Public Act 094-0144
 
HB1395 Enrolled LRB094 10128 JAM 40389 b

    AN ACT concerning government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Intergovernmental Cooperation Act is
amended by changing Section 3.6 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 220/3.6)  (from Ch. 127, par. 743.6)
    Sec. 3.6. (a) Any special district the boundaries of which
are exactly coterminous with, or entirely within, the
boundaries of a township in a county having less than 1,000,000
inhabitants may merge into and transfer all of its rights,
powers, duties, liabilities and functions to the township as
provided in this Section notwithstanding any other provision of
the law.
    (b) "Special district" means any political subdivision
other than a county, municipality, township, school district or
community college district.
    (c) By resolution or ordinance the special district may
petition the township for merger. Within 30 days after the
adoption of such resolution or ordinance, the special district
shall file a copy of the petition with the town clerk of the
township and with the county clerk.
    (d) Within 60 days of the filing of the petition with the
town clerk the board of town trustees shall by ordinance either
agree or refuse to agree to the merger. Failure of the board of
town trustees to adopt such an ordinance within the 60 days
shall constitute a refusal to agree to the merger.
    (e) After an ordinance is passed by the board of town
trustees agreeing to a merger, it shall be published once
within 30 days after its passage in one or more newspapers
published in the township or, if no newspaper is published
therein, it shall be published in a newspaper published in the
county in which such township is located and having general
circulation within such township. If no newspaper is published
in the county having general circulation in the township,
publication may be made instead by posting copies of such
ordinance in 10 public places within the township. The
publication or posting of the ordinance shall include a notice
of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a
petition requesting that the question of the merger be
submitted to the voters of the township; (2) the time within
which the petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the
prospective referendum. The township clerk shall provide a
petition form to any individual requesting one. The ordinance
shall not become effective until 30 days after its publication
or the date of such posting of such copies.
    Whenever a petition signed by the electors of the township
equal in number to 10% or more of the registered voters in the
township is filed with the board of town trustees thereof which
has adopted an ordinance agreeing to merger and such petition
has been filed with the board of town trustees within 30 days
after the publication or the date of the posting of the copies
which petition seeks the submission of such merger to an
election, the board of town trustees shall certify the question
to the proper election officials who shall submit the question
at an election in accordance with the general election law.
    The proposition shall be substantially in the following
form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall (name of special           YES
district) be merged into         ----------------------------
............. Township?              NO
-------------------------------------------------------------
If the boundaries of the township and special district are
coterminous and a majority of the voters voting on the question
shall favor merger, the special district shall merge into the
township. If a majority of the voters voting on the question
shall not favor merger, the special district shall not merge
into the township. If the boundaries of the township and
special district are not coterminous, then a majority of the
voters voting upon the question in the special district and a
majority of the voters voting in that portion of the township
that is not included within the special district must both
favor the merger. If a majority of the voters residing in the
special district or a majority of the voters voting in that
portion of the townships that is not included within the
special district do not favor the merger, the special district
shall not merge into the township.
    (f) The effective date of the merger shall be the first day
of January of the year immediately following the effective date
of the ordinance or the approval by the referendum as the case
may be.
    (g) If the board of town trustees refuses to agree to the
merger or if a majority of the voters voting on the question
shall not favor merger, then the special district shall not
file a petition for merger with the town clerk within 3 years
after such refusal to agree or referendum.
    (h) Upon the effective date of the merger the township
shall assume and succeed to all of the rights, powers, duties,
liabilities and functions of the special district, including
assuming any indebtedness of the special district, and the
special district shall be dissolved and cease to exist as a
separate and distinct political subdivision. In connection
with such rights, powers, duties, liabilities and functions the
township shall be subject to, governed by and have the benefit
of the statutes, as then or thereafter amended, and laws
affecting such a special district, including without
limitation the right to levy taxes in such amounts as allowed
to such a special district, but the right to levy taxes shall
exist only within the area formerly comprising such merged
special district. Upon the effective date of the merger all
books, records, equipment, property and personnel held by, in
the custody of or employed by the special district shall be
transferred to the township. The transfer shall not affect the
status or employment benefits of transferred personnel.
(Source: P.A. 89-150, eff. 7-14-95.)