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1 | AN ACT creating the Southwest Suburban Railroad | ||||||
2 | Redevelopment Authority.
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3 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
4 | represented in the General Assembly:
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5 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
6 | Southwest Suburban
Railroad Redevelopment Authority Act.
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7 | Section 5. Legislative declaration. The General Assembly | ||||||
8 | declares that the
welfare, health, prosperity, and moral and | ||||||
9 | general well-being of the people of
the State are, in large | ||||||
10 | measure, dependent upon the sound and orderly
development of | ||||||
11 | municipal areas. The Southwest Suburban area, by reason of the
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12 | location therein of vital roadways and their use for
vehicular | ||||||
13 | travel in access to the entire southwest metropolitan Chicago | ||||||
14 | area,
as well as commercial and industrial
growth patterns and | ||||||
15 | accessibility to
manufacturing and freight-related facilities, | ||||||
16 | has become and will
increasingly be the hub of
transportation | ||||||
17 | from all parts of the region and throughout the southwest
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18 | metropolitan area. Motor vehicle traffic, pedestrian travel, | ||||||
19 | and the safety of
both motorists and pedestrians are | ||||||
20 | substantially aggravated by the location of
railroad
grade | ||||||
21 | crossings. Additionally, certain development opportunities may
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22 | exist in the project area that would stabilize and enhance the | ||||||
23 | tax base of
existing communities, maintain and revitalize |
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1 | existing commerce and industry,
and
promote comprehensive | ||||||
2 | planning within and between communities. The presence of
the | ||||||
3 | railroad grade crossings are
detrimental to the orderly | ||||||
4 | expansion of industry and commerce and to progress
of the | ||||||
5 | region. To alleviate this situation it is necessary to relocate | ||||||
6 | the
railroad tracks, to separate the grades at
crossing, to | ||||||
7 | acquire property for relocation or submergence of the railroad
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8 | or highways, to create an agency to facilitate and accomplish | ||||||
9 | that
relocation, and to direct infrastructure and development | ||||||
10 | improvements in the
Southwest Suburban area.
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11 | Section 10. Creation; duration. There is created a body | ||||||
12 | politic and
corporate, a unit of local government, named the | ||||||
13 | Southwest Suburban Railroad
Redevelopment Authority, embracing | ||||||
14 | the townships of Bloom, Thornton, Calumet,
Bremen, Orland, | ||||||
15 | Worth, Rich, and Palos.
The
Authority shall continue in | ||||||
16 | existence until
the accomplishment of its objective, the | ||||||
17 | relocation of railroad tracks and
roadways and the grade | ||||||
18 | separation of railroads from the right-of-way and
at-grade | ||||||
19 | crossing closures within the Southwest Suburban area,
or until | ||||||
20 | the Authority officially
resolves that it is impossible or | ||||||
21 | economically unfeasible to fulfill that
objective.
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22 | Section 15. Acquisition of property. The Authority has the | ||||||
23 | power to
acquire by gift, purchase, or legacy the fee simple | ||||||
24 | title to real property
located within the boundaries of the |
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1 | Authority, including temporary and
permanent easements, as | ||||||
2 | well as reversionary interests in the streets, alleys,
and | ||||||
3 | other public
places and personal property, required for its | ||||||
4 | purposes, and title thereto
shall be taken in the corporate | ||||||
5 | name of the Authority. All land
and appurtenances thereto, | ||||||
6 | acquired or owned by the Authority, are to be
deemed acquired | ||||||
7 | or owned for a public use or public purpose.
The Authority may | ||||||
8 | not acquire property by eminent domain.
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9 | Section 20. Sale or exchange of property. The Authority | ||||||
10 | has the
power to sell, transfer, exchange, vacate, or assign | ||||||
11 | property acquired for the
purposes of this Act as it deems | ||||||
12 | appropriate.
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13 | Section 25. Acceptance of grants, loans, and | ||||||
14 | appropriations. The Authority
has the power to apply for and | ||||||
15 | accept grants, loans, advances, and
appropriations from the | ||||||
16 | federal government and from the State of Illinois or
any agency | ||||||
17 | or instrumentality thereof to be used for the purposes of the
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18 | Authority, and to enter into any agreement in relation to the | ||||||
19 | grants, loans,
advances, and appropriations. The Authority may | ||||||
20 | also accept from the State,
any
State agency, department, or | ||||||
21 | commission, any county or other political
subdivision, any | ||||||
22 | municipal corporation, any railroad, any school authority, or
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23 | jointly therefrom, grants of funds or services for any of the | ||||||
24 | purposes of this
Act. The Authority shall be treated as a rail |
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1 | carrier subject to the Illinois
Commerce Commission's | ||||||
2 | jurisdiction and eligible to receive money from the Grade
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3 | Crossing Protection Fund or any fund of the State or other | ||||||
4 | source available for
purposes of promoting safety and | ||||||
5 | separation of at-grade railroad crossings or
highway | ||||||
6 | improvements.
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7 | Section 30. Taxing powers. The Authority may not levy
real | ||||||
8 | property taxes for any purpose whatsoever.
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9 | Section 35. Board; compensation and expenses.
The | ||||||
10 | Authority shall be governed by a 5-member board consisting of
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11 | members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent | ||||||
12 | of the Senate.
Two members of the Board must reside within the | ||||||
13 | territory of the Authority. Two members must be former public | ||||||
14 | officials who served within the townships of Bloom, Thornton, | ||||||
15 | Calumet, Bremen, Orland, Worth, Rich, or Palos. One member must | ||||||
16 | have previous employment and management experience with a major | ||||||
17 | railroad company that has significant ties to the Authority. | ||||||
18 | Each member
shall take and subscribe the constitutional oath of
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19 | office and file it with the Secretary of State.
The
members of | ||||||
20 | the board shall serve without compensation, but may be
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21 | reimbursed for actual expenses incurred by them in the | ||||||
22 | performance of duties
prescribed by the Authority. However, any | ||||||
23 | member of the board who serves
as secretary or treasurer may | ||||||
24 | receive compensation for services as that
officer.
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1 | Section 40. Organization; chair and temporary secretary. | ||||||
2 | As soon as
possible after the effective date of this Act, the | ||||||
3 | board shall
organize for the transaction of business, select a | ||||||
4 | Chair and a temporary
Secretary from its own number, and adopt | ||||||
5 | bylaws to govern its proceedings.
The
initial Chair and | ||||||
6 | successors shall be elected by the board from time to
time from | ||||||
7 | among members. The board may act through its members by | ||||||
8 | entering
into an agreement that a member act on the board's | ||||||
9 | behalf, in which
instance the act or performance directed shall | ||||||
10 | be deemed to be exclusively of,
for, and by the board and not | ||||||
11 | the individual act of the member or its
represented person.
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12 | Section 45. Meetings; quorum and resolutions. Regular | ||||||
13 | meetings of the
board shall be held at least quarterly, the | ||||||
14 | time and place of those
meetings
to be fixed by the board. | ||||||
15 | Special meetings may be called by the Chair or
by a majority of | ||||||
16 | the members of the board by giving notice thereof in writing,
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17 | stating the time, place, and purpose of the meeting. The notice | ||||||
18 | shall be
served by special delivery letter deposited in the | ||||||
19 | mail at least 48 hours
before the meeting. A majority of the | ||||||
20 | members of the board shall
constitute a quorum for the | ||||||
21 | transaction of business. All action of the
board shall be by | ||||||
22 | resolution and, except as otherwise provided in this Act,
the | ||||||
23 | affirmative vote of at least a majority shall be necessary for | ||||||
24 | the adoption
of any resolution. The Chair shall be entitled to |
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1 | vote on any and all matters
coming before the board.
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2 | Section 50. Secretary and Treasurer; oaths; bond of | ||||||
3 | Treasurer. The
board may appoint a Secretary and a Treasurer, | ||||||
4 | who need not be members of
the
board, to hold office at the | ||||||
5 | pleasure of the board, and fix their
duties and compensation. | ||||||
6 | Before entering upon the duties of their respective
offices, | ||||||
7 | they shall take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of | ||||||
8 | office,
and the Treasurer shall execute a bond with corporate | ||||||
9 | sureties to be approved
by the board. The bond shall be payable | ||||||
10 | to the Authority in whatever penal
sum may be directed by the | ||||||
11 | board conditioned upon the faithful performance
of the duties | ||||||
12 | of the office and the payment of all money received by the
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13 | Treasurer according to law and the orders of the board. The | ||||||
14 | board may,
at any time, require a new bond for the Treasurer in | ||||||
15 | any penal sum that may
then
be determined by the board.
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16 | Section 55. Deposit and withdrawal of funds; signatures. | ||||||
17 | All funds
deposited by the Treasurer in any bank or savings and | ||||||
18 | loan association shall be
placed in the name of the Authority | ||||||
19 | and shall be withdrawn or paid out only by
check or draft upon | ||||||
20 | the bank or savings and loan association, signed by the
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21 | Treasurer and countersigned by the Chair of the board. Subject | ||||||
22 | to prior
approval of the designations by a majority of the | ||||||
23 | board, the Chair may
designate any other member or any officer | ||||||
24 | of the Authority to affix the
signature of the Treasurer to any |
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1 | Authority check or draft for payment of
salaries or wages and | ||||||
2 | for payment of any other obligation of not more than
$2,500.
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3 | No bank or savings and loan association shall receive | ||||||
4 | public funds as
permitted by this Section unless it has | ||||||
5 | complied with the requirements
established under Section 6 of | ||||||
6 | the Public Funds Investment Act.
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7 | Section 60. Delivery of check after executing officer | ||||||
8 | ceases to hold office.
If any officer whose signature appears | ||||||
9 | upon any check or draft issued
pursuant to this Act ceases to | ||||||
10 | hold office before the delivery of the check or
draft to the | ||||||
11 | payee, the officer's signature nevertheless shall be valid and
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12 | sufficient for all purposes with the same effect as if the | ||||||
13 | officer had remained
in office until delivery of the check or | ||||||
14 | draft.
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15 | Section 65. Rules. The board may adopt all rules proper or | ||||||
16 | necessary and to carry into effect the powers granted to
it. | ||||||
17 | The rules shall be consistent with the guidelines,
objectives, | ||||||
18 | and project scope as set out by the Illinois Commerce | ||||||
19 | Commission.
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20 | Section 70. Fiscal year. The Authority shall designate its | ||||||
21 | fiscal year.
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22 | Section 75. Reports and financial statements. Within 60 |
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1 | days after the end
of its fiscal year, the board shall cause to | ||||||
2 | be prepared by a certified
public accountant a complete and | ||||||
3 | detailed report and financial statement of the
operations and | ||||||
4 | assets and liabilities as they relate to the
projects | ||||||
5 | undertaken by the Authority. A reasonably sufficient number of | ||||||
6 | copies
of the
report shall be prepared for distribution to | ||||||
7 | persons interested, upon request,
and a copy of the report | ||||||
8 | shall be filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission
and with | ||||||
9 | the county clerk of Cook County.
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10 | Section 80. Construction. Nothing in this Act shall be | ||||||
11 | construed to confer
upon the Authority the right, power, or | ||||||
12 | duty to order or enforce the
abandonment of any present | ||||||
13 | property of the railroads or the use in substitution
therefor | ||||||
14 | of any property acquired for the railroads in the absence of a
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15 | contract duly executed by the railroads and the Authority | ||||||
16 | setting forth the
terms and conditions upon which relocation of | ||||||
17 | the right-of-way and physical
facilities of the railroads is to | ||||||
18 | be accomplished. No such contract shall be
or become | ||||||
19 | enforceable until the provisions of the contract have been | ||||||
20 | approved
or authorized by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
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21 | Section 85. Existing contracts, obligations, and | ||||||
22 | liabilities. No contract,
obligation, or liability whatever of | ||||||
23 | the railroads to pay any money into the
State treasury, nor any | ||||||
24 | lien of the State upon or right to tax property of
the |
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1 | railroads, shall be released, suspended, modified, altered, | ||||||
2 | remitted, or
in
any manner diminished or impaired by the | ||||||
3 | contract with the Authority, and any
such charter provisions | ||||||
4 | applicable to the property on which the railroads are
now | ||||||
5 | located shall be deemed in full force and effect with respect | ||||||
6 | to any
property on which the railroads are relocated in | ||||||
7 | substitution therefor pursuant
to the provisions of this Act or | ||||||
8 | any such contract with the Authority pursuant
thereto. | ||||||
9 | Notwithstanding, upon order of the Illinois Commerce | ||||||
10 | Commission, the
Authority shall succeed to and assume the | ||||||
11 | performance and actions of the
represented persons under the | ||||||
12 | terms of the order and amending orders previously
entered | ||||||
13 | relative to projects undertaken by the Authority and
consistent | ||||||
14 | with the objectives of the Authority.
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15 | Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act are | ||||||
16 | severable under
Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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17 | Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
18 | becoming law. |