Public Act 93-0323

SB414 Enrolled                       LRB093 07873 DRJ 08063 b

    AN ACT in relation to housing.

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

    Section  5.  The  Housing  Authorities  Act is amended by
changing Section 3 as follows:

    (310 ILCS 10/3) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 3)
    Sec. 3.  The governing  body  of  any  city,  village  or
incorporated  town having more than 25,000 inhabitants, or of
any county of this State, may, by resolution, determine  that
there  is  need for a housing authority in the city, village,
incorporated town or county.  Upon adoption,  the  resolution
shall   be  forwarded  to  the  Department  together  with  a
statement of reasons or findings supporting  the  resolution.
The  Department  shall  thereupon  issue a certificate to the
presiding officer of the city, village, incorporated town  or
county  for the creation of an authority if it shall find (a)
that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited  dwelling  accommodations
exist  in the city, village, incorporated town or county, and
(b) that  there  is  a  shortage  of  safe  or  sanitary  and
affordable  dwelling  accommodations  in  the  city, village,
incorporated town or county available to persons who lack the
amount of income which is necessary  (as  determined  by  the
Department)  to  enable  them without financial assistance to
live in decent, safe and sanitary  and  affordable  dwellings
without   over-crowding.   In  determining  whether  dwelling
accommodations are unsafe or unsanitary  the  Department  may
take  into  consideration  the  degree  of over-crowding, the
percentage of land coverage, the light, air, space and access
available to the inhabitants of such dwelling accommodations,
the  size  and  arrangement  of  the  rooms,   the   sanitary
facilities  and  the  extent to which conditions exist in the
buildings which endanger life or property by  fire  or  other
causes.  In making its determination, the Department may also
consider whether or  not  the  needs  of  the  applicant  are
currently  being  met  by  an existing housing authority. The
Department may also take into consideration  whether  or  not
the   creation  of  a  new  housing  authority  would  be  an
unnecessary duplication of services.
    As soon as possible after the issuance of  a  certificate
by the Department the presiding officer of the city, village,
incorporated  town or county shall appoint, with the approval
of the governing body of the  unit  of  local  government,  5
commissioners  with initial terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years,
except as follows:
         (i)  for the Housing Authority in  any  municipality
    having  over  500,000  inhabitants, the presiding officer
    shall appoint 7 commissioners, with initial  terms  of  4
    and 5 years for the 2 additional commissioners authorized
    and  appointed under this amendatory Act of 1982, and the
    presiding officer shall  designate  one  commissioner  as
    Chairman of the Authority; and
         (ii)  if a county has at least 80,000 but fewer than
    90,000   inhabitants   according   to  the  1990  federal
    decennial census,  then  the  Housing  Authority  in  any
    municipality  in  the  county  may  have  7 commissioners
    appointed by the presiding officer of  the  municipality,
    with  initial terms of 4 and 5 years for the 2 additional
    commissioners authorized and appointed in accordance with
    this amendatory Act of 1993;
         (iii)  if a county has at least  170,000  but  fewer
    than  500,000  inhabitants, according to the 1990 Federal
    decennial census, then the county board may, with respect
    to one or more commissioners, cede powers of appointment,
    confirmation, and removal of those commissioners  to  one
    or    more    municipalities   within   the   county   by
    intergovernmental agreement; and
         (iv)  for  any  Housing  Authority   the   presiding
    officer  may  appoint 7 commissioners, with initial terms
    of 4 and 5  years  for  the  2  additional  commissioners
    authorized and appointed under this amendatory Act of the
    91st General Assembly.
    In  cases  where  a  county of more than 500,000 but less
than 3 million population is the  area  of  operation  of  an
Authority,  the  presiding officer of the county board of the
county  shall  appoint  7  commissioners   to   the   housing
authority,  2  of  whom  may be members of that county board.
The county members appointed  to  the  Authority  under  this
Section  shall  serve such term or until termination of their
county board  service,  whichever  first  occurs.   Upon  the
approval  by  the  governing  body  of  the appointments, the
presiding  officer  shall  cause  a   certificate   of   such
appointments  and  of its approval thereof to be filed in the
office in which deeds of property in the  area  of  operation
are  recorded,  and  upon filing the persons so appointed and
approved shall be fully constituted an Authority.
    At the expiration of the term of each  commissioner,  and
of  each  succeeding  commissioner,  or  in  the  event  of a
vacancy, the presiding officer shall appoint a  commissioner,
subject  to  the approval of the governing body as aforesaid,
to hold office, in the case of a vacancy  for  the  unexpired
term,  or in the case of expiration for a term of five years,
or  until  his  successor  shall  have  been  appointed   and
qualified.   Each  appointment  shall  be  effective upon the
filing  by  the  presiding  officer  of  a   certificate   of
appointment  in  the  office  of the Recorder of Deeds in the
County where the Authority is located.
    In  case  a  county  is  the  area  of  operation  of  an
Authority, the area shall not be deemed to include any  city,
village,  or incorporated town within the county within which
an Authority at that time exists.  If thereafter an Authority
is  organized  with  respect  to  any   city,   village,   or
incorporated  town  within  the  county, the county Authority
shall have no power to initiate any  further  project  within
the  city,  village,  or incorporated town. However, if there
are  any  existing  projects  within  the  city,  village  or
incorporated town currently owned and operated by the  county
Authority   they  shall  remain  in  the  county  Authority's
ownership, custody and control.
    Every commissioner shall be a resident  of  the  area  of
operation  of  the Authority; provided, that in respect to an
Authority created  for  a  county,  residence  in  any  city,
village  or incorporated town within such county shall not be
a disqualification for appointment as a Commissioner for such
county Authority notwithstanding that such city,  village  or
incorporated  town may be excluded from the area of operation
of such Authority.  Any public officer shall be  eligible  to
serve as a commissioner, and the acceptance of appointment as
such  shall  not  terminate nor impair his public office, the
provision of any statute to the contrary notwithstanding; but
no member of the Department shall be eligible to serve  as  a
commissioner,  nor  shall  more  than  two public officers be
commissioners of the same Authority at  one  time;  Provided,
that  membership  on  any  Authority at the same time of more
than two public officers  shall  not  affect  or  impair  the
validity  of  any  Act  undertaken  or power exercised by the
Authority pursuant to Law.   The  term  "public  officer"  as
herein   used  means  a  person  holding  a  state  or  local
governmental office required to be  filled  by  the  vote  of
electors,  and  for  which  provision  is made by law for the
payment of annual compensation from public funds.
    Except as otherwise provided, all provisions of this  Act
shall  apply to a Housing Authority established for more than
one county, and, unless the context shall otherwise indicate,
the word county shall be construed also to mean counties.  An
Authority  may subsequently be established separately for any
one or more counties, by compliance with the  terms  of  this
Act,  and, if an Authority is established, it shall take over
all property and obligations, within the county or  counties,
of  the  Authority previously including it or them within its
area of operation, and the Authority shall  have  no  further
jurisdiction  within the territory of the county or counties,
but nothing herein  shall  affect  the  power  of  a  Housing
Authority  to  operate  outside  its  area  of  operation, as
provided by Section 30. Subsection (b) of  Section  17  shall
apply  to a Housing Authority created under the provisions of
this Section.  In all cases  in  which  a  Housing  Authority
embraces  the  territory of more than one county, each county
shall have, within its territory,  the  powers  conferred  by
Section 29, and by the Housing Cooperation Law.
    In  addition  to  the  commissioners provided for in this
Section,  there  are  created   3   additional   commissioner
positions  for  each  housing  authority of a municipality of
more  than  1,000,000   inhabitants.   Two   of   these   new
commissioners,  with  initial  terms  of  5  years,  shall be
appointed from current residents of the housing authority and
shall be appointed from a list presented  to  the  appointing
authority  by  official tenants' associations of residents of
the housing authority.  A tenants' association is  "official"
if    it   satisfies   the   requirements   of   a   Resident
Council/Resident       Organization/Resident       Management
Organization established by the federal Department of Housing
and Urban Development. The third new  commissioner  shall  be
appointed  by  the  appointing authority from the officers of
the  official  tenants'  associations  of  residents  of  the
housing authority.  The term of this new  commissioner  shall
commence  no  later  than  90  days after the election of the
officers of the official tenants' associations  of  residents
and  after  appointment by the appointing authority and shall
terminate after the appointment of a new commissioner by  the
appointing  authority.  This  paragraph  shall  not  apply to
housing  authorities  in  jurisdictions  where  no   official
tenants'  associations  exist.  However, upon the creation of
an official association, the new commissioner positions shall
be created 6 months thereafter.
    Each tenants' association shall determine the  method  of
choosing   residents   to  be  recommended  for  appointment.
Tenants' associations  may  act  in  unison  in  recommending
residents for appointment.
    In  units  of  local  government  of  more than 1,000,000
inhabitants, each tenants' association shall submit not  more
than  2  residents for consideration.  If associations act in
unison, they may submit a number  representing  2  names  for
each  association.   The  appointing authority shall make the
appointments within 45 days of receiving the recommendations.
    A Housing Authority created under the preceding terms  of
this  Section shall be designated as the Housing Authority of
the city, village,  incorporated  town,  county,  or  of  the
several counties within its area of operation.
    Any  2  or  more home rule municipalities within the same
county may create a housing  authority  by  intergovernmental
agreement.    The   agreement  shall  be  for  an  indefinite
duration.  If a housing authority is created  by  2  or  more
home  rule  municipalities under this paragraph, appointments
and confirmation of commissioners to the board and removal of
commissioners from the board shall be made as  set  forth  in
the  agreement.   The  agreement  may include, in addition to
other terms and conditions governing  the  operation  of  the
board,  provisions  that increase the number of commissioners
otherwise authorized by this Act to a number no greater  than
9.   The  agreement  also may provide for staggered terms for
the commissioners and for the length  of  the  commissioners'
initial  terms.  An  intergovernmental agreement between 2 or
more home rule municipalities creating  a  housing  authority
may  include  other  terms the municipalities deem desirable.
The terms may include reporting  and  oversight  requirements
binding  on  the  housing  authority board agreed upon by the
parties.   This  paragraph  shall  not  be  construed  as   a
limitation on home rule municipalities.
(Source: P.A. 91-218, eff. 7-20-99.)