(20 ILCS 625/3) (from Ch. 127, par. 2603)

Sec. 3. (a) A community action agency is a political subdivision of the State, a combination of political subdivisions, a public agency, or a private nonprofit agency which has the authority under any applicable charter or laws to receive funds pursuant to Section 2 to support community action programs of the type described in Section 4 and is designated as a community action agency.

(b) Each community action agency shall administer its community action programs through a Community Action Board consisting of 15 to 51 members chosen as follows:

(1) One-third of the members of the Board shall be elected public officials, currently holding office, or representatives designated by these officials. These members shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the chief elected official of the political subdivision served by the community action agency.

(2) At least one-third of the members shall be persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure that they are representative of the poor from within the area served.

(3) The other members shall be officials or members of business, industry, labor, religious, welfare, education or other major groups or interests in the community. Each member of the Board selected to represent a specific geographic area within a community shall reside in that area.

(4) The community action agency through its bylaws shall determine the board tenure of the members selected under subparagraphs (2) or (3).

(c) Each community action agency shall consult neighborhood-based organizations composed of residents of the area and members of the groups served by that agency for assistance in the planning, conduct and evaluation of community action programs.

(d) A community action agency shall

(1) plan and carry out community action programs;

(2) address the needs of low-income residents, gather information as to the problems and causes of poverty in the community and, where necessary, establish priorities among projects and activities on the basis of which projects provide the best and most efficient use of resources;

(3) encourage organizations engaged in activities related to community action programs to plan for, secure and administer financial assistance available either under Section 2 or from other sources on a common or cooperative basis, provide planning and technical assistance to those organizations, and cooperate with such organizations in undertaking actions to improve upon existing efforts to reduce poverty;

(4) initiate and sponsor projects which are responsive to needs of the poor not otherwise being met, with particular emphasis on providing central or common services that can be drawn upon by a variety of related programs, and which offer new approaches or new types of services that can be incorporated into other programs; and

(5) join with and encourage business, labor and other private groups and organizations to undertake, together with public officials and agencies, activities supporting community action programs which will result in the additional use of private resources and capabilities in an effort to develop new employment opportunities and stimulate investment that will have a measurable impact on reducing poverty among the residents of areas of concentrated poverty, and provide methods by which residents of those areas can work with private groups, firms, and institutions in seeking solutions to problems of common concern.

(Source: P.A. 87-926.)