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.)