99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2470

 

Introduced 2/9/2016, by Sen. Dan Duffy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Township Code. Removes a restriction limiting townships to 126 square miles. Provides that a township plan for altering the boundaries of townships shall require a new property tax rate to be levied on the affected townships after the boundaries are altered. Provides that a county board may by resolution initiate a referendum to discontinue all townships in a county (currently, a referendum can only be initiated by citizen petition). Provides that a county board may elect to restructure into a commission form of government after discontinuance of township organization (currently, a county is required reorganize into a commission form of government). Further provides that the county board or the voters of a township may dissolve all offices of township assessor and multi-township assessor in specified counties with the county assessor or supervisor of assessments replacing each township assessor or multi-township assessor. Amends the Illinois Highway Code. Provides that a township road district, with roads of less than a total of 25 miles in length, may be abolished by the township board of trustees or by public referendum. Amends the Property Tax Code, the Counties Code, and the Public Health District Act making conforming changes.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2470LRB099 20474 AWJ 44988 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5Section 3-70 and by adding Section 18-51 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/3-70)
7    Sec. 3-70. Cessation of Township Assessor.
8    (a) If the office of Township Assessor in a coterminous
9township ceases as provided in Articles 27 and 28 of the
10Township Code, then the coterminous municipality shall assume
11the duties of the Township Assessor under this Code.
12    (b) If the office of Township Assessor ceases as provided
13in Article 29 of the Township Code, then the Supervisor of
14Assessments or County Assessor, as applicable, shall assume the
15duties of the Township Assessor under this Code.
16(Source: P.A. 98-127, eff. 8-2-13; 99-474, eff. 8-27-15.)
 
17    (35 ILCS 200/18-51 new)
18    Sec. 18-51. Property tax after alteration of township
19boundaries. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, if:
20(a) a county board and voters have approved alteration of
21township boundaries under Article 10 of the Township Code; and
22(b) a plan adopted by the county board under Section 10-25 of

 

 

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1the Township Code contains a requirement that a new property
2tax rate shall be levied on the affected townships, then the
3county clerk shall calculate a new township property tax levy
4for the affected townships for the levy year in the year which
5the change of boundaries takes place equal to the tax rate
6provided in the plan. The new property tax levy shall replace
7the former levies of the affected townships and shall contain
8all funds of the former tax levies. The county clerk shall
9proportionally reduce each fund unless otherwise required by
10the plan.
 
11    Section 10. The Counties Code is amended by changing the
12heading of Article Div. 2-4 and Section 2-4006 as follows:
 
13    (55 ILCS 5/Div. 2-4 heading)
14
Division 2-4. Counties not under Township Organization
15
Organized as a Commission Form of Government

 
16    (55 ILCS 5/2-4006)
17    Sec. 2-4006. Terms of commissioners.
18    (a) In every county not under township organization that is
19organized as a commission form of government having 3
20commissioners elected at large as described in subsection (b)
21or (c), the commissioners shall be elected as provided in this
22Section.
23    (b) In a county in which one commissioner was elected at

 

 

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1the general election in 1992 to serve for a term of 4 years and
2in which 2 commissioners will be elected at the general
3election in 1994, the commissioner elected in 1994 and
4receiving the greatest number of votes shall serve for a term
5of 6 years. The other commissioner elected in 1994 shall serve
6for a term of 4 years. At the general election in 1996 and at
7each general election thereafter, one commissioner shall be
8elected to serve for a term of 6 years.
9    (c) In a county in which 2 commissioners were elected at
10the general election in 1992 to serve for terms of 4 years and
11in which one commissioner will be elected at the general
12election in 1994, the commissioner elected in 1994 shall serve
13for a term of 4 years. The commissioner elected in 1996 and
14receiving the greatest number of votes shall serve for a term
15of 6 years. The other commissioner elected in 1996 shall serve
16for a term of 4 years. At the general election in 1998 and at
17each general election thereafter, one commissioner shall be
18elected to serve for a term of 6 years.
19    (c-5) In Calhoun County, Edwards County, and Union County,
20the registered voters of the county may, upon referendum
21initiated by (i) the adoption of a resolution of the board of
22county commissioners or (ii) a petition signed by not less than
2310% of the registered voters in the county, determine that the
24board of county commissioners shall consist of 5 commissioners
25elected at large. The commissioners must certify the question
26to the proper election authority, which must submit the

 

 

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1question at an election in accordance with the general election
2law.
3    The question shall be submitted in substantially the
4following form:
5        "Shall the board of county commissioners of (county)
6    consist of 5 commissioners elected at large?"
7    Votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No". If a majority of
8the electors voting on the question vote in the affirmative,
9then a 5-member board of county commissioners shall be
10established beginning with the next general election. The
11County Clerk, in consultation with the State's Attorney for the
12county, shall develop and present to the board of county
13commissioners, to implement by the adoption of a resolution,
14the transition of terms for the current 3-member board of
15commissioners and the addition of 2 commissioners for 6-year
16terms. Thereafter, commissioners shall be elected at each
17general election to fill expired terms.
18    (d) The provisions of this Section do not apply to
19commissioners elected under Section 2-4006.5 of this Code.
20(Source: P.A. 96-175, eff. 8-10-09.)
 
21    Section 15. The Township Code is amended by changing
22Sections 10-25, 25-5, 25-15, and 25-25, and by adding the
23heading of Article 29 and Sections 29-5, 29-10, and 29-15 as
24follows:
 

 

 

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1    (60 ILCS 1/10-25)
2    Sec. 10-25. Plan for changes in townships.
3    (a) The county board of each county may, subject to a
4referendum in the townships affected as provided in this
5Section, adopt a plan for altering the boundaries of townships,
6changing township lines, dividing, enlarging, or consolidating
7townships, or creating new townships, so that each township
8shall possess an equalized assessed valuation of not less than
9$10,000,000 as of the 1982 assessment year or an area of not
10more than 126 square miles.
11    (b) No alteration or change in boundaries shall be
12effective unless approved by a referendum in each township
13affected. The election authority shall submit to the voters of
14each township affected, at a regular election to be held not
15less than 60 days after the plan is adopted, the question of
16approving the alteration or change. The alterations or changes,
17if approved by the voters, shall take effect on the date of the
18next township election and shall be applicable to that
19election. If there is doubt as to the township clerk with whom
20nomination papers for that election should be filed, the county
21board shall designate the clerk. In the alteration of
22boundaries, a county board may not disturb urban or coterminous
23townships in existence on October 1, 1978.
24    (c) A plan adopted under subsection (a) shall contain a
25requirement that a new property tax levy be levied on the
26affected townships no more than the lowest property tax rate of

 

 

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1an affected township under Section 18-51 of the Property Tax
2Code. The plan shall also state what the new tax rate of the
3new levy will be.
4(Source: P.A. 84-1308; 88-62.)
 
5    (60 ILCS 1/25-5)
6    Sec. 25-5. Resolution or petition for Petition and
7referendum to discontinue township organization. In a county
8that has adopted township organization, a referendum to
9discontinue the township organization may be initiated by:
10    (a) resolution of the county board; or
11    (b) upon Upon the petition of at least 10% of the
12registered voters of each township of a county, as determined
13on the date registration closed before the regular election
14next preceding the last day on which the petition may be filed.
15    Upon the adoption of a resolution under subsection (a), or
16upon the receipt of a petition under subsection (b), that has
17adopted township organization, the county board shall certify
18and cause to be submitted to the voters of the county, at the
19next general election, the question of the continuance of
20township organization. A signature on a petition shall not be
21valid or counted in considering the petition unless the form
22requirements are complied with and the date of each signature
23is less than 90 days before the last day for filing the
24petition. The statement of the person who circulates the
25petition must include an attestation (i) indicating the dates

 

 

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1on which that sheet was circulated, (ii) indicating the first
2and last date on which that sheet was circulated, or (iii)
3certifying that none of the signatures on the sheet was signed
4more than 90 days before the last day for filing the petition.
5    The proposition shall be substantially in the form:
6        Shall township organization be continued in (name of
7    county)?
8The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
9    The petition shall be treated and the proposition certified
10in the manner provided by the general election law. After the
11proposition has once been submitted to the electorate, the
12proposition shall not be resubmitted for 4 years.
13(Source: P.A. 89-235, eff. 8-4-95; 90-112, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
14    (60 ILCS 1/25-15)
15    Sec. 25-15. Selection of county governing body; election
16Election of county commissioners. When township organization
17ceases in any county as provided in this Article, the county
18board may restructure into a commission form of government on
19or before 60 days after a township organization ceases. If the
20county board votes to assume a commission form of government,
21an election shall be held in the county at the next general
22election in an even-numbered year for 3 county commissioners
23who shall hold office for 2, 4, and 6 years, respectively, and
24until their successors are elected and qualified. Terms shall
25be determined by lot. At each succeeding general election after

 

 

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1the first, one commissioner shall be elected.
2(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)
 
3    (60 ILCS 1/25-25)
4    Sec. 25-25. Disposal of township records and property. When
5township organization is discontinued in any county, the
6records of the several townships shall be deposited in the
7county clerk's office. The county board or board of county
8commissioners of the county may close up all unfinished
9business of the several townships and sell or and dispose of
10any of the property belonging to a township for the benefit of
11the inhabitants of the township, as fully as might have been
12done by the townships themselves. The county board or board of
13county commissioners may pay all the indebtedness of any
14township existing at the time of the discontinuance of township
15organization and cause the amount of the indebtedness, or so
16much as may be necessary, to be levied upon the property of the
17township.
18(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)
 
19    (60 ILCS 1/Art. 29 heading new)
20
ARTICLE 29. DISSOLUTION OF THE OFFICE OF TOWNSHIP
21
ASSESSOR AND MULTI-TOWNSHIP ASSESSOR

 
22    (60 ILCS 1/29-5 new)
23    Sec. 29-5. Applicability. This Article shall apply only to

 

 

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1a county with less than 15,000 parcels and less than
2$1,000,000,000 in equalized assessed value.
 
3    (60 ILCS 1/29-10 new)
4    Sec. 29-10. Resolution or petition for referendum to
5discontinue all offices of township assessor in a county.
6    (a) The offices of township assessor and multi-township
7assessor may be discontinued by referendum in all townships
8lying wholly within a county's borders upon: (1) adoption of a
9resolution by the county board for the discontinuance of all
10township assessors and multi-township assessors; (2) adoption
11of a resolution by the county board for a referendum for the
12discontinuance of all township assessors and multi-township
13assessors; or (3) filing of a petition, subject to the petition
14requirements of Section 28-3 of the Election Code, with the
15county board to approve by referendum the discontinuance of all
16township assessors signed by a number of electors equal or
17greater than 5% of the total votes cast in the county in the
18preceding general election.
19    (b) A resolution or petition under subsection (a) shall
20state the purpose expected to be achieved by dissolution of the
21township assessor and multi-township assessor offices.
22    (c) Upon adoption of the resolution for a referendum or
23filing of the petition under subsection (a), the county board
24shall certify the question to the appropriate election
25officials and file with the county clerk. The resolution for a

 

 

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1referendum or petition shall be filed with the county clerk not
2less than 79 days prior to the general election in which the
3referendum will appear.
4    (d) Upon the adoption of the resolution for a referendum or
5filing of the petition under subsection (a), the county board
6shall publish the resolution for a referendum or petition in a
7newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in each of the
8affected townships, in a newspaper of general circulation in
9the county, and on the county's website if the county has a
10website.
 
11    (60 ILCS 1/29-15 new)
12    Sec. 29-15. Referendum; approval. If a petition for a
13referendum is filed with the county clerk that meets the
14requirements of Section 29-10 of this Article or a resolution
15for a referendum is adopted, a referendum, subject to the
16requirements of 16-7 of the Election Code, shall be placed on
17the ballot at the next general election in substantially the
18following form:
19        Shall the offices of township assessor and
20    multi-township assessor be abolished in all townships in …
21    County and the duties of each township assessor and
22    multi-township assessor be transferred to the next elected
23    county assessor or county supervisor of assessments
24    following the next general election?
25The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No." The referendum is

 

 

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1approved when: (1) three-quarters of the townships of the
2county approve the referendum; and (2) the population of the
3townships that approved the referendum is equal to or greater
4than a majority of the entire county population. If approved,
5then the offices of township assessor and multi-township
6assessor shall cease in each township in the county on the
7January 1 following the election at which the referendum was
8approved and: the county assessor or supervisor of assessments
9shall assume the duties of the township assessor and
10multi-township assessor under the Property Tax Code; and the
11county board shall appoint a replacement member for any public
12health district in which an assessor was a member under Section
1311 of the Public Health District Act.
 
14    Section 20. The Public Health District Act is amended by
15adding Section 27 as follows:
 
16    (70 ILCS 905/27 new)
17    Sec. 27. Cessation of township assessor. If the office of
18township assessor ceases as provided in Article 29 of the
19Township Code, then the county board shall appoint a
20replacement member for any public health district in which an
21assessor was a member under Section 11 of this Act.
 
22    Section 25. The Illinois Highway Code is amended by
23changing Section 6-130 and by adding Section 6-130.5 as

 

 

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1follows:
 
2    (605 ILCS 5/6-130)  (from Ch. 121, par. 6-130)
3    Sec. 6-130. Mandatory and permissive road district
4abolishment.
5    (a) For purposes of this Section, the roads forming a part
6of a township road district include those roads maintained by
7the district, regardless of whether or not those roads are
8owned by the township.
9    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the
10contrary, no township road district may continue in existence
11if the roads forming a part of the district do not exceed a
12total of 4 miles in length. For purposes of this Section, the
13roads forming a part of a township road district include those
14roads maintained by the district, regardless of whether or not
15those roads are owned by the township. On the first Tuesday in
16April of 1975, or of any subsequent year next succeeding the
17reduction of a township road system to a total mileage of 4
18miles or less, each such township road district shall, by
19operation of law, be abolished. The roads comprising that
20district at that time shall thereafter be administered by the
21township board of trustees by contracting with the county, a
22municipality or a private contractor. The township board of
23trustees shall assume all taxing authority of a township road
24district abolished under this Section.
25    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the

 

 

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1contrary, a township road district in a county may be abolished
2as provided in Section 6-130.5 of this Act, if the roads
3forming part of the district are less than a total of 25 miles
4in length.
5(Source: P.A. 94-884, eff. 6-20-06.)
 
6    (605 ILCS 5/6-130.5 new)
7    Sec. 6-130.5. Abolishing a road district with less than 25
8miles of roads. Any township may abolish a road district of
9that township if the roads of the district of that township are
10less than 25 miles in length:
11    (a) by resolution of three-fifths of the board of trustees;
12or
13    (b) by resolution of a majority of the board of trustees to
14submit a referendum to abolish the road district of that
15township. The referendum shall be submitted to the electors of
16that township at the next general election or consolidated
17election in accordance with the general election law. The
18ballot shall be in substantially the following form:
19---------
20    Shall the Road District of the Township of
21........... be abolished with all the rights,YES
22powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities,
23obligations, and responsibilities being assumed ---------
24by the Township of ........... ?NO
25-----; or

 

 

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1    (c) by filing of a petition, subject to the petition
2requirements of Section 28-3 of the Election Code, with the
3township board of trustees to approve by referendum the
4abolishment of the road district signed by at least 5% of the
5votes cast in the township in the last general election. The
6petitioners shall have a minimum of 180 days to collect
7signatures for the petition.
8    Upon the filing of the petition under this subsection (c),
9the board of trustees shall certify the question to the
10appropriate election officials and file with the county clerk.
11The petition shall be filed with the county clerk not less than
1279 days prior to the general or consolidated election in which
13the referendum will appear. The referendum shall be submitted
14to the electors of that township at the next general election
15or consolidated election in accordance with the general
16election law. The ballot shall be in substantially the
17following form:
18---------
19    Shall the Road District of the Township of
20........... be abolished with all the rights,YES
21powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities,
22obligations, and responsibilities being assumed ---------
23by the Township of ........... ?NO
24--------.
25    In the event that an resolution is passed under subsection
26(a) or majority of the electors voting on the referendum under

 

 

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1subsections (b) or (c) are in favor of abolishing the township
2road district, then the road district shall be abolished by
3operation of law effective on the January 1 following the
4approval of the resolution or referendum.
5    On the date of abolishment: all the rights, powers, duties,
6assets, property, liabilities, obligations, and
7responsibilities of the road district shall by operation of law
8vest in and be assumed by the township; the township board of
9trustees shall assume all taxing authority of a road district
10abolished under this Section; any highway commissioner of the
11abolished road district shall cease to hold office; the
12township shall exercise all duties and responsibilities of the
13highway commissioner as provided in the Illinois Highway Code;
14and for purposes of distribution of revenue, the township shall
15assume the powers, duties, and obligations of the road
16district. The township board of trustees may enter into a
17contract with the county, a municipality, or a private
18contractor to administer the roads added to its jurisdiction
19under this Section.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    35 ILCS 200/3-70
4    35 ILCS 200/18-51 new
5    55 ILCS 5/Div. 2-4 heading
6    55 ILCS 5/2-4006
7    60 ILCS 1/10-25
8    60 ILCS 1/25-5
9    60 ILCS 1/25-15
10    60 ILCS 1/25-25
11    60 ILCS 1/Art. 29 heading
12    new
13    60 ILCS 1/29-5 new
14    60 ILCS 1/29-10 new
15    60 ILCS 1/29-15 new
16    70 ILCS 905/27 new
17    605 ILCS 5/6-130from Ch. 121, par. 6-130
18    605 ILCS 5/6-130.5 new