|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning conservation districts.
| ||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
4 | Section 5. The Conservation District Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing
Sections 5 and 6 and adding Section 18.1 as follows:
| ||||||
6 | (70 ILCS 410/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7105)
| ||||||
7 | Sec. 5. Board of trustees.
| ||||||
8 | (a) The affairs of a conservation district shall be managed | ||||||
9 | by a
board
consisting
which shall consist of 5 trustees, except | ||||||
10 | as otherwise provided in this
Section. If the boundaries of the | ||||||
11 | district are
coextensive with the boundaries of one county, the | ||||||
12 | trustees shall be
residents of that county. If the district | ||||||
13 | embraces 2 counties, 3 trustees
shall be residents of the | ||||||
14 | county with the larger population and 2 trustees
shall be | ||||||
15 | residents of the other county. If the district embraces 3
| ||||||
16 | counties, one trustee shall be a resident of the county with | ||||||
17 | the smallest
population and each of the other counties shall | ||||||
18 | have 2 resident trustees.
If the district embraces 4 counties, | ||||||
19 | 2 trustees shall be residents of the
county with the largest | ||||||
20 | population and each of the other counties shall
have one | ||||||
21 | resident trustee. If the district embraces 5 counties, each | ||||||
22 | county
shall have one resident trustee.
| ||||||
23 | (b) A district that is entirely within a county of under |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | 750,000
inhabitants and contiguous to a county of more than | ||||||
2 | 2,000,000 inhabitants
and that is authorized by referendum as | ||||||
3 | provided in subsection (d) of
Section 15 to incur indebtedness | ||||||
4 | over 0.575% but not to exceed 1.725% shall
have a board | ||||||
5 | consisting of 7 trustees, all of whom shall be residents of the
| ||||||
6 | county. The additional 2 trustees shall be appointed by the | ||||||
7 | chairman of
the county board, with the consent of the county | ||||||
8 | board, and shall hold
office for terms expiring on June 30 as | ||||||
9 | follows: one trustee after 4 years
and one trustee after 5 | ||||||
10 | years from the date of the referendum. Successor
trustees shall | ||||||
11 | be
appointed in the same manner no later than June 1 before the | ||||||
12 | commencement
of the term of the trustee.
| ||||||
13 | (c) Trustees shall be qualified voters of the
such district | ||||||
14 | who do not hold any
other public office and are not officers of | ||||||
15 | any political party. Trustees,
if nominated by the county board | ||||||
16 | chairman as hereinafter provided, shall be
selected on the | ||||||
17 | basis of their demonstrated interest in the purpose of
| ||||||
18 | conservation districts.
| ||||||
19 | (d) If the trustees are appointed, the
The chairman of the | ||||||
20 | county board for the county of which the trustee is
a resident | ||||||
21 | shall, with the consent of the county board of that county,
| ||||||
22 | appoint the first trustees who shall hold office for terms | ||||||
23 | expiring on June
30 after one, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year periods | ||||||
24 | respectively as determined and
fixed by lot. Thereafter, | ||||||
25 | successor appointed trustees shall be appointed for a term of 5 | ||||||
26 | years in the same
manner no later than June 1 prior to the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | commencement of term of the
trustee. If the term of office of | ||||||
2 | any appointed trustee expires before the first
election of | ||||||
3 | trustees under subsection (i) after referendum approval of | ||||||
4 | elected
trustees, the chairman of the county board who | ||||||
5 | appointed that trustee under
this subsection shall appoint a | ||||||
6 | successor to serve until a successor is elected
and has | ||||||
7 | qualified.
| ||||||
8 | (e) When a vacancy occurs in the office of trustee, whether | ||||||
9 | by death,
resignation, refusal to qualify, no longer being a | ||||||
10 | qualified voter of the
district, or for any other reason, the | ||||||
11 | board of trustees shall declare that a
vacancy exists. The | ||||||
12 | vacancy shall be filled within 60 days.
Each successor trustee | ||||||
13 | shall serve for a term of 5 years. A vacancy
occurring | ||||||
14 | otherwise than by expiration of term , for appointed trustees,
| ||||||
15 | shall be filled for the
unexpired term by appointment of a | ||||||
16 | trustee by the county board chairman of
the county of which the | ||||||
17 | trustee shall be a resident, with the approval of
the county | ||||||
18 | board of that county. An appointed
A trustee who has served a | ||||||
19 | full term of 5
years is ineligible to serve as a trustee for a | ||||||
20 | period of one year
following the expiration of his or her term. | ||||||
21 | In the case of an elected
trustee, appointment of an eligible | ||||||
22 | person shall be by the president of the
board of trustees with | ||||||
23 | the advice and consent of the other trustees. The
appointee | ||||||
24 | shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If, however, | ||||||
25 | more
than 28 months remain in the term of the elected trustee | ||||||
26 | and the vacancy occurs
at least 182 days
before the next |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | general election, the appointment shall be until the next
| ||||||
2 | general election, at which time the vacated office of the | ||||||
3 | elected trustee shall
be filled by election for the remainder | ||||||
4 | of the term.
| ||||||
5 | If a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the board | ||||||
6 | of trustees, the
remaining trustees shall select one of their | ||||||
7 | number to serve as president for
the balance of the unexpired | ||||||
8 | term of the president in whose office the vacancy
occurred. | ||||||
9 | When any trustee during his or her term of
office shall | ||||||
10 | cease to be a bona fide resident of the district , or shall move
| ||||||
11 | from one township or congressional township in the district to | ||||||
12 | another so that
the township residency requirements of this | ||||||
13 | Section are no longer met, then he is
disqualified as a trustee | ||||||
14 | and his office becomes vacant. If the district has decided to | ||||||
15 | elect or appoint trustees from single member
subdistricts under | ||||||
16 | subsection (i), then when any trustee during his or her term
of | ||||||
17 | office shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the | ||||||
18 | subdistrict he or she
is disqualified as a trustee and the | ||||||
19 | office becomes vacant.
| ||||||
20 | (f) Trustees shall serve without compensation, but may be | ||||||
21 | paid their actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the | ||||||
22 | performance of their official
duties.
| ||||||
23 | (g) An appointed
A trustee may be removed for cause by the | ||||||
24 | county board chairman for the
county of which the trustee is a | ||||||
25 | resident, with the approval of the county
board of that county, | ||||||
26 | but every such removal shall be by a written order
and ,
which
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | shall be filed with the county clerk.
| ||||||
2 | (h) A conservation district with 5 trustees may determine | ||||||
3 | by majority vote
of the board to increase the size of the board | ||||||
4 | to 7 trustees. With respect to
a 7-member
board, no more than 3 | ||||||
5 | members may be residents
of
any township in a county under | ||||||
6 | township
organization or of any congressional township in a | ||||||
7 | county not under township
organization.
In the case of
a | ||||||
8 | 7-member board representing a district that embraces 2 | ||||||
9 | counties, 4
trustees
shall be residents of the county with the | ||||||
10 | larger population and 3 trustees
shall be residents of the | ||||||
11 | other county. If the district embraces 3 counties,
2 trustees | ||||||
12 | shall be residents of each of the 2 counties with the smallest
| ||||||
13 | population and
the largest county shall have 3 resident | ||||||
14 | trustees. If the district
embraces 4 counties, one trustee | ||||||
15 | shall be a resident of the county with the
smallest population | ||||||
16 | and each of the other counties shall have 2 resident
trustees. | ||||||
17 | If the district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the | ||||||
18 | largest
population shall each have 2 resident trustees and each | ||||||
19 | of the other counties
shall have one resident trustee. The | ||||||
20 | pertinent appointing authorities shall
appoint the additional | ||||||
21 | 2 trustees to initial terms as equally staggered as
possible | ||||||
22 | from the
terms of the trustees already appointed from that | ||||||
23 | township or county so that 2
trustees representing the same | ||||||
24 | area shall not be succeeded in the same year.
| ||||||
25 | (i) Except as provided in subsection (b), a conservation | ||||||
26 | district
in a county adjacent to a county with more than |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | 3,000,000 inhabitants may
determine by referendum (i)
to have | ||||||
2 | an elected or appointed board of trustees, (ii) to have a board
| ||||||
3 | of trustees with 5 or 7 members, and (iii) to have trustees
| ||||||
4 | chosen at large or from single
member subdistricts.
If the | ||||||
5 | boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries
| ||||||
6 | of a single county, the county
board may determine by ordinance | ||||||
7 | to hold the referendum; or
if the boundaries of the
district | ||||||
8 | are
embraced by more than one county, the county boards of
each | ||||||
9 | county in the district, jointly, may determine by ordinance to
| ||||||
10 | hold the referendum; or
a petition signed
by not less than 5% | ||||||
11 | of the electors of the entire district who voted in the last | ||||||
12 | gubernatorial election may be submitted to
the board of | ||||||
13 | trustees requiring the district to
hold the referendum.
| ||||||
14 | The secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the | ||||||
15 | proposition
to the appropriate election authorities who shall | ||||||
16 | submit the proposition at
a consolidated or general election | ||||||
17 | according to the Election Code.
The Election Code shall apply | ||||||
18 | to and govern the election.
The proposition shall be in | ||||||
19 | substantially the following form:
| ||||||
20 | Shall the (insert name) Conservation District have an | ||||||
21 | (insert "elected" or
"appointed") board of trustees with
| ||||||
22 | (insert "5" or "7") trustees
chosen (insert "at large" or | ||||||
23 | "from single member subdistricts")?
| ||||||
24 | The votes shall be recorded as
"Yes" or "No".
| ||||||
25 | If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in | ||||||
26 | the
affirmative,
the trustees of the district shall thereafter |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | be chosen as provided in this
paragraph.
At the next | ||||||
2 | consolidated election,
a district that has decided by | ||||||
3 | referendum to have its
trustees elected rather than appointed | ||||||
4 | shall elect 5 or 7 trustees
as provided in the ordinance or | ||||||
5 | petition and in the proposition.
The trustees shall be elected | ||||||
6 | on a nonpartisan basis.
The provisions of the general election | ||||||
7 | law shall apply to and govern
the nomination and election of | ||||||
8 | the trustees.
| ||||||
9 | (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint at | ||||||
10 | large trustees,
then with respect to a 5-member board,
the | ||||||
11 | residency of members shall be the same as prescribed in
| ||||||
12 | subsection (a).
| ||||||
13 | With respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3 | ||||||
14 | members may be residents
of
any township in a county under | ||||||
15 | township
organization or of any congressional township in a | ||||||
16 | county not under township
organization.
In the case of
a | ||||||
17 | 7-member board representing a district that embraces 2 | ||||||
18 | counties, 4
trustees
shall be residents of the county with | ||||||
19 | the larger population and 3 trustees
shall be residents of | ||||||
20 | the other county. If the district embraces 3 counties,
2 | ||||||
21 | trustees shall be residents of each of the 2 counties with | ||||||
22 | the smaller
populations and
the county with the largest | ||||||
23 | population shall have 3 resident trustees. If the district
| ||||||
24 | embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of the | ||||||
25 | county with the
smallest population and each of the other | ||||||
26 | counties shall have 2 resident
trustees. If the district |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest
| ||||||
2 | populations shall each have 2 resident trustees and each of | ||||||
3 | the other counties
shall have one resident trustee.
| ||||||
4 | (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint | ||||||
5 | trustees from single
member subdistricts, then with | ||||||
6 | respect to a 5-member board of a district
embracing
a | ||||||
7 | single county,
the county
board shall apportion the | ||||||
8 | district into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be
a | ||||||
9 | resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 5 | ||||||
10 | subdistricts. In the
case of a
5-member board of a district
| ||||||
11 | embracing more than one county, the members of each county | ||||||
12 | board shall,
jointly, apportion the district into 5 | ||||||
13 | subdistricts.
One trustee shall be a resident of and | ||||||
14 | elected or appointed from each of the 5
subdistricts.
The | ||||||
15 | initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90 days | ||||||
16 | after the
referendum is approved, and the subdistricts | ||||||
17 | shall be reapportioned after each
decennial census.
| ||||||
18 | With respect to a 7-member board of a district | ||||||
19 | embracing a single county,
the
county board
shall apportion | ||||||
20 | the district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a
| ||||||
21 | resident of and elected or appointed
from each of the 7 | ||||||
22 | subdistricts. In the case of a 7-member board of a district
| ||||||
23 | embracing
more than one county, the members of each county | ||||||
24 | board shall, jointly,
apportion the district into 7 | ||||||
25 | subdistricts. One
trustee shall be a resident of and | ||||||
26 | elected or appointed from each of the 7
subdistricts.
The |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90 days | ||||||
2 | after the
referendum is approved, and the subdistricts | ||||||
3 | shall be reapportioned after each
decennial census.
| ||||||
4 | (j) When a conservation district determines to elect or | ||||||
5 | appoint trustees
as
provided in subsection (i), the terms of | ||||||
6 | these trustees shall commence
on the first Monday of December | ||||||
7 | following the election. The
terms of all trustees previously | ||||||
8 | appointed or elected under this Section shall
expire on
the | ||||||
9 | first Monday of December following the first election.
| ||||||
10 | (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint | ||||||
11 | at-large trustees,
then the
initial elected board of | ||||||
12 | trustees shall, no later than 45 days after taking
office, | ||||||
13 | divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as possible | ||||||
14 | into 2 groups.
Trustees or their successors from the larger | ||||||
15 | group shall serve for terms of 4
years; the initial elected | ||||||
16 | trustees from the second group shall serve for terms
of 2 | ||||||
17 | years, and their successors shall be elected for terms of 4 | ||||||
18 | years.
| ||||||
19 | (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint | ||||||
20 | trustees from single
member
subdistricts, then the members | ||||||
21 | of the initial elected board of trustees and
each
| ||||||
22 | subsequent board
elected prior to the first decennial | ||||||
23 | census following the initial apportionment
shall be | ||||||
24 | elected to a term of 2 years. In the year following the | ||||||
25 | first
decennial census occurring after the initial | ||||||
26 | apportionment and in the year
following each subsequent |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | decennial census, the 5 or 7 subdistricts shall be
| ||||||
2 | reapportioned
to reflect the results of the census. The | ||||||
3 | board of trustees elected in the
first election following a | ||||||
4 | decennial census shall, no later than 45 days after
taking | ||||||
5 | office, divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as | ||||||
6 | possible into 3
groups. Trustees or their successors from | ||||||
7 | one group shall be elected to terms
of 4 years, 4 years, | ||||||
8 | and 2 years. Trustees or their successors from the second
| ||||||
9 | group
shall be elected to terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 4 | ||||||
10 | years. The trustee or
successors from the third group shall | ||||||
11 | be elected to terms of 2 years, 4 years,
and 4 years.
| ||||||
12 | (Source: P.A. 94-617, eff. 8-18-05.)
| ||||||
13 | (70 ILCS 410/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7106)
| ||||||
14 | Sec. 6. Officers and employees. As soon as possible after | ||||||
15 | the initial
election or the initial appointments, as the case | ||||||
16 | may be
Within 60 days after their selection , the trustees shall | ||||||
17 | organize
by selecting from their members a president, | ||||||
18 | secretary, treasurer , and such
other officers as are deemed | ||||||
19 | necessary, who shall hold office for 2 years in
the case of an | ||||||
20 | elected board, or the
fiscal year in which elected in the case | ||||||
21 | of an appointed board, and until their successors are selected | ||||||
22 | and
qualify. Three trustees shall constitute a quorum of the | ||||||
23 | board for the
transaction of business if the district has 5 | ||||||
24 | trustees. If the
district has 7 trustees, 4 trustees shall | ||||||
25 | constitute a quorum of the board
for the transaction of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | business. The board shall hold regular monthly
meetings. | ||||||
2 | Special meetings may be called by the president and shall be | ||||||
3 | called
on the request of a majority of members, as may be | ||||||
4 | required.
| ||||||
5 | The board shall provide for the proper and safe keeping of | ||||||
6 | its permanent
records and for the recording of the corporate | ||||||
7 | action of the district. It
shall keep a proper system of | ||||||
8 | accounts showing a true and accurate record
of its receipts and | ||||||
9 | disbursements , and it shall cause an annual audit to be
made of | ||||||
10 | its books, records , and accounts.
| ||||||
11 | The records of the district shall be subject to public | ||||||
12 | inspection at all
reasonable hours and under such regulations | ||||||
13 | as the board may prescribe.
| ||||||
14 | The district shall annually make a full and complete report | ||||||
15 | to the
county board of each county within the district and to | ||||||
16 | the Department of Natural Resources of its transactions and
| ||||||
17 | operations for the preceding year. The
Such report shall | ||||||
18 | contain a full statement
of its receipts, disbursements , and | ||||||
19 | the program of work for the period covered,
and may include | ||||||
20 | such recommendations as may be deemed advisable.
| ||||||
21 | Executive or ministerial duties may be delegated to one or | ||||||
22 | more trustees
or to an authorized officer, employee, agent, | ||||||
23 | attorney , or other
representative of the district.
| ||||||
24 | All officers and employees authorized to receive or retain | ||||||
25 | the custody
of money or to sign vouchers, checks, warrants , or | ||||||
26 | evidences of indebtedness
binding upon the district shall |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | furnish surety bond for the faithful
performance of their | ||||||
2 | duties and the faithful accounting for all moneys that
may come | ||||||
3 | into their hands in an amount to be fixed and in a form to be
| ||||||
4 | approved by the board.
| ||||||
5 | All contracts for supplies, material, or work involving an | ||||||
6 | expenditure in
excess of $20,000 shall be let to the lowest | ||||||
7 | responsible bidder, after due
advertisement, excepting work | ||||||
8 | requiring personal confidence or necessary
supplies under the | ||||||
9 | control of monopolies, where competitive bidding is
| ||||||
10 | impossible. All contracts for supplies, material , or work shall | ||||||
11 | be signed by
the president of the board and by any such other | ||||||
12 | officer as the board in
its discretion may designate.
| ||||||
13 | (Source: P.A. 94-454, eff. 8-4-05.)
| ||||||
14 | (70 ILCS 410/18.1 new)
| ||||||
15 | Sec. 18.1. Organization as a forest preserve district. The | ||||||
16 | voters of a conservation district that is entirely within one | ||||||
17 | county
may, by a single referendum proposition, dissolve the | ||||||
18 | conservation district
under Section 18 of this Act and | ||||||
19 | incorporate as a forest preserve district
under Section 1 the | ||||||
20 | Downstate Forest Preserve District Act. The referendum may
be | ||||||
21 | placed on the ballot upon either of the
following: | ||||||
22 | (1) An ordinance by the county board of the county in | ||||||
23 | which the district
lies requiring the referendum. | ||||||
24 | (2) The filing of a petition with the board of trustees | ||||||
25 | signed by the
electors of the district equal in number to |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | 8% or more of the total number of
votes cast for Governor | ||||||
2 | district-wide in the most recent gubernatorial election
| ||||||
3 | asking that the question of whether the district shall be | ||||||
4 | dissolved and
organized as a forest preserve district. | ||||||
5 | The Secretary of the board of trustees of the county board | ||||||
6 | or the board of
trustees, as appropriate, shall certify the | ||||||
7 | proposition to the appropriate
election authorities who shall | ||||||
8 | submit the proposition at a consolidated or
general election | ||||||
9 | according to the Election Code. The Election Code shall apply
| ||||||
10 | to and govern the election. | ||||||
11 | The proposition shall be in substantially the following | ||||||
12 | form: | ||||||
13 | Shall (insert name) Conservation District be dissolved | ||||||
14 | under the
provisions of Section 18 of the Conservation | ||||||
15 | District Act and be organized as
a forest preserve district | ||||||
16 | under the provisions of the Downstate Forest
Preserve | ||||||
17 | District Act?
| ||||||
18 | The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | ||||||
19 | If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in | ||||||
20 | the affirmative,
the conservation district shall be deemed to | ||||||
21 | be dissolved under Section 18 of
the Conservation District Act | ||||||
22 | and the territory shall be incorporated as a
forest
preserve | ||||||
23 | district under Section 1 of the Downstate Forest Preserve | ||||||
24 | District
Act. The resulting forest preserve district shall not | ||||||
25 | be deemed to be the legal
successor or assign of the dissolved | ||||||
26 | conservation district.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Section 10. The Downstate Forest Preserve District Act is | ||||||
2 | amended by
changing Section 1 as follows:
| ||||||
3 | (70 ILCS 805/1)
(from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6302)
| ||||||
4 | Sec. 1. Whenever any area of
contiguous territory lying | ||||||
5 | wholly within one county contains one or more
natural forests | ||||||
6 | or parks thereof and one or more cities, towns or
villages, | ||||||
7 | such territory may be incorporated as a forest preserve
| ||||||
8 | district by a referendum passed under Section 18.1 of the | ||||||
9 | Conservation
District Act or in the following manner, to wit:
| ||||||
10 | Any 500 legal voters residing within the limits of such
| ||||||
11 | proposed district may petition the circuit court of the county | ||||||
12 | in which
such proposed district lies, to order the question to | ||||||
13 | be submitted to
the legal voters of such proposed district | ||||||
14 | whether or not it shall be
organized as a forest preserve | ||||||
15 | district under this act. Such petition
shall be addressed to | ||||||
16 | the circuit court of the county in which
such proposed forest | ||||||
17 | preserve district is situated and shall contain a
definite | ||||||
18 | description of the territory intended to be embraced in such
| ||||||
19 | district, and the name of such district. Upon the filing of | ||||||
20 | such
petition in the office of the clerk of the circuit court | ||||||
21 | of the county
in which such territory is situated, it shall be | ||||||
22 | the duty of such
circuit court to fix a
day and hour for the | ||||||
23 | public consideration thereof, which shall not be less than
15 | ||||||
24 | days after the filing of such petition. Such circuit
court |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | shall cause a notice of the time and place of such public
| ||||||
2 | consideration to be published 3 successive days in some | ||||||
3 | newspaper
having a general circulation in the territory | ||||||
4 | proposed to be placed in such
district. The
date of the last | ||||||
5 | publication of such notice shall not be less than 5
days prior | ||||||
6 | to the time set for such public hearing. At the time and
place | ||||||
7 | fixed for such public hearing the circuit court shall
hear any | ||||||
8 | person owning property in such proposed district who desires to
| ||||||
9 | be heard, and if the circuit judge finds that all of the
| ||||||
10 | provisions of this act have been complied with, the court shall
| ||||||
11 | enter an order
fixing and defining the boundaries and the name | ||||||
12 | of such proposed
district in accordance with the prayer of the | ||||||
13 | petition. In the event
that any other petition or petitions for | ||||||
14 | the organization of a forest
preserve district or districts in | ||||||
15 | the same county is filed under
this act before the time fixed | ||||||
16 | for the public hearing of the first
petition, the circuit court | ||||||
17 | shall postpone the
public consideration of the first petition | ||||||
18 | so that the hearing of all
petitions shall be set for the same | ||||||
19 | day and hour. In any county where there
are 2 or more judges | ||||||
20 | sitting at the time of filing such first
petitions the clerk of | ||||||
21 | the circuit court shall cause all petitions
filed subsequent to | ||||||
22 | the first petition to be assigned to the
judge to whom the | ||||||
23 | first petition
is assigned so that all such petitions may be | ||||||
24 | heard by the same judge.
| ||||||
25 | Should 2 or more petitions be filed under this act and come
| ||||||
26 | on for hearing at the same time and it shall be found by the
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | circuit court that any of the territory embraced in any one
of | ||||||
2 | the petitions is included in or contiguous with the territory
| ||||||
3 | embraced in any other
petition or petitions, the circuit court | ||||||
4 | may
include all of the
territory described in such petitions in | ||||||
5 | one district and shall fix the
name proposed in the petition | ||||||
6 | first filed as the name for the district.
After the entry of | ||||||
7 | the order fixing and defining the boundaries and the
name of | ||||||
8 | such proposed district, it shall be the duty of the
circuit | ||||||
9 | court to order to be submitted to the legal voters
of such | ||||||
10 | proposed district at any election, the question
of the | ||||||
11 | organization of such proposed district. The clerk of the | ||||||
12 | circuit
court shall certify the order and the question to the | ||||||
13 | proper election officials
who shall submit the question to the | ||||||
14 | voters of the proposed district in
accordance with the general | ||||||
15 | election law.
Notice of the referendum shall contain a definite | ||||||
16 | description of the territory
intended to be embraced in such | ||||||
17 | district, and the name of such district.
| ||||||
18 | (Source: P.A. 83-1362.)
| ||||||
19 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
20 | becoming law. |