55 ILCS 85/8

(55 ILCS 85/8) (from Ch. 34, par. 7008)

Sec. 8. Issuance of obligations for economic development project costs. Obligations secured by the special tax allocation fund provided for in Section 7 for an economic development project area may be issued to provide for economic development project costs. Those obligations, when so issued, shall be retired in the manner provided in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the obligations by the receipts of taxes levied as specified in Section 6 against the taxable property included in the economic development project area and by other revenues designated or pledged by the county. A county may in the ordinance pledge all or any part of the funds in and to be deposited in the special tax allocation fund created pursuant to Section 7 to the payment of the economic development project costs and obligations. Whenever a county pledges all of the funds to the credit of a special tax allocation fund to secure obligations issued or to be issued to pay economic development project costs, the county may specifically provide that funds remaining to the credit of such special tax allocation fund after the payment of such obligations shall be accounted for annually and shall be deemed to be "surplus" funds, and such "surplus" funds shall be distributed as hereinafter provided. Whenever a county pledges less than all of the monies to the credit of a special tax allocation fund to secure obligations issued or to be issued to pay economic development project costs, the county shall provide that monies to the credit of a special tax allocation fund and not subject to such pledge or otherwise encumbered or required for payment of contractual obligations for specified economic development project costs shall be calculated annually and shall be deemed to be "surplus" funds, and such "surplus" funds shall be distributed as hereinafter provided. All funds to the credit of a special tax allocation fund which are deemed to be "surplus" funds shall be distributed annually within 180 days after the close of the county's fiscal year by being paid by the county treasurer to the county collector. The county collector shall thereafter make distribution to the respective taxing districts in the same manner and proportion as the most recent distribution by the county collector to those taxing districts of real property taxes from real property in the economic development project area.

Without limiting the foregoing in this Section the county may, in addition to obligations secured by the special tax allocation fund, pledge for a period not greater than the term of the obligations towards payment of those obligations any part or any combination of the following: (i) net revenues of all or part of any economic development project; (ii) taxes levied and collected on any or all property in the county, including, specifically, taxes levied or imposed by the county in a special service area pursuant to "An Act to provide the manner of levying or imposing taxes for the provision of special services to areas within the boundaries of home rule units and non-home rule municipalities and counties", approved September 21, 1973; (iii) the full faith and credit of the county; (iv) a mortgage on part or all of the economic development project; or (v) any other taxes or anticipated receipts that the county may lawfully pledge.

Such obligations may be issued in one or more series bearing interest at such rate or rates as the corporate authorities of the county shall determine by ordinance, which rate or rates may be variable or fixed, without regard to any limitations contained in any law now in effect or hereafter adopted. Such obligations shall bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times not exceeding 20 years from their respective dates, but in no event exceeding 23 years from the date of establishment of the economic development project area; however, with respect to obligations payable from incremental revenues generated from an area comprised of one or more contiguous parcels not exceeding a total area of 120 acres within which an electric generating facility is intended to be constructed, and with respect to which the owner of such proposed electric generating facility has entered into a redevelopment agreement with Grundy County on or before July 25, 2017, those obligations shall bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times not exceeding 35 years from the date of establishment of the economic development project area, be in such denomination, be in such form, whether coupon, registered or book-entry, carry such registration, conversion and exchange privileges, be executed in such manner, be payable in such medium of payment at such place or places within or without the State of Illinois, contain such covenants, terms and conditions, be subject to redemption with or without premium, be subject to defeasance upon such terms, and have such rank or priority, as such ordinance shall provide. Obligations issued pursuant to this Act may be sold at public or private sale at such price as shall be determined by the corporate authorities of the counties. Such obligations may, but need not, be issued utilizing the provisions of any one or more of the omnibus bond Acts specified in Section 1.33 of "An Act to revise the law in relation to the construction of the statutes", approved March 5, 1874, as such term is defined in the Statute on Statutes. No referendum approval of the electors shall be required as a condition to the issuance of obligations pursuant to this Act except as provided in this Section.

In the event the county (i) authorizes the issuance of obligations pursuant to the authority of this Act and secured by the full faith and credit of the county or (ii) pledges taxes levied and collected on any or all property in the county, which obligations or taxes are not obligations or taxes authorized under home rule powers pursuant to Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, or are not obligations or taxes authorized under "An Act to provide the manner of levying or imposing taxes for the provision of special services to areas within the boundaries of home rule units and non-home rule municipalities and counties", approved September 21, 1973, the ordinance authorizing the issuance of those obligations or pledging those taxes shall be published within 10 days after the ordinance has been adopted, in one or more newspapers having a general circulation within the county. The publication of the ordinance shall be accompanied by a notice of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting the questions of the issuance of the obligations or pledging ad valorem taxes to be submitted to the electors; (2) the time within which the petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the prospective referendum. The county clerk shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

If no petition is filed with the county clerk, as hereinafter provided in this Section, within 21 days after the publication of the ordinance, the ordinance shall be in effect. However, if within that 21 day period a petition is filed with the county clerk, signed by electors numbering not less than 5% of the number of legal voters who voted at the last general election in such county, asking that the question of issuing obligations using the full faith and credit of the county as security for the cost of paying for economic development project costs, or of pledging ad valorem taxes for the payment of those obligations, or both, be submitted to the electors of the county, the county shall not be authorized to issue obligations of the county using the full faith and credit of the county as security or pledging ad valorem taxes for the payment of those obligations, or both, until the proposition has been submitted to and approved by a majority of the voters voting on the proposition at a regularly scheduled election. The county shall certify the proposition to the proper election authorities for submission in accordance with the general election law.

The ordinance authorizing the obligations may provide that the obligations shall contain a recital that they are issued pursuant to this Act, which recital shall be conclusive evidence of their validity and of the regularity of their issuance.

In the event the county authorizes issuance of obligations pursuant to this Act secured by the full faith and credit of the county, the ordinance authorizing the obligations may provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax upon all taxable property within the county sufficient to pay the principal thereof and interest thereon as it matures, which levy may be in addition to and exclusive of the maximum of all other taxes authorized to be levied by the county, which levy, however, shall be abated to the extent that monies from other sources are available for payment of the obligations and the county certifies the amount of those monies available to the county clerk.

A certified copy of the ordinance shall be filed with the county clerk and shall constitute the authority for the extension and collection of the taxes to be deposited in the special tax allocation fund.

A county may also issue its obligations to refund, in whole or in part, obligations theretofore issued by the county under the authority of this Act, whether at or prior to maturity. However, the last maturity of the refunding obligations shall not be expressed to mature later than 23 years from the date of the ordinance establishing the economic development project area, however, with regard to obligations payable from incremental revenues generated from an area comprised of one or more contiguous parcels not exceeding a total area of 120 acres within which an electric generating facility is intended to be constructed, and with respect to which the owner of that proposed electric generating facility has entered into a redevelopment agreement with Grundy County on or before July 25, 2017, the last maturity of the refunding obligations shall not be expressed to mature later than 35 years from the date of the ordinance establishing the economic development project area.

In the event a county issues obligations under home rule powers and other legislative authority, including specifically, "An Act to provide the manner of levying or imposing taxes for the provisions of special services to areas within the boundaries of home rule units and non-home rule municipalities and counties", approved September 21, 1973, the proceeds of which are pledged to pay for economic development project costs, the county may, if it has followed the procedures in conformance with this Act, retire those obligations from funds in the special tax allocation fund in amount and in such manner as if those obligations had been issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

No obligations issued pursuant to this Act shall be regarded as indebtedness of the county issuing those obligations for the purpose of any limitation imposed by law.

Obligations issued pursuant to this Act shall not be subject to the provisions of the Bond Authorization Act.

(Source: P.A. 99-513, eff. 6-30-16.)