requiring the Authority to pay liquidated damages to the tenant for failure of timely completion of construction of any new facility; (v) provisions permitting the Authority to grant rent-free occupancy of an existing facility pending completion of construction of any new facility and requiring the Authority to pay certain incremental costs of maintenance, repair, replacement and operation of an existing facility in the event of failure of timely completion of construction of any new facility; (vi) provisions requiring the Authority to reimburse the tenant for certain State and local taxes and provisions permitting reductions of payments due the Authority by the tenant or reimbursement of the tenant by the Authority in the event of imposition of certain new State and local taxes, or the increase above specified levels of certain existing State and local taxes, or both; (vii) provisions obligating the Authority to purchase tickets to events conducted by the tenant based upon specified attendance levels; (viii) provisions granting the tenant the right and option to extend the term of the management agreement; (ix) provisions creating an assignment and pledge by the Authority of certain of the Authority's revenues and receipts to be received under Section 19 of this Act for the benefit of the tenant of the facility as further security for performance by the Authority of its obligations under the management agreement; and (x) provisions requiring the establishment of reserves by the Authority or by the tenant, or both, as further security for the performance of their respective obligations under the management agreement;

(11) Enter into one or more assistance agreements that conform to the requirements of this Act and that may contain such provisions as the Authority shall determine establishing the rights and obligations of the Authority and the governmental owner or a tenant, or both, with respect to the facility for which the Authority is to provide financial assistance including, without limitation, such provisions as are described in paragraph (10) of this Section;

(12) Borrow money from any source for any corporate purpose, including working capital for its operations, reserve funds, or interest, and to mortgage, pledge or otherwise encumber the property or funds of the Authority and to contract with or engage the services of any person in connection with any financing, including financial institutions, issuers of letters of credit, or insurers and enter into reimbursement agreements with this person which may be secured as if money were borrowed from the person;

(13) Issue bonds or notes under Section 13 of this Act;

(14) Receive and accept from any source, private or public, contributions, gifts, or grants of money or property;

(15) Make loans from proceeds or funds otherwise available to the extent necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of the Authority;

(16) Provide for the insurance of any property, operations, officers, agents or employees of the Authority against any risk or hazard and to provide for the indemnification of its members, employees, contractors or agents against any and all risks;

(17) Provide relocation assistance and compensation for landowners and their lessees displaced by any land acquisition of the Authority, including the acquisition of land and construction of replacement housing thereon as the Authority shall determine;

(18) Sell, convey, lease, or grant a permit or license with respect to, or by agreement authorize another person on its behalf to sell, convey, lease, or grant a permit or license with respect to (A) the right to use or the right to purchase tickets to use, or any other interest in, any seat or area within a facility, (B) the right to name or place advertising in all or any part of a facility, or (C) any intangible personal property rights, including intellectual property rights, appurtenant to any facility, the proceeds of which are used for the purpose of carrying out the powers granted by the Act;

(19) Adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out those powers conferred and perform those duties required by this Act;

(20) Exercise all the corporate powers granted Illinois corporations under the Business Corporation Act of 1983, except to the extent that powers are inconsistent with those of a body politic and corporate of the State; and

(21) Do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted by this Act.

The Authority may not construct or enter into a contract to construct more than one new stadium facility and may not enter into assistance agreements providing for the reconstruction, renovation, remodeling, extension, or improvement of all or substantially all of more than one existing facility unless authorized by law.

The Authority may adopt such rules pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act as are necessary to carry out those powers and duties conferred by this Act. The Authority may initially adopt, by January 1, 1989, such rules as emergency rules in accordance with the provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. For purposes of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, the adoption of the initial rules shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the public interest, safety and welfare.

(Source: P.A. 91-935, eff. 6-1-01.)