(70 ILCS 910/25) (from Ch. 23, par. 1275)

Sec. 25. In case the board of directors of any hospital district organized under this Act finds: (i) that all or any part of the need for hospital services of the inhabitants of the District can be better served on a permanent basis by the ownership and operation of the hospital's facilities by a not-for-profit corporation organized by the District's board of directors, or by the facilities of another hospital or hospitals, publicly or privately operated, and located in or not more than 20 miles from the boundaries of the district; (ii) that provision of hospital services by such not-for-profit corporation or other hospital or hospitals will result in a permanent net improvement of quality of overall hospital services for the inhabitants of the District; and (iii) that such not-for-profit corporation or other hospital or hospitals have entered into binding contracts with the District to so provide such hospital services on a permanent basis to the inhabitants of the District and discharge or assume all debts, liabilities, and obligations of the District in return for conveyance and transfer to such not-for-profit corporation or hospital or hospitals all assets of the District, or that the hospital district has entered into a binding contract with a fire protection district, health care foundation, or other entity that provides emergency or medical services to the general public, operating wholly or partially within the boundaries of the hospital district, to convey all of the hospital district's assets to a fire protection district, health care foundation, or other entity, so long as the entity accepting the hospital district's assets assumes all of the hospital district's outstanding indebtedness, and the amount of this indebtedness does not exceed the amount of the hospital district's assets, such contracts subject to completion of dissolution of the District as provided in this Section and to take effect immediately upon completion of dissolution of the District, provided that the Department of Public Health shall be a party to such contracts as a trustee for the inhabitants' interests following dissolution of the District, the District may be dissolved in the following manner:

The board of directors of the District shall propose an ordinance finding and determining that the foregoing conditions exist and that the best interest of the inhabitants of the District does not require continuation of the District. The board of directors shall officially invite the State Comprehensive Health Planning Agency to review and comment upon the proposed ordinance and shall provide whatever documentation is required by the agency for purposes of review and comment. At any time after receipt of a report from the State Comprehensive Health Planning Agency or 30 days after extending an invitation to the agency, if no report has been submitted, the board of directors may proceed to adopt the proposed ordinance. A certified copy of the ordinance and the report of the Comprehensive Health Planning Agency, if submitted previous to adoption of the ordinance, shall be filed with the Circuit Court of the County in which the District is located. The circuit court shall set the ordinance for hearing within not less than 30 nor more than 40 days after the filing of the ordinance with the circuit clerk.

Notice shall be given by the circuit court of the time and place where the hearing will be held, by publication on 3 separate days in one or more newspapers published within the District, the first of these publications shall be not less than 20 days before the date set for the hearing, and if there is no such newspaper, then notice shall be posted in 10 of the most public places in the District, not less than 20 days before the date set for the hearing. This notice shall include a description of the findings of the board as set out in the ordinance, the names of the municipalities within the District, and the proposed effective date of the dissolution.

The court may continue the hearing on the ordinance from time to time. Upon such public hearing the board of directors may also move to otherwise amend the ordinance or to dismiss or to withdraw it, and any such motion shall be allowed by the court. If such ordinance is not dismissed or withdrawn, the court by written order shall find and determine whether the facts stated in the ordinance are true and, if so, shall so certify to the board of directors of the District. If the court also determines that the District has entered into a binding contract with a not-for-profit corporation pursuant to which such corporation is to provide hospital services on a permanent basis to the inhabitants of the District, then the court shall so certify and the ordinance shall not be subject to the referendum provisions of this Section and the District shall be dissolved. If the court does not determine that such a contract exists, the ordinance and certificate shall be published once in a daily or weekly newspaper or newspapers of general circulation published within the District or, if there be no such newspaper published in the District, then in a newspaper of general circulation published in a county wherein the District is located. Such publication of the ordinance shall be accompanied by a notice of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting the submission to the electors of the question of the dissolution of the District; (2) the time in which such 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. Unless a petition is filed with the board within 30 days after such publication containing the signatures of 1,000 electors or 10% of the registered voters of the District, whichever is lower, requesting that the question of the dissolution of the District be submitted to a referendum, the District shall be deemed to be dissolved at the expiration of that 30 day period. If such a petition is filed then the question of the dissolution of the District shall be submitted to the electors of the District and the board of directors shall certify the question to the proper election officials, who shall submit the question to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law.

The proposition shall read substantially as follows:

Shall the (name or describe) Hospital District be dissolved?

The board of directors of the District shall cause the result of the referendum to be entered upon the corporate records of the District.

If a majority of the ballots cast on the proposition are marked "yes" the District shall be dissolved. But if a majority of the ballots cast on the proposition are marked "no", the corporate authorities shall proceed with the affairs of the District as though the dissolution ordinance had never been adopted, and, in such case, the proposition shall not be again considered for a period of 2 years. When the business and affairs of any such District have been closed up after the dissolution thereof such fact shall be certified by the chairman of its board of directors to the county clerk and recorder of the county or counties in which the District was situated and to the Secretary of State.

(Source: P.A. 87-1006.)