Public Act 93-0651

SB526 Enrolled                       LRB093 07340 JAM 07502 b

    AN ACT concerning zoos.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The  Forest Preserve Zoological Parks Act is
amended by changing Section 1 as follows:

    (70 ILCS 835/1) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6801)
    Sec. 1. The  corporate  authorities  of  forest  preserve
districts, containing a population of 140,000 or more located
in  counties  of  less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, having the
control or supervision of any forest preserves, may erect and
maintain within such forest preserves, under the  control  or
supervision  of  such  corporate  authorities, edifices to be
used for the collection and display of animals  as  customary
in  zoological  parks,  and  may  collect  and  display  such
animals,   or   permit  the  directors  or  trustees  of  any
zoological society devoted to the purposes aforesaid to erect
and maintain a zoological park and  to  collect  and  display
zoological  collections  within  any  forest  preserve now or
hereafter under the control or  supervision  of  such  forest
preserve  district, out of funds belonging to such zoological
society, or to contract with the directors or trustees of any
zoological society on such terms and  conditions  as  may  to
such   corporate  authorities  seem  best,  relative  to  the
erection, operation and maintenance of a zoological park  and
the collection and display of such animals within such forest
preserve, out of the tax hereinafter in this Act provided.
    This  Act  applies  to  any forest preserve district that
maintains a zoological park that was established  under  this
Act  prior  to  1964,  regardless  of  whether the population
requirements continue to be met.
    Such a forest preserve  district,  or  the  directors  or
trustees of such zoological society when so authorized by the
forest  preserve district, may (a) police the property of the
zoological park, (b) employ, establish, maintain and equip  a
security   force  for  fire  and  police  protection  of  the
zoological park and (c) provide that  the  personnel  of  the
security  force  shall  perform  other  tasks relating to the
maintenance and operation of the zoological park. Members  of
the  security  force  shall be conservators of the peace with
all the powers of policemen in cities and of sheriffs,  other
than to serve or execute civil processes, but such powers may
be  exercised  only within the area comprising the zoological
park when required to protect the zoological park's  property
and interests, its personnel and persons using the facilities
or  at  the specific request of appropriate federal, State or
local law enforcement officials.
    Such forest preserve district may charge, or permit  such
zoological  society to charge, an admission fee. The proceeds
of such admission fee shall be  devoted  exclusively  to  the
operation  and  maintenance  of  such zoological park and the
collections therein. All such zoological parks shall be  open
to  the  public without charge (i) a total number of days, to
be scheduled at any time during the calendar year, equivalent
to at least one day for each 7 days the  zoological  park  is
open  during the calendar year for at least one day each week
and (ii) to the children in actual attendance upon any of the
schools in the State at all times. The managing authority  of
the  zoological  park  may  limit the number of school groups
that may attend the zoo on any given day  and  may  establish
other  rules  and  regulations  that reasonably ensure public
safety, accessibility,  and  convenience,  including  without
limitation  standards  of  conduct  and supervision. , except
that Charges may be made at any time for special services and
for admission to special  facilities  within  any  zoological
park  for  the  education,  entertainment  or  convenience of
visitors.
(Source: P.A. 91-817, eff. 6-13-00; 92-548, eff. 6-24-02.)