(70 ILCS 200/255-45)

Sec. 255-45. Borrowing; general obligation and revenue bonds; backdoor referendum. The Authority may borrow money for the purpose of carrying out its duties and exercising its powers under this Article, and issue its general obligation and revenue bonds as evidence of the indebtedness incurred. In addition to other purposes, such bonds may be issued for the purpose of refunding outstanding general obligation or revenue bonds of the Authority. Such general obligation and revenue bonds shall be in the form, shall mature at the time (no later than 40 years from the date of issuance), shall bear interest at the rates (not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract), shall be executed by the officers and shall be sold in the manner as the Board shall determine; except that if issued to bear interest at the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, the bonds shall be sold for not less than par and accrued interest, and that the selling prices of bonds bearing interest at a rate of less than the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, shall be such that the interest cost to the Authority of the money received from the sale of the bonds shall not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, computed to absolute maturity of the bonds in accordance with standard tables of bond values. In case any officer whose signature appears on any bond ceases, after affixing his signature, to hold office, his signature shall nevertheless be valid and effective for all purposes.

Before any such bonds (for which a referendum is not required by Section 255-50) may be authorized to be issued, the Board shall by ordinance propose the issuance of the bonds. This ordinance shall set forth the total principal amount of bonds proposed to be issued and shall in a general way describe the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued. After this ordinance has been passed by the Board it shall within 10 days be published once in a newspaper published and having a general circulation within the metropolitan area. The publication of the ordinance shall include a notice of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting that the question of the adoption of the ordinance be submitted to the electors of the metropolitan area; (2) the time in which the petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the prospective referendum. The Secretary of the Board shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

If within 30 days after the publication of the ordinance proposing the issuance of bonds for which a referendum is not required by Section 255-50, a petition signed by registered voters of the metropolitan area equal to 10% or more of the registered voters in the metropolitan area, is filed with the Secretary of the Board asking for a referendum on the proposition to issue the bonds, the Board shall certify the proposition, in the form provided by Section 255-50, to the proper election officials in accordance with the general election law. If no such petition or no valid petition is filed within 30 days after the publication of the ordinance, it shall then be in effect. If such a petition is so filed the ordinance proposing the issuance of the bonds shall not be in effect and the bonds proposed by the ordinance shall not be issued until the proposition has been approved by a majority of the voters of the metropolitan area voting on the proposition.

When the ordinance proposing the issuance of the bonds is in effect, the Board may by ordinance authorize the issuance of such bonds setting forth the maturity schedule, interest rate, form and other details of the bonds and their issuance. A copy of the ordinance so authorizing the issuance of the bonds certified by the secretary shall be filed in the office of the county clerk.

With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of Public Act 86-4, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Article that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Article that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.

(Source: P.A. 90-328, eff. 1-1-98; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)