Public Act 101-0304
 
SB0246 EnrolledLRB101 04911 AWJ 49920 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Park District Code is amended by changing
Section 8-1 as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 1205/8-1)  (from Ch. 105, par. 8-1)
    Sec. 8-1. General corporate powers. Every park district
shall, from the time of its organization, be a body corporate
and politic by the name set forth in the petition for its
organization, the specific name set forth in this Code, or the
name it may adopt under Section 8-9 and shall have and exercise
the following powers:
        (a) To adopt a corporate seal and alter the same at
    pleasure; to sue and be sued; and to contract in
    furtherance of any of its corporate purposes.
        (b)(1) To acquire by gift, legacy, grant or purchase,
    or by condemnation in the manner provided for the exercise
    of the power of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain
    Act, any and all real estate, or rights therein necessary
    for building, laying out, extending, adorning and
    maintaining any such parks, boulevards and driveways, or
    for effecting any of the powers or purposes granted under
    this Code as its board may deem proper, whether such lands
    be located within or without such district; but no park
    district, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this
    subsection, shall have any power of condemnation in the
    manner provided for the exercise of the power of eminent
    domain under the Eminent Domain Act or otherwise as to any
    real estate, lands, riparian rights or estate, or other
    property situated outside of such district, but shall only
    have power to acquire the same by gift, legacy, grant or
    purchase, and such district shall have the same control of
    and power over lands so acquired without the district as
    over parks, boulevards and driveways within such district.
        (2) In addition to the powers granted in paragraph (1)
    of subsection (b), a park district located in more than one
    county, the majority of its territory located in a county
    over 450,000 in population and none of its territory
    located in a county over 1,000,000 in population, shall
    have condemnation power in the manner provided for the
    exercise of the power of eminent domain under the Eminent
    Domain Act or as otherwise granted by law as to any and all
    real estate situated up to one mile outside of such
    district which is not within the boundaries of another park
    district.
        (c) To acquire by gift, legacy or purchase any personal
    property necessary for its corporate purposes provided
    that all contracts for supplies, materials or work
    involving an expenditure in excess of $25,000, or a lower
    amount if required by board policy, shall be let to the
    lowest responsible bidder after due advertisement. No
    district shall be required to accept a bid that does not
    meet the district's established specifications, terms of
    delivery, quality, and serviceability requirements.
    Contracts which, by their nature, are not adapted to award
    by competitive bidding, such as contracts for the services
    of individuals possessing a high degree of professional
    skill where the ability or fitness of the individual plays
    an important part, contracts for the printing of finance
    committee reports and departmental reports, contracts for
    the printing or engraving of bonds, tax warrants and other
    evidences of indebtedness, contracts for utility services
    such as water, light, heat, telephone or telegraph,
    contracts for fuel (such as diesel, gasoline, oil,
    aviation, or propane), lubricants, or other petroleum
    products, contracts for the use, purchase, delivery,
    movement, or installation of data processing equipment,
    software, or services and telecommunications and
    interconnect equipment, software, or services, contracts
    for duplicating machines and supplies, contracts for goods
    or services procured from another governmental agency,
    purchases of equipment previously owned by some entity
    other than the district itself, and contracts for the
    purchase of magazines, books, periodicals, pamphlets and
    reports are not subject to competitive bidding. Contracts
    for emergency expenditures are also exempt from
    competitive bidding when the emergency expenditure is
    approved by 3/4 of the members of the board.
        All competitive bids for contracts involving an
    expenditure in excess of $25,000, or a lower amount if
    required by board policy, must be sealed by the bidder and
    must be opened by a member or employee of the park board at
    a public bid opening at which the contents of the bids must
    be announced. Each bidder must receive at least 3 days
    notice of the time and place of the bid opening.
        For purposes of this subsection, "due advertisement"
    includes, but is not limited to, at least one public notice
    at least 10 days before the bid date in a newspaper
    published in the district or, if no newspaper is published
    in the district, in a newspaper of general circulation in
    the area of the district.
        (d) To pass all necessary ordinances, rules and
    regulations for the proper management and conduct of the
    business of the board and district and to establish by
    ordinance all needful rules and regulations for the
    government and protection of parks, boulevards and
    driveways and other property under its jurisdiction, and to
    effect the objects for which such districts are formed.
        (e) To prescribe such fines and penalties for the
    violation of ordinances as it shall deem proper not
    exceeding $1,000 for any one offense, which fines and
    penalties may be recovered by an action in the name of such
    district in the circuit court for the county in which such
    violation occurred. The park district may also seek in the
    action, in addition to or instead of fines and penalties,
    an order that the offender be required to make restitution
    for damage resulting from violations, and the court shall
    grant such relief where appropriate. The procedure in such
    actions shall be the same as that provided by law for like
    actions for the violation of ordinances in cities organized
    under the general laws of this State, and offenders may be
    imprisoned for non-payment of fines and costs in the same
    manner as in such cities. All fines when collected shall be
    paid into the treasury of such district.
        (f) To manage and control all officers and property of
    such districts and to provide for joint ownership with one
    or more cities, villages or incorporated towns of real and
    personal property used for park purposes by one or more
    park districts. In case of joint ownership, the terms of
    the agreement shall be fair, just and equitable to all
    parties and shall be set forth in a written agreement
    entered into by the corporate authorities of each
    participating district, city, village or incorporated
    town.
        (g) To secure grants and loans, or either, from the
    United States Government, or any agency or agencies
    thereof, for financing the acquisition or purchase of any
    and all real estate, or rights therein, or for effecting
    any of the powers or purposes granted under this Code as
    its Board may deem proper.
        (h) To establish fees for the use of facilities and
    recreational programs of the districts and to derive
    revenue from non-resident fees from their operations. Fees
    charged non-residents of such district need not be the same
    as fees charged to residents of the district. Charging fees
    or deriving revenue from the facilities and recreational
    programs shall not affect the right to assert or utilize
    any defense or immunity, common law or statutory, available
    to the districts or their employees.
        (i) To make contracts for a term exceeding one year,
    but not to exceed 3 years, notwithstanding any provision of
    this Code to the contrary, relating to: (1) the employment
    of a park director, superintendent, administrator,
    engineer, health officer, land planner, finance director,
    attorney, police chief, or other officer who requires
    technical training or knowledge; (2) the employment of
    outside professional consultants such as engineers,
    doctors, land planners, auditors, attorneys, or other
    professional consultants who require technical training or
    knowledge; (3) the provision of data processing equipment
    and services; and (4) the purchase of energy from a utility
    or an alternative retail electric supplier. With respect to
    any contract made under this subsection (i), the corporate
    authorities shall include in the annual appropriation
    ordinance for each fiscal year an appropriation of a sum of
    money sufficient to pay the amount which, by the terms of
    the contract, is to become due and payable during that
    fiscal year.
        (j) To enter into licensing or management agreements
    with not-for-profit corporations organized under the laws
    of this State to operate park district facilities if the
    corporation covenants to use the facilities to provide
    public park or recreational programs for youth.
(Source: P.A. 98-325, eff. 8-12-13; 98-772, eff. 7-16-14;
99-771, eff. 8-12-16.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/9/2019