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. 93-323, eff. 1-1-04.)