State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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91_HB2699

 
                                              LRB9100451PTpkA

 1        AN ACT to amend the Conservation District Act by changing
 2    Sections 5 and 6.

 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section  5.   The Conservation District Act is amended by
 6    changing Sections 5 and 6 as follows:

 7        (70 ILCS 410/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7105)
 8        Sec. 5.  Board of trustees.
 9        (a)  The affairs of  a  conservation  district  shall  be
10    managed  by  a  board  consisting  which  shall  consist of 5
11    trustees, except as otherwise provided in  this  Section.  If
12    the  boundaries  of  the  district  are  coextensive with the
13    boundaries of one county, the trustees shall be residents  of
14    that  county. If the district embraces 2 counties, 3 trustees
15    shall be residents of the county with the  larger  population
16    and 2 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the
17    district embraces 3 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
18    of  the  county  with the smallest population and each of the
19    other  counties  shall  have  2  resident  trustees.  If  the
20    district embraces 4 counties, 2 trustees shall  be  residents
21    of  the  county  with  the largest population and each of the
22    other counties  shall  have  one  resident  trustee.  If  the
23    district  embraces  5  counties,  each  county shall have one
24    resident trustee.
25        (b)  A district that is entirely within a county of under
26    200,000 inhabitants and contiguous to a county of  more  than
27    2,000,000 inhabitants and that is authorized by referendum as
28    provided   in   subsection   (d)   of  Section  15  to  incur
29    indebtedness over 0.575% but not to exceed 1.725% shall  have
30    a  board  consisting  of  7  trustees,  all  of whom shall be
31    residents of the county.  The additional 2 trustees shall  be
 
                            -2-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    appointed  by  the  chairman  of  the  county board, with the
 2    consent of the county board, and shall hold office for  terms
 3    expiring  on  June  30 as follows:  one trustee after 4 years
 4    and  one  trustee  after  5  years  from  the  date  of   the
 5    referendum.   Successor  trustees  shall  be appointed in the
 6    same manner no later than June 1 before the  commencement  of
 7    the term of the trustee.
 8        (c)  Trustees  shall  be  qualified  voters  of  the such
 9    district who do not hold any other public office and are  not
10    officers  of  any  political party. Trustees, if nominated by
11    the county board chairman as hereinafter provided,  shall  be
12    selected  on  the basis of their demonstrated interest in the
13    purpose of conservation districts.
14        (d)  If the trustees are appointed, the chairman  of  the
15    county  board  for  the  county  of  which  the  trustee is a
16    resident shall, with the consent of the county board of  that
17    county,  appoint the first trustees who shall hold office for
18    terms expiring on June 30 after one, 2,  3,  4,  and  5  year
19    periods   respectively   as  determined  and  fixed  by  lot.
20    Thereafter, successor appointed trustees shall  be  appointed
21    for a term of 5-years in the same manner no later than June 1
22    prior  to  the  commencement  of term of the trustee.  If the
23    term of office of any appointed trustee  expires  before  the
24    first   election  of  trustees  under  subsection  (i)  after
25    referendum approval of elected trustees, the chairman of  the
26    county board who appointed that trustee under this subsection
27    shall  appoint  a  successor  to  serve  until a successor is
28    elected and has qualified.
29        (e)  When a vacancy occurs  in  the  office  of  trustee,
30    whether  by death, resignation, refusal to qualify, no longer
31    being a qualified voter of the district,  or  for  any  other
32    reason,  the  board  of trustees shall declare that a vacancy
33    exists.  The vacancy shall be  filled  within  60  days  each
34    successor  trustee  shall  serve  for  a  term of 5 years.  A
 
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 1    vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of  term,  for
 2    appointed trustees, shall be filled for the unexpired term by
 3    appointment  of a trustee by the county board chairman of the
 4    county of which the trustee shall be  a  resident,  with  the
 5    approval  of  the county board of that county. An appointed A
 6    trustee who has served a full term of 5 years  is  ineligible
 7    to  serve as a trustee for a period of one year following the
 8    expiration of his or her term.  In the  case  of  an  elected
 9    trustee,  appointment  of  an eligible person shall be by the
10    president of the  board  of  trustees  with  the  advice  and
11    consent of the other trustees.  The appointee shall serve the
12    remainder  of  the unexpired term.  If, however, more than 28
13    months remain in the term  of  an  elected  trustee  and  the
14    vacancy  occurs  at  least  182  days before the next general
15    election, the appointment shall be  until  the  next  general
16    election,  at  which  time  the vacated office of the elected
17    trustee shall be filled by election for the remainder of  the
18    term.
19        If  a  vacancy  occurs  in the office of president of the
20    board of trustees, the remaining trustees shall select one of
21    their number to serve as president for  the  balance  of  the
22    unexpired  term  of the president in whose office the vacancy
23    occurred.
24        When any trustee during his or her term of  office  shall
25    cease  to  be a bona fide resident of the county or district,
26    or shall move from one township or congressional township  in
27    the  district  to  another  so  that  the  township residency
28    requirements of this Section are no longer met,  then  he  or
29    she  is  disqualified  as  a  trustee  and the office becomes
30    vacant. If the district  has  decided  to  elect  or  appoint
31    trustees  from  single  member  subdistricts under subsection
32    (i), then when any trustee during his or her term  of  office
33    shall  cease  to  be  a bona fide resident of the subdistrict
34    district he or she is disqualified as a trustee and  the  his
 
                            -4-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    office becomes vacant.
 2        (f)  Trustees  shall  serve without compensation, but may
 3    be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred  in  the
 4    performance of their official duties.
 5        (g)  An  appointed  A trustee may be removed for cause by
 6    the county board chairman for the county of which the trustee
 7    is a resident, with the approval of the county board of  that
 8    county,  but  every  such removal shall be by a written order
 9    and, which shall be filed with the county clerk.
10        (h)  A  conservation  district  with   5   trustees   may
11    determine  by majority vote of the board to increase the size
12    of the board to 7  trustees.   With  respect  to  a  7-member
13    board,  no  more  than  3  members  may  be  residents of any
14    township in a county under township organization  or  of  any
15    congressional   township  in  a  county  not  under  township
16    organization. In the case of a 7-member board representing  a
17    district  that  embraces  2  counties,  4  trustees  shall be
18    residents of the county with  the  larger  population  and  3
19    trustees  shall  be  residents  of  the other county.  If the
20    district embraces 3 counties, 2 trustees shall  be  residents
21    of  each  of  the 2 counties with the smallest population and
22    the largest county shall have 3 resident  trustees.   If  the
23    district embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
24    of  the  county  with the smallest population and each of the
25    other counties  shall  have  2  resident  trustees.   If  the
26    district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest
27    population  shall  each  have 2 resident trustees and each of
28    the other counties shall  have  one  resident  trustee.   The
29    pertinent appointing authorities shall appoint the additional
30    2  trustees to initial terms as equally staggered as possible
31    from the terms of the trustees already  appointed  from  that
32    township  or  county so that 2 trustees representing the same
33    area shall not be succeeded in the same year.
34        (i)  Except as provided in subsection (b), a conservation
 
                            -5-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    district in a  county  adjacent  to  county  with  more  than
 2    3,000,000 inhabitants may determine by referendum (i) to have
 3    an  elected  or  appointed  board of trustees, (ii) to have a
 4    board of trustees with 5 or 7  members,  and  (iii)  to  have
 5    trustees  chosen at large or from single member subdistricts.
 6    If the boundaries of the district are  coextensive  with  the
 7    boundaries of a single county, the county board may determine
 8    by  ordinance to hold the referendum; or if the boundaries of
 9    the district are embraced by more than one county, the county
10    boards of each county in the district, jointly, may determine
11    by ordinance to hold the referendum; or a petition signed  by
12    not  less  than 5% of the electors of the entire district may
13    be submitted to the board of trustees requiring the  district
14    to hold the referendum.
15        The  secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the
16    proposition to the appropriate election authorities who shall
17    submit the proposition at a consolidated or general  election
18    according  to  the  Election  Code.  The Election  Code shall
19    apply to and govern the election. The proposition shall be in
20    substantially the following form:
21             Shall the (insert name) Conservation  District  have
22        an  (insert  "elected"  or "appointed") board of trustees
23        with (insert "5" or "7")  trustees  chosen   (insert  "at
24        large" or "from single member subdistricts")?
25    The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
26        If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in
27    the   affirmative,   the   trustees  of  the  district  shall
28    thereafter be chosen as provided in this  paragraph.  At  the
29    next  consolidated  election,  a district that has decided by
30    referendum to have its trustees elected rather than appointed
31    shall elect 5 or 7 trustees as provided in the  ordinance  or
32    petition  and  in  the  proposition.  The  trustees  shall be
33    elected on a nonpartisan basis. The provisions of the general
34    election law shall apply to and  govern  the  nomination  and
 
                            -6-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    election of the trustees.
 2             (1)  If the district has decided to elect or appoint
 3        at large trustees, then with respect to a 5-member board,
 4        the  residency of members shall be the same as prescribed
 5        in subsection (a).
 6             With respect to a 7-member board,  no  more  than  3
 7        members  may  be  residents  of  any township in a county
 8        under  township  organization  or  of  any  congressional
 9        township in a county not under township organization.  In
10        the case of a 7-member board representing a district that
11        embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be residents of the
12        county with the larger population and 3 trustees shall be
13        residents  of the other county.  If the district embraces
14        3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of each of  the
15        2  counties  with the smallest population and the largest
16        county shall have 3 resident trustees.  If  the  district
17        embraces  4  counties, one trustee shall be a resident of
18        the county with the smallest population and each  of  the
19        other  counties  shall  have 2 resident trustees.  If the
20        district embraces 5 counties, the  2  counties  with  the
21        largest  population  shall  each have 2 resident trustees
22        and each of the other counties shall  have  one  resident
23        trustee.
24             (2)  If the district has decided to elect or appoint
25        trustees  from  single  member  subdistricts,  then  with
26        respect  to  a  5-member  board of a district embracing a
27        single county,  the  county  board  shall  apportion  the
28        district  into  5  subdistricts.   One trustee shall be a
29        resident of and elected or appointed from each of  the  5
30        subdistricts.   In  the  case  of  a  5-member board of a
31        district embracing more than one county, the  members  of
32        each  county board shall, jointly, apportion the district
33        into 5 subdistricts.  One trustee shall be a resident  of
34        and elected or appointed from each of the 5 subdistricts.
 
                            -7-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1        The  initial  subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90
 2        days  after  the  referendum   is   approved,   and   the
 3        subdistricts  shall be reapportioned after each decennial
 4        census.
 5             With respect to  a  7-member  board  of  a  district
 6        embracing   a  single  county,  the  county  board  shall
 7        apportion the district into 7 subdistricts.  One  trustee
 8        shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each
 9        of  the  7 subdistricts.  In the case of a 7-member board
10        of a district embracing more than one county, the members
11        of  each  county  board  shall,  jointly,  apportion  the
12        district into 7 subdistricts.  One  trustee  shall  be  a
13        resident  of  and elected or appointed from each of the 7
14        subdistricts.   The   initial   subdistricts   shall   be
15        apportioned  within  90  days  after  the  referendum  is
16        approved, and the  subdistricts  shall  be  reapportioned
17        after each decennial census.
18        (j)  When  a conservation district determines to elect or
19    appoint trustees as provided in subsection (i), the terms  of
20    these trustees shall commence on the first Monday of December
21    following the election.  The terms of all trustees previously
22    appointed  or  elected under this Section shall expire on the
23    first Monday of December following the first election.
24             (1)  If the district has decided to elect or appoint
25        at large trustees, then  the  initial  elected  board  of
26        trustees  shall,  no  later  than  45  days  after taking
27        office, divide themselves publicly by lot as  equally  as
28        possible  into  2  groups.   Trustees or their successors
29        from the larger group shall serve for terms of  4  years;
30        the  initial elected trustees from the second group shall
31        serve for terms of 2 years, and their successors shall be
32        elected for terms of 4 years.
33             (2)  If the district has decided to elect or appoint
34        trustees  from  single  member  subdistricts,  then   the
 
                            -8-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1        members of the initial elected board of trustees and each
 2        subsequent  board  elected  prior  to the first decennial
 3        census  following  the  initial  apportionment  shall  be
 4        elected to a term of 2 years.  In the year following  the
 5        first   decennial  census  occurring  after  the  initial
 6        apportionment and in the year following  each  subsequent
 7        decennial  census,  the  5  or  7  subdistricts  shall be
 8        reapportioned to reflect the results of the census.   The
 9        board of trustees elected in the first election following
10        a  decennial  census  shall,  no later than 45 days after
11        taking office,  divide  themselves  publicly  by  lot  as
12        equally  as  possible  into  3 groups.  Trustees or their
13        successors from one group shall be elected to terms of  4
14        years,   4   years,  and  2  years.   Trustees  or  their
15        successors from the second  group  shall  be  elected  to
16        terms  of  4 years, 2 years, and 4 years.  The trustee or
17        successors from the third group shall be elected to terms
18        of 2 years, 4 years, and 4 years.
19    (Source: P.A. 90-195, eff. 7-24-97.)

20        (70 ILCS 410/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7106)
21        Sec. 6. Officers and  employees.   As  soon  as  possible
22    after  the  initial  election or the initial appointments, as
23    the case may be Within 60 days  after  their  selection,  the
24    trustees  shall  organize  by  selecting from their members a
25    president, secretary, treasurer, and such other  officers  as
26    are  deemed  necessary,  who shall hold office for 2 years in
27    the case of an elected board, or the  fiscal  year  in  which
28    elected  in  the  case of an appointed board, and until their
29    successors are selected and qualify.   Three  trustees  shall
30    constitute  a  quorum  of  the  board  for the transaction of
31    business if the district has 5 trustees.  If the district has
32    7 trustees, 4 trustees shall constitute a quorum of the board
33    for the  transaction  of  business.   The  board  shall  hold
 
                            -9-               LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    regular  monthly meetings.  Special meetings may be called by
 2    the president and  shall  be  called  on  the  request  of  a
 3    majority of members, as may be required.
 4        The  board  shall provide for the proper and safe keeping
 5    of its  permanent  records  and  for  the  recording  of  the
 6    corporate  action  of  the  district.  It shall keep a proper
 7    system of accounts showing a true and accurate record of  its
 8    receipts  and  disbursements,  and  it  shall cause an annual
 9    audit to be made of its books, records, and accounts.
10        The records of the district shall be  subject  to  public
11    inspection at all reasonable hours and under such regulations
12    as the board may prescribe.
13        The  district  shall  annually  make  a full and complete
14    report to the county board of each county within the district
15    and  to  the  Department  of   Natural   Resources   of   its
16    transactions and operations for the preceding year.  The Such
17      report  shall  contain  a  full  statement of its receipts,
18    disbursements,  and  the  program  of  work  for  the  period
19    covered, and may  include  such  recommendations  as  may  be
20    deemed advisable.
21        Executive  or  ministerial duties may be delegated to one
22    or more trustees  or  to  an  authorized  officer,  employee,
23    agent, attorney, or other representative of the district.
24        All  officers  and  employees  authorized  to  receive or
25    retain the custody of money  or  to  sign  vouchers,  checks,
26    warrants,  or  evidences  of  indebtedness  binding  upon the
27    district  shall  furnish  surety  bond   for   the   faithful
28    performance  of  their duties and the faithful accounting for
29    all moneys that may come into their hands in an amount to  be
30    fixed and in a form to be approved by the board.
31        All  contracts  for supplies, material, or work involving
32    an expenditure in excess of  $10,000  shall  be  let  to  the
33    lowest responsible bidder, after due advertisement, excepting
34    work  requiring  personal  confidence  or  necessary supplies
 
                            -10-              LRB9100451PTpkA
 1    under the control of monopolies, where competitive bidding is
 2    impossible. All contracts for  supplies,  material,  or  work
 3    shall be signed by the president of the board and by any such
 4     other officer as the board in its discretion may designate.
 5    (Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)

 6        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
 7    becoming law.

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