SB0848eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0848 Engrossed LRB094 04445 MKM 34474 b

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mid-America Medical District Act.

Section 5. Creation of District. There is created in the City of East St. Louis a medical center district, the Mid-America Medical District, whose boundaries are Martin Luther King Drive on the Northeast, 10th Street up to Trendley Avenue on the Southeast, Trendley Avenue and the confluence of I-64, I-70, and I-55 on the Southwest and West, and a line north of Collinsville, parallel to Collinsville, so as to include both sides of Collinsville on the Northwest, excluding any part of the City Hall complex and any property belonging to the federal government. The District is created to attract and retain academic centers of excellence, viable health care facilities, medical research facilities, emerging high technology enterprises, and other facilities and uses as permitted by this Act.

Section 10. Mid-America Medical District Commission.

(a) There is created a body politic and corporate under the corporate name of the Mid-America Medical District Commission whose general purpose, in addition to and not in limitation of those purposes and powers set forth in this Act, is to:

(1) maintain the proper surroundings for a medical center and a related technology center in order to attract, stabilize, and retain within the District hospitals, clinics, research facilities, educational facilities, or other facilities permitted under this Act; and

(2) provide for the orderly creation, maintenance, development, and expansion of (i) health care facilities and other ancillary or related facilities that the Commission may from time to time determine are established and operated (A) for any aspect of the carrying out of the Commission's purposes as set forth in this Act, (B) for the study, diagnosis, and treatment of human ailments and injuries, whether physical or mental, or (C) to promote medical, surgical, and scientific research and knowledge as permitted under this Act; and (ii) medical research and high technology parks, together with the necessary lands, buildings, facilities, equipment, and personal property for those parks.

(b) The Commission has perpetual succession and the power to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued except in actions sounding in tort, to plead and be impleaded, to have and use a common seal, and to alter the same at pleasure. All actions sounding in tort against the Commission shall be prosecuted in the Court of Claims. The principal office of the Commission shall be in the City of East St. Louis. The Commission shall obtain, under the provisions of the Personnel Code, such personnel as the Commission shall deem advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act and the work of the Commission.

(c) The Commission shall consist of 9 appointed members and 3 ex-officio members. Three members shall be appointed by the Governor. Three members shall be appointed by the Mayor of East St. Louis, with the consent of the city council. Three members shall be appointed by the Chairman of the County Board of St. Clair County. All appointed members shall hold office for a term of 3 years ending on December 31, and until their successors are appointed; except that of the initial appointed members, each appointing authority shall designate one appointee to serve for a term ending December 31, 2007, one appointee to serve for a term ending December 31, 2008, and one appointee to serve for a term ending December 31, 2009.

The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or his or her designee, the Director of Public Health or his or her designee, and the Secretary of Human Services or his or her designee shall serve as ex-officio members.

(d) Any vacancy in the appointed membership of the Commission occurring by reason of the death, resignation, disqualification, removal, or inability or refusal to act of any of the members of the Commission shall be filled by the authority that had appointed the particular member, and for the unexpired term of office of that particular member.

(e) The Commission shall hold regular meetings annually for the election of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, for the adoption of a budget, and for such other business as may properly come before it. The Commission shall establish the duties and responsibilities of its officers by rule. The President or any 3 members of the Commission may call special meetings of the Commission. Each Commissioner shall take an oath of office for the faithful performance of his or her duties. The Commission may not transact business at a meeting of the Commission unless there is present at the meeting a quorum consisting of at least 7 Commissioners. Meetings may be held by telephone conference or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other.

(f) The Commission shall submit to the General Assembly, not later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, a detailed report covering its operations for the 2 preceding calendar years and a statement of its program for the next 2 years.

The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader, and the Secretary of the Senate and with the Legislative Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and by filing such additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.

(g) The Auditor General shall conduct audits of the Commission in the same manner as the Auditor General conducts audits of State agencies under the Illinois State Auditing Act.

(h) Neither the Commission nor the District have any power to tax.

(i) The Commission is a public body and subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

Section 15. Grants; loans; contracts. The Commission may apply for and accept grants, loans, or appropriations from the State of Illinois, the federal government, any State or federal agency or instrumentality, any unit of local government, or any other person or entity to be used for any of the purposes of the District. The Commission may enter into any agreement with the State of Illinois, the federal government, any State or federal instrumentality, any unit of local government, or any other person or entity in relation to the grants, matching grants, loans, or appropriations. The Commission also may, by contractual agreement, accept and collect assessments or fees from entities who enter into such a contractual agreement for District enhancement and improvements, common area shared services, shared facilities, or other activities or expenditures in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. The Commission may make grants to neighborhood organizations within the District for the purpose of benefitting the community.

Section 20. Property; acquisition. The Commission is authorized to acquire the fee simple title to real property lying within the District and personal property required for its purposes, by gift, purchase, or otherwise. Title shall be taken in the corporate name of the Commission. The Commission may acquire by lease any real property located within the District and personal property found by the Commission to be necessary for its purposes and to which the Commission finds that it need not acquire the fee simple title for carrying out of those purposes. All real and personal property within the District, except that owned and used for purposes authorized under this Act by medical institutions or allied educational institutions, hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, dormitories or homes for the nurses, doctors, students, instructors, or other officers or employees of those institutions located in the District, or any real property that is used for offices or for recreational purposes in connection with those institutions, or any improved residential property within a currently effective historical district properly designated under a federal statute or a State or local statute that has been certified by the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of the Treasury as containing criteria that will substantially achieve the purpose of preserving and rehabilitating buildings of historical significance to the district, may be acquired by the Commission in its corporate name under the provisions for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under Article VII of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Commission has no quick-take powers, no zoning powers, and no power to establish or enforce building codes. The Commission may not acquire any property pursuant to this Section before a comprehensive master plan has been approved under Section 65.

Section 25. Construction. The Commission may, in its corporate capacity, construct or cause to be constructed within the District hospitals, sanitariums, clinics, laboratories, or any other institution, building, or structure or other ancillary or related facilities that the Commission may, from time to time, determine are established and operated (i) for the carrying out of any aspect of the Commission's purposes as set forth in this Act, for the study, diagnosis, and treatment of human ailments and injuries, whether physical or mental, or to promote medical, surgical, and scientific research and knowledge, for any uses the Commission shall determine will support and nurture facilities and uses permitted by this Act, or for such nursing, extended care, or other facilities as the Commission shall find useful in the study of, research in, or treatment of illnesses or infirmities peculiar to aged people, after a public hearing to be held by any Commissioner or other person authorized by the Commission to conduct the hearing, which Commissioner or other person has the power to administer oaths and affirmations and take the testimony of witnesses and receive such documentary evidence as shall be pertinent, the record of which hearing he or she shall certify to the Commission, which record shall become part of the records of the Commission, notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearings to be given by a single publication notice in a secular newspaper of general circulation in St. Clair County at least 10 days before the date of the hearing, or (ii) for such institutions as shall engage in the training, education, or rehabilitation of persons who by reason of illness or physical infirmity are wholly or partially deprived of their powers of vision or hearing or of the use of such other part or parts of their bodies as prevent them from pursuing normal activities of life, for office buildings for physicians or dealers in medical accessories, for dormitories, homes, or residences for the medical profession, including interns, nurses, students, or other officers or employees of the institutions within the District, for the use of relatives of patients in the hospitals or other institutions within the District, for the rehabilitation or establishment of residential structures within a historic district properly designated under a federal statute or a State or local statute that has been certified by the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of the Treasury as containing criteria that will substantially achieve the purpose of preserving and rehabilitating buildings of historic significance to the district, or such other areas of the District as the Commission shall designate, for research, development, and resultant production in any of the fields of medicine, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, physics, and genetically engineered products, for biotechnology, information technology, medical technology, or environmental technology, for the research and development of engineering, or for computer technology related to any of the purposes for which the Commission may construct structures and improvements within the District. All such structures and improvements shall be erected and constructed in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Procurement Code that apply to State agencies. No construction may be undertaken pursuant to this Section before a comprehensive master plan has been approved under Section 65.

Section 30. Relocation assistance. The Commission shall provide relocation assistance to persons and entities displaced by the Commission's acquisition of property and improvement of the District. Relocation assistance shall not be less than provided under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 and the regulations under that Act, including the eligibility criteria. Relocation assistance may include assistance with the moving of a residential unit to a new location. The Commission shall establish a single point of contact for all relocation assistance under this Section.

Section 35. Power to sell or lease. The Commission may sell, convey, transfer, or lease, all at fair market value, any title or interest in real property owned by it to any person or persons, to be used, subject to the restrictions of this Act, for the purposes stated in Section 25, or for the purpose of serving persons using the facilities offered within the District or for carrying out of any aspect of the Commission's purposes as set forth in Section 10 of this Act, subject to such restrictions as to the use of the real property as the Commission shall determine will carry out the purpose of this Act. To assure that the use of the real property so sold or leased is in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Commission shall inquire into and satisfy itself concerning the financial ability of the purchaser to complete the project for which the real property is sold or leased in accordance with a plan to be presented by the purchaser or lessee, which plan shall be submitted, in writing, to the Commission. Under the plan, the purchaser or lessee shall undertake (1) to use the land for the purposes designated in the plan so presented; (2) to commence and complete the construction of the buildings or other structures to be included in the project within such periods of time as the Commission fixes as reasonable; and (3) to comply with such other conditions as the Commission shall determine are necessary to carry out the project. All conveyances and leases authorized in this Section shall be on condition that, in the event of use for other than the purposes prescribed in this Act, or of nonuse for a period of one year, title to the property shall revert to the Commission. All conveyances and leases made by the Commission to any corporation or person for the use of serving the residents or any person using the facilities offered within the District shall be on condition that in the event of violation of any of the restrictions as to the use of the property as the Commission shall have determined will carry out the purposes of this Act, that title to the property shall revert to the Commission. If, however, the Commission finds that financing necessary for the acquisition or lease of any real estate or for the construction of any building or improvement to be used for purposes prescribed in this Act cannot be obtained if title to the land or building or improvement is subject to such a reverter provision, which finding shall be made by the Commission after public hearing held pursuant to a single publication notice given in a secular newspaper of general circulation in St. Clair County at least 10 days before the date of the hearing, the notice to specify the time, place, and purpose for the hearing, and upon that finding being made, the Commission may cause the real property to be conveyed free of a reverter provision, provided that at least 7 members of the Commission vote in favor thereof. The Commission may also provide in the conveyances, leases, or other documentation provisions for notice of such violations or default and the cure thereof for the benefit of any lender or mortgagee as the Commission shall determine are appropriate. If, at a regularly scheduled meeting, the Commission resolves that a parcel of real estate leased by it, or in which it has sold the fee simple title or any lesser estate, is not being used for the purposes prescribed in this Act or has been in nonuse for a period of one year, the Commission may file a lawsuit in the circuit court of St. Clair County to enforce the terms of the sale or lease. If a reverter of title to any property is ordered by the court under the terms of this Act, the interest of the Commission shall be subject to any then existing valid mortgage or trust deed in the nature of a mortgage, but if the title is acquired through foreclosure of that mortgage or trust deed or by deed in lieu of foreclosure of that mortgage or trust deed, then the title to the property shall not revert, but shall be subject to the restrictions as to use, but not any penalty for nonuse, contained in this Act with respect to any mortgagee in possession or its successor or assigns.

No conveyance of real property shall be executed by the Commission without the prior written approval of the Governor. The Commission may not sell, convey, transfer, or lease any property pursuant to this Section before a comprehensive master plan has been approved under Section 65.

Section 40. Notice. Before holding any public hearing prescribed in Section 35 of this Act, or any meeting regarding the passage of any resolution to file a lawsuit, the Commission shall give notice to the grantee or lessee, or his or her legal representatives, successors, or assigns, of the time and place of the proceeding. The notice shall be accompanied by a statement signed by the Secretary of the Commission, or by any person authorized by the Commission to sign the same, setting forth any act or things done or omitted to be done in violation, or claimed to be in violation, of any restriction as to the use of the property, whether the restriction be prescribed in any of the terms of this Act or by any restriction as to the use of the property determined by the Commission under the terms of this Act. The notice of the time and place fixed for the proceeding shall also be given to such person or persons as the Commission shall deem necessary. The notice may be given by registered mail, addressed to the grantee, lessee, or legal representatives, successors, or assigns, at the last known address of the grantee, lessee, or legal representatives, successors, or assigns.

Section 45. Rules. The Commission may adopt reasonable and proper rules, in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, relative to the exercise of its powers, and proper rules to govern its proceedings, to regulate the mode and manner of all hearings held by it or at its direction, and to alter and amend those rules.

Section 50. Official documents. Copies of all official documents, findings, and orders of the Commission, certified by a Commissioner or by the Secretary of the Commission to be true copies of the originals, under the official seal of the Commission, shall be evidence in like manner as the originals.

Section 55. Judicial review. Any party may obtain a judicial review of a final order or decision of the Commission in the circuit court of St. Clair County only under and in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Review Law and the rules adopted under that Law. The circuit court shall take judicial notice of all the rules of practice and procedure of the Commission.

Section 60. Parks. The Commission may set apart any part of the District as a park, except those areas owned, operated, or used for purposes authorized under this Act by organizations or institutions engaged in the delivery or conduct of health care services, education, or research, and may construct, control, and maintain the same or may provide by contract with the East St. Louis Park District or the City of East St. Louis for the construction, control, and maintenance of any area within the District set apart as a park.

Section 65. Master plan; improvement and management of District. The Commission shall prepare and approve a comprehensive master plan for the orderly development and management of all property within the District. The master plan, and any amendment to the master plan, shall not take effect, however, until it has been approved by the advisory council and the East St. Louis city council. The Commission shall take the actions permitted to be taken by it under this Act as it may determine are appropriate to provide conditions most favorable for the special care and treatment of the sick and injured and for the study of disease and for any other purpose in Section 25 of this Act. In the master plan, the Commission may provide for shared services and facilities within the District for the accredited schools of medicine and the licensed non-profit acute care hospitals within the District.

Section 70. Advisory Council. The Commission must establish an advisory council consisting of 2 representatives, appointed for one-year terms by the Mayor of East St. Louis, of each recognized neighborhood organization that the Mayor determines has a legitimate interest in the development and improvement of the District. There is no limit on the number of terms to which a person may be appointed as a member. The advisory council shall review and make recommendations to the Commission with respect to the comprehensive master plan to be adopted by the Commission. The advisory council may fulfill such other responsibilities as the Commission may request in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. The advisory council shall meet at the call of the President of the Commission and shall conduct its affairs in accordance with the rules that the Commission may adopt from time to time for the governance and operation of the advisory council.

Section 75. Public hearing. The Commission shall conduct a public hearing prior to either acquiring through eminent domain under Section 20 of this Act real or personal property within the District or approving under Section 70 of this Act a comprehensive master plan. The Commission shall also conduct a public hearing whenever it is otherwise required by law to do so, and may conduct a public hearing whenever it may elect to do so.

The Commission shall conduct the public hearing called by it in accordance with the requirements of the law mandating it, if any, or in accordance with the provisions of this Section if either the law mandating it is silent as to the procedures for its holding or if the Commission elects to hold a public hearing in the absence of any law mandating it.

In the absence of any law, or of any procedures in any law, mandating the holding of a public hearing, the Commission may authorize a Commissioner or other person of legal age to conduct a hearing. The Commissioner or other authorized person has the power to administer oaths and affirmations, take the testimony of witnesses, take and receive the production of papers, books, records, accounts, and documents, receive pertinent evidence, and certify the record of the hearing. The record of the hearing shall become part of the Commission's record. Notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing shall be given by a single publication notice in a secular newspaper of general circulation in St. Clair County at least 10 days before the date of the hearing.

Section 80. Jurisdiction. This Act shall not be construed to limit the jurisdiction of the City of East St. Louis to territory outside the limits of the District nor to impair any power now possessed by or hereafter granted to the City of East St. Louis or to cities generally. Property owned by and exclusively used by the Commission shall be exempt from taxation and shall be subject to condemnation by the State and any municipal corporation or agency of the State for any State or municipal purpose under the provisions for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under Article VII of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Section 85. Disposition of money; income fund. All money received by the Commission from the sale or lease of any property, in excess of the amount expended by the Commission for authorized purposes under this Act shall be paid into the State treasury for deposit into the Mid-America Medical District Income Fund. The Commission is authorized to use all money received as rentals for the purposes of planning, acquisition, and development of property within the District, for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of property of the Commission, and for all purposes and powers set forth in this Act. All moneys held pursuant to this Section shall be maintained in a depository approved by the State Treasurer. The Auditor General shall, at least biennially, audit or cause to be audited all records and accounts of the Commission pertaining to the operation of the District.

Section 90. Attorney General. The Attorney General of the State of Illinois is the legal advisor to the Commission and shall prosecute or defend, as the case may be, all actions brought by or against the Commission.

Section 905. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.663 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.663 new)

Sec. 5.663. The Mid-America Medical District Income Fund.