093_SB0526
LRB093 07340 JAM 07502 b
1 AN ACT concerning zoos.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Forest Preserve Zoological Parks Act is
5 amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
6 (70 ILCS 835/1) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6801)
7 Sec. 1. The corporate authorities of forest preserve
8 districts, containing a population of 140,000 or more located
9 in counties of less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, having the
10 control or supervision of any forest preserves, may erect and
11 maintain within such forest preserves, under the control or
12 supervision of such corporate authorities, edifices to be
13 used for the collection and display of animals as customary
14 in zoological parks, and may collect and display such
15 animals, or permit the directors or trustees of any
16 zoological society devoted to the purposes aforesaid to erect
17 and maintain a zoological park and to collect and display
18 zoological collections within any forest preserve now or
19 hereafter under the control or supervision of such forest
20 preserve district, out of funds belonging to such zoological
21 society, or to contract with the directors or trustees of any
22 zoological society on such terms and conditions as may to
23 such corporate authorities seem best, relative to the
24 erection, operation and maintenance of a zoological park and
25 the collection and display of such animals within such forest
26 preserve, out of the tax hereinafter in this Act provided.
27 This Act applies to any forest preserve district that
28 maintains a zoological park that was established under this
29 Act prior to 1964, regardless of whether the population
30 requirements continue to be met.
31 Such a forest preserve district, or the directors or
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1 trustees of such zoological society when so authorized by the
2 forest preserve district, may (a) police the property of the
3 zoological park, (b) employ, establish, maintain and equip a
4 security force for fire and police protection of the
5 zoological park and (c) provide that the personnel of the
6 security force shall perform other tasks relating to the
7 maintenance and operation of the zoological park. Members of
8 the security force shall be conservators of the peace with
9 all the powers of policemen in cities and of sheriffs, other
10 than to serve or execute civil processes, but such powers may
11 be exercised only within the area comprising the zoological
12 park when required to protect the zoological park's property
13 and interests, its personnel and persons using the facilities
14 or at the specific request of appropriate federal, State or
15 local law enforcement officials.
16 Such forest preserve district may charge, or permit such
17 zoological society to charge, an admission fee. The proceeds
18 of such admission fee shall be devoted exclusively to the
19 operation and maintenance of such zoological park and the
20 collections therein. All such zoological parks shall be open
21 to the public without charge (i) a total number of days, to
22 be scheduled at any time during the calendar year, equivalent
23 to at least one day for each 7 days the zoological park is
24 open during the calendar year for at least one day each week
25 and (ii) to the children in actual attendance upon any of the
26 schools in the State at all times. The managing authority of
27 the zoological park may limit the number of school groups
28 that may attend the zoo on any given day and may establish
29 other rules and regulations that reasonably ensure public
30 safety, accessibility, and convenience, including without
31 limitation standards of conduct and supervision. , except
32 that Charges may be made at any time for special services and
33 for admission to special facilities within any zoological
34 park for the education, entertainment or convenience of
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1 visitors.
2 (Source: P.A. 91-817, eff. 6-13-00; 92-548, eff. 6-24-02.)