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1 | AN ACT concerning local government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Water Commission Act of 1985 is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 2 as follows:
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6 | (70 ILCS 3720/2) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 252)
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7 | Sec. 2. The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that | ||||||
8 | it is
necessary and in the public interest to help assure a | ||||||
9 | sufficient and
economic supply of a source of water within | ||||||
10 | those county wide areas of this
State where, because of a | ||||||
11 | growth in population and proximity to large urban
centers, the | ||||||
12 | health, safety and welfare of the residents is threatened by
an | ||||||
13 | ever increasing shortage of a continuing, available and | ||||||
14 | adequate source
and supply of water on an economically | ||||||
15 | reasonable basis; however, it is not
the intent of the General | ||||||
16 | Assembly to interfere with the power of
municipalities to | ||||||
17 | provide for the retail distribution of water to their
residents | ||||||
18 | or the customers of their water systems. Therefore, in order to
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19 | provide for a sufficient and economic supply of water to such | ||||||
20 | areas, it is
hereby declared to be the law of this State that:
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21 | (a) With respect to any water commission constituted | ||||||
22 | pursuant to
Division 135 of the Illinois Municipal Code or | ||||||
23 | established by operation of
law under Public Act 83-1123, as |
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1 | amended, which water commission includes
municipalities which | ||||||
2 | in the aggregate have within their corporate limits
more than | ||||||
3 | 50% of the population of a county (hereinafter referred to as a
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4 | "home county"), and such county is contiguous to a county which | ||||||
5 | has a
population in excess of 1,000,000 inhabitants, the | ||||||
6 | provisions of this Act
shall apply. With respect to any such | ||||||
7 | water commission (hereinafter
referred to as a "county water | ||||||
8 | commission"):
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9 | (i) the terms of all commissioners of such commission | ||||||
10 | holding office at
the time a water commission becomes a | ||||||
11 | county water commission shall
terminate 30 days after such | ||||||
12 | time and new commissioners shall be appointed
as the | ||||||
13 | governing board of the county water commission as | ||||||
14 | hereinafter
provided in subsection (c); and
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15 | (ii) the county water commission shall continue to be a | ||||||
16 | body corporate
and politic, and shall bear the name of the | ||||||
17 | home county but shall be
independent from and not a part of | ||||||
18 | the county government and shall itself
be a political | ||||||
19 | subdivision and a unit of local government, and upon
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20 | appointment of the new commissioners as the governing board | ||||||
21 | of such water
commission as provided in subsection (c), | ||||||
22 | such water commission shall
remain responsible for the full | ||||||
23 | payment of, and shall by operation of law
be deemed to have | ||||||
24 | assumed and shall pay when due all debts and obligations
of | ||||||
25 | the commission as the same is constituted and as such debts | ||||||
26 | and
obligations existed on the date such water commission |
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1 | becomes a county
water commission and such additional debts | ||||||
2 | and obligations as are incurred
by such commission after | ||||||
3 | such date and prior to the appointment of the new
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4 | commissioners as the governing board of such commission, | ||||||
5 | and further shall
continue to have and exercise all powers | ||||||
6 | and functions and duties of a
water commission created | ||||||
7 | pursuant to Division 135 of the Illinois Municipal
Code, as | ||||||
8 | now or hereafter amended, and the county water commission | ||||||
9 | may rely
on that Division, as modified and supplemented by | ||||||
10 | the provisions of this
Act, as lawful authority under which | ||||||
11 | it may act.
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12 | (b) Any county water commission shall have as its territory | ||||||
13 | within its
corporate limits, subject to taxation for its | ||||||
14 | purposes, and subject to the
powers and limitations as | ||||||
15 | conferred by this Act, (i) all of the territory
of the home | ||||||
16 | county except that territory located within the corporate
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17 | limits of excluded units as hereinafter defined and (ii) also | ||||||
18 | all of the
territory located outside the home county and | ||||||
19 | included within the corporate
limits of an included unit as | ||||||
20 | hereinafter defined. As used in this Act,
"excluded unit" means | ||||||
21 | a unit of local government having a waterworks system
and | ||||||
22 | having within its corporate limits territory within the home | ||||||
23 | county and
which either , at the time any commission becomes a | ||||||
24 | county water commission,
receives, or has contracted at such | ||||||
25 | time for the receipt of, more than 25%
of the water distributed | ||||||
26 | by such unit's water system from a source outside
of the home |
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1 | county , or a unit of local government that seeks a change in | ||||||
2 | status as provided in this Section . As used in this Section, | ||||||
3 | "included unit" means any
unit of local government having a | ||||||
4 | waterworks system and having within its
corporate limits | ||||||
5 | territory within the home county, which unit of local
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6 | government is not an excluded unit. No other water commission | ||||||
7 | shall be
constituted under Division 135 of the Illinois | ||||||
8 | Municipal Code in any home
county after the effective date of | ||||||
9 | this Act to provide water from any
source located outside the | ||||||
10 | home county. A unit of local government may switch its status | ||||||
11 | from being an included unit to an excluded unit provided that | ||||||
12 | (i) it has constructed a water treatment plant prior to | ||||||
13 | December 31, 2006 to comply with United States Environmental | ||||||
14 | Protection Agency regulations regarding radium; (ii) it | ||||||
15 | notifies the commission in writing of its desire to become an | ||||||
16 | excluded unit; and (iii) it no longer demands future service | ||||||
17 | from the commission and shall not be reinstated as an included | ||||||
18 | unit. In the event a unit of local government switches status, | ||||||
19 | the water commission shall, from any legally available sources, | ||||||
20 | transfer the sums collected from that unit of local government | ||||||
21 | for the period of time beginning January 1, 2006 to the date | ||||||
22 | that this tax is no longer assessed within the affected | ||||||
23 | excluded unit. The transfer of funds authorized herein shall be | ||||||
24 | made within 90 days of the effective date of this amendatory | ||||||
25 | Act of the 95th General Assembly. Except as authorized by a | ||||||
26 | county
water commission, no home county or included unit shall |
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1 | enter into any new
or renew or extend any existing contract, | ||||||
2 | agreement or other arrangement
for the acquisition or sale of | ||||||
3 | water from any source located outside a home
county; provided, | ||||||
4 | however, that any included unit may contract for a supply
of | ||||||
5 | water in case of a temporary emergency from any other unit of | ||||||
6 | local
government or any entity. In the event that any included | ||||||
7 | unit elects to
serve retail customers outside its corporate | ||||||
8 | boundaries and to establish
rates and charges for such water in | ||||||
9 | excess of those charged within its
corporate boundaries, such | ||||||
10 | rates and charges shall have a reasonable
relationship to the | ||||||
11 | actual cost of providing and delivering the water; this
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12 | provision is declarative of existing law. It is declared to be | ||||||
13 | the law of
this State pursuant to paragraphs (g) and (h) of | ||||||
14 | Section 6 of Article VII
of the Illinois Constitution that in | ||||||
15 | any home county, the provisions of
this Act and Division 135 of | ||||||
16 | the Illinois Municipal Code, as modified and
supplemented by | ||||||
17 | this Act and this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly, | ||||||
18 | constitute a limitation upon the power of any
such county and | ||||||
19 | upon all units of local government (except excluded units)
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20 | within such county, including home rule units, limiting to such | ||||||
21 | county,
units of local government and home rule units the power | ||||||
22 | to acquire, supply
or distribute water or to establish any | ||||||
23 | water commission for such purposes
involving water from any | ||||||
24 | source located outside the home county in a manner
other than | ||||||
25 | as provided or permitted by this Act and Division 135, as
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26 | modified and supplemented by this Act, and further constitute |
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1 | an exercise
of exclusive State power with respect to the | ||||||
2 | acquisition, supply and
distribution of water from any source | ||||||
3 | located outside the home county by
any such county and by units | ||||||
4 | of local government (except excluded units),
including home | ||||||
5 | rule units, within such county and with respect to the
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6 | establishment for such purposes of any water commission | ||||||
7 | therein, which
power may not be exercised concurrently by any | ||||||
8 | unit of local government or
home rule unit. Upon the request of | ||||||
9 | any included unit, a county water
commission shall provide such | ||||||
10 | included unit Lake Michigan water in an
amount up to the then | ||||||
11 | current Department of Transportation allocation of
Lake | ||||||
12 | Michigan water for such included unit.
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13 | With respect to a water commission to which the provisions | ||||||
14 | of
subsection (a) apply, all uninhabited territory that is | ||||||
15 | owned and solely
occupied by such a commission and is located | ||||||
16 | not within its home county
but within a non-home rule | ||||||
17 | municipality adjacent to its home county shall,
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18 | notwithstanding any other provision of law, be disconnected | ||||||
19 | from that
municipality by operation of this Act on the | ||||||
20 | effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1991, and shall | ||||||
21 | thereafter no longer be within the
territory of the | ||||||
22 | municipality for any purpose; except that for the purposes
of | ||||||
23 | any statute that requires contiguity of territory, the | ||||||
24 | territory of the
water commission shall be disregarded and the | ||||||
25 | municipality shall not be
deemed to be noncontiguous by virtue | ||||||
26 | of the disconnection of the water
commission territory.
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1 | (c) The governing body of any water commission to which the | ||||||
2 | provisions
of subsection (a) apply shall be a board of | ||||||
3 | commissioners, each to be
appointed within 30 days after the | ||||||
4 | water commission becomes a county water
commission to a term | ||||||
5 | commencing on such date, as follows:
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6 | (i) one commissioner, who shall serve as chairman, who | ||||||
7 | shall be a
resident of the home county, to be appointed by | ||||||
8 | the chairman of the county
board of such county with the | ||||||
9 | advice and consent of the county board,
provided that | ||||||
10 | following the expiration of the term or vacancy of the | ||||||
11 | current
chairman
serving on the effective date of this | ||||||
12 | amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly, any
subsequent
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13 | appointment as chairman shall also be subject to the advice | ||||||
14 | and consent of the
county water
commission;
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15 | (ii) one commissioner from each county board district | ||||||
16 | within the home
county, to be appointed by the chairman of | ||||||
17 | the county board of the home
county with the advice and | ||||||
18 | consent of the county board; and
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19 | (iii) one commissioner from each county board district | ||||||
20 | within the home
county, to be appointed by the majority | ||||||
21 | vote of the mayors of those
included units which are | ||||||
22 | municipalities and which have the greatest
percentage of | ||||||
23 | their respective populations residing within such county
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24 | board district of the home county.
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25 | The mayors of the respective county board districts shall | ||||||
26 | meet for the
purpose of making said respective appointments at |
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1 | a time and place
designated by that mayor in each county board | ||||||
2 | district of the included unit
with the largest population | ||||||
3 | voting for a commissioner upon not less than 10
days' written | ||||||
4 | notice to each other mayor entitled to vote.
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5 | The commissioners so appointed shall serve for a term of 6 | ||||||
6 | years, or
until their successors have been appointed and have | ||||||
7 | qualified in the same
manner as the original appointments, | ||||||
8 | except that at the first meeting of
such commissioners, (A) the | ||||||
9 | commissioners first appointed pursuant to
paragraph (ii) of | ||||||
10 | this subsection shall determine publicly by lot 1/3 of
their | ||||||
11 | number to serve for terms of 2 years, 1/3 of their number to | ||||||
12 | serve
for terms of 4 years and 1/3 of their number to serve for | ||||||
13 | terms of 6 years,
any odd number of commissioners so determined | ||||||
14 | by dividing into thirds to
serve 6 year terms, and (B) the | ||||||
15 | commissioners first appointed pursuant to
paragraph (iii) of | ||||||
16 | this subsection shall determine publicly by lot 1/3 of
their | ||||||
17 | number to serve for terms of 2 years, 1/3 of their number to | ||||||
18 | serve
for terms of 4 years and 1/3 of their number to serve for | ||||||
19 | terms of 6 years,
any odd number of commissioners so determined | ||||||
20 | by dividing into thirds to
serve 6 year terms. The commissioner | ||||||
21 | first appointed pursuant to paragraph
(i) of this subsection, | ||||||
22 | who shall serve as chairman, shall serve for a term
of 6 years. | ||||||
23 | Any commissioner may be a member of the governing board or an
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24 | officer or employee of such county or any unit of local | ||||||
25 | government within
such county. A commissioner is eligible for | ||||||
26 | reappointment upon the
expiration of his term. A vacancy in the |
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1 | office of a commissioner shall be
filled for the balance of the | ||||||
2 | unexpired term by appointment and
qualification as to residency | ||||||
3 | in the same manner as the original
appointment was made. Each | ||||||
4 | commissioner shall receive the same
compensation which shall | ||||||
5 | not be more than $600 per year, except that no such
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6 | commissioner who is a member of the governing board or an | ||||||
7 | officer or
employee of such county or any unit of local | ||||||
8 | government within such county
may receive any compensation for | ||||||
9 | serving as a commissioner. Each
commissioner may be removed by | ||||||
10 | the appointing authority for any cause for
which any other | ||||||
11 | county or municipal officer may be removed. The county
water | ||||||
12 | commission shall determine its own rules of proceeding. A | ||||||
13 | quorum
shall be a majority of the commissioners then in office. | ||||||
14 | All ordinances or
resolutions shall be passed by not less than | ||||||
15 | a majority of a quorum. No
commissioner or employee of the | ||||||
16 | commission, no member of the county board
or other official | ||||||
17 | elected within such county, no mayor or president or
other | ||||||
18 | member of the corporate authorities of any unit of local | ||||||
19 | government
within such county, and no employee of such county | ||||||
20 | or any such unit of
local government, shall be interested | ||||||
21 | directly or indirectly in any
contract or job of work or | ||||||
22 | materials, or the profits thereof, or services
to be performed | ||||||
23 | for or by the commission. A violation of any of the
foregoing | ||||||
24 | provisions of this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor. A
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25 | conviction is cause for the removal of a person from his office | ||||||
26 | or employment.
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1 | (d) Except as provided in subsection (g), subject to the | ||||||
2 | referendum
provided for in subsection (e), a county water | ||||||
3 | commission may borrow money
for corporate purposes on the | ||||||
4 | credit of the commission, and issue general
obligation bonds | ||||||
5 | therefor, in such amounts and form and on such conditions
as it | ||||||
6 | shall prescribe, but shall not become indebted in any manner or | ||||||
7 | for
any purpose in an amount including existing indebtedness in | ||||||
8 | the aggregate to
exceed 5.75% of the aggregate value of the | ||||||
9 | taxable property within the
territorial boundaries of the | ||||||
10 | county water commission, as equalized and
assessed by the | ||||||
11 | Department of Revenue and as most recently available at
the | ||||||
12 | time of the issue of said bonds. Before or at the time of | ||||||
13 | incurring
any indebtedness, except as provided in subsection | ||||||
14 | (g), the commission
shall provide for the collection of a | ||||||
15 | direct annual tax, which shall be
unlimited as to rate or | ||||||
16 | amount, sufficient to pay the interest on such debt
as it falls | ||||||
17 | due and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof at
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18 | maturity, which shall be within 40 years after the date of | ||||||
19 | issue thereof.
Such tax shall be levied upon and collected from | ||||||
20 | all of the taxable
property within the territory of the county | ||||||
21 | water commission. Dissolution
of the county water commission | ||||||
22 | for any reason shall not relieve the taxable
property within | ||||||
23 | such territory of the county water commission from
liability | ||||||
24 | for such tax. The clerk of the commission shall file a | ||||||
25 | certified
copy of the resolution or ordinance by which such | ||||||
26 | bonds are authorized to
be issued and such tax is levied with |
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1 | the County Clerk of each county in
which any of the territory | ||||||
2 | of the county water commission
is located and such filing
shall | ||||||
3 | constitute, without the doing of any other act, full and | ||||||
4 | complete
authority for each such County Clerk to extend such | ||||||
5 | tax for collection upon
all the taxable property within the | ||||||
6 | territory of the county water
commission subject to such tax in | ||||||
7 | each and every year required sufficient
to pay the principal of | ||||||
8 | and interest on such bonds, as aforesaid, without
limit as to | ||||||
9 | rate or amount, and shall be in addition to and in excess of
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10 | all other taxes authorized to be levied by the commission or | ||||||
11 | any included unit.
The general obligation bonds shall be issued | ||||||
12 | pursuant to an ordinance or
resolution and may be issued in one | ||||||
13 | or more series, and shall bear such
date or dates, mature at | ||||||
14 | such time or times and in any event not more than
40 years from | ||||||
15 | the date thereof, be sold at such price at private or public
| ||||||
16 | sale as determined by a county water commission, bear interest | ||||||
17 | at such rate
or rates such that the net effective interest rate | ||||||
18 | received upon the sale
of such bonds does not exceed the | ||||||
19 | maximum rate determined under Section 2
of the Bond | ||||||
20 | Authorization Act, which rates may be fixed or variable,
be in | ||||||
21 | such denominations, be
in such form, either coupon or | ||||||
22 | registered, carry such conversion,
registration, and exchange | ||||||
23 | privileges, be executed in such manner, be
payable in such | ||||||
24 | medium of payment at such place or places within or without
the | ||||||
25 | State of Illinois, be subject to such terms of redemption, and | ||||||
26 | contain
or be subject to such other terms as the ordinance or |
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1 | resolution may
provide, and shall not be restricted by the | ||||||
2 | provisions of any other terms
of obligations of public agencies | ||||||
3 | or private persons.
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4 | (e) No issue of general obligation bonds by a county water | ||||||
5 | commission
(except bonds to refund an existing bonded | ||||||
6 | indebtedness) shall be
authorized unless the commission | ||||||
7 | certifies the proposition of issuing such
bonds to the proper | ||||||
8 | election officials, who shall submit the proposition to
the | ||||||
9 | voters at an election in accordance with the general election | ||||||
10 | law, and
the proposition has been approved by a majority of | ||||||
11 | those voting on the proposition.
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12 | The proposition shall be in the form provided in Section 5 | ||||||
13 | or shall be
substantially in the following form:
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14 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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15 | Shall general obligation
| ||||||
16 | bonds for the purpose of
| ||||||
17 | (state purpose), in the YES
| ||||||
18 | sum of $....(insert amount), -----------------------------
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19 | be issued by the ......... NO
| ||||||
20 | (insert corporate name of
| ||||||
21 | the county water commission)?
| ||||||
22 | -------------------------------------------------------------
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23 | (f) In order to carry out and perform its powers and | ||||||
24 | functions and
duties under the provisions of this Act and | ||||||
25 | Division 135 of the Illinois
Municipal Code, as modified and | ||||||
26 | supplemented by this Act, the governing
body of any county |
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1 | water commission may by ordinance levy annually upon
all | ||||||
2 | taxable property within its territory a tax at a rate not to | ||||||
3 | exceed
.005% of the value of such property, as equalized or | ||||||
4 | assessed by the
Department of Revenue for the year in which the | ||||||
5 | levy is made.
In addition, any county water commission may by | ||||||
6 | ordinance levy upon all
taxable property within its territory, | ||||||
7 | for one year only, an additional tax
for such purposes at a | ||||||
8 | rate not to exceed .20% of the value of such
property, as | ||||||
9 | equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue for that
| ||||||
10 | year; provided, however, that such tax may not be levied more | ||||||
11 | than once in
any county water commission.
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12 | (g) Any county water commission shall have the power to | ||||||
13 | borrow money,
subject to the indebtedness limitation provided | ||||||
14 | in subsection (d), from
the home county or included units, in | ||||||
15 | such amounts and in such terms as
agreed by the governing | ||||||
16 | bodies of the commission and the home county or included units.
| ||||||
17 | (h) No county water commission constituted pursuant to the | ||||||
18 | Act shall
engage in the retail sale or distribution of water to | ||||||
19 | residents or
customers of any municipality.
| ||||||
20 | (i) Nothing in the Section requires any municipality to | ||||||
21 | contract with a
county water commission for a supply of water.
| ||||||
22 | (j) The State of Illinois recognizes that any such contract | ||||||
23 | for the
supply of water executed by a unit of local government | ||||||
24 | and a county water
commission may contain terms and conditions | ||||||
25 | intended by the parties thereto
to be absolute conditions | ||||||
26 | thereof. The State of Illinois also recognizes
that persons may |
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1 | loan funds to a county water commission (including,
without | ||||||
2 | limitation, the purchase of revenue or general obligation bonds | ||||||
3 | of
such commission) in reliance upon the terms and conditions | ||||||
4 | of any such
contract for the supply of water. Therefore, the | ||||||
5 | State of Illinois pledges
and agrees to those parties and | ||||||
6 | persons which make loans of funds to a
county water commission | ||||||
7 | that it will not impair or limit the power or
ability of a | ||||||
8 | county water commission or a unit of local government fully to
| ||||||
9 | carry out the
financial obligations and obligation to furnish | ||||||
10 | water pursuant to the
terms of any contract for the supply of | ||||||
11 | water entered into by
such county water commission or unit of | ||||||
12 | local government for the term of
such contracts or loans.
All | ||||||
13 | other terms and conditions of such contracts and | ||||||
14 | intergovernmental
agreements shall be binding to the
extent | ||||||
15 | that they are not inconsistent with this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
16 | 93rd
General
Assembly.
| ||||||
17 | (Source: P.A. 93-226, eff. 7-22-03 .)
|