Public Act 096-1233
 
HB4968 EnrolledLRB096 16797 RLJ 32104 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 Illinois Municipal Code is amended  by 
changing Section 7-1-1 as follows:
 


    (65 ILCS 5/7-1-1)  (from Ch. 24, par. 7-1-1)


    Sec. 7-1-1. Annexation of contiguous territory. Any 
territory that is not within the corporate limits of any 
municipality but
is contiguous to a municipality may be annexed 
to the municipality as provided
in this Article.  For the 
purposes of this Article any territory to be annexed
to a 
municipality shall be considered to be contiguous to the 
municipality
notwithstanding that the territory is separated 
from the municipality by a
strip parcel, railroad or public 
utility right-of-way, or former railroad right-of-way that has 
been converted to a recreational trail, but upon annexation the 
area included
within that strip parcel, right-of-way, or former 
right-of-way shall not be considered to be annexed to the

municipality. For purposes of this Section, "strip parcel" 
means a separation no wider than 30 feet between the territory 
to be annexed and the municipal boundary.


    Except in counties with a population of more than
600,000


but
less than 3,000,000, territory which is not contiguous to a 
municipality but is
separated therefrom only by a forest 
preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, or open land or 
open space that is part of an open space program, as defined in 
Section 115-5 of the Township Code, or conservation area, may 
be annexed to the
municipality pursuant to Section 7-1-7 or 
7-1-8, but
only if the annexing municipality can show that the 
forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, 
or open space, or conservation area
creates an artificial 
barrier preventing the annexation and that the location
of the 
forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, 
or open space, or conservation area property prevents the 
orderly natural growth of
the annexing municipality.  It shall 
be conclusively presumed that the forest
preserve district, 
federal wildlife refuge, open land, or open space, or 
conservation area
does not create an artificial barrier if the 
property sought
to be annexed is bounded on at least 3 sides by 
(i) one or more other
municipalities (other than the 
municipality seeking annexation through the
existing forest 
preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, or open 
space, or conservation area), (ii) forest preserve district 
property, federal wildlife refuge, open land, or open space, or 
conservation area, or
(iii) a combination of other 
municipalities and forest preserve district
property, federal 
wildlife refuge property, open land, or open space, or 
conservation area.  It shall also be conclusively presumed that 
the forest preserve
district, federal wildlife refuge, open 
land, or open space, or conservation area
does not create an 
artificial barrier if the municipality seeking
annexation is 
not the closest municipality within the county to the property 
to be annexed.
 The territory included
within such forest 
preserve district, federal wildlife refuge,
open land, or open 
space, or conservation area shall not be annexed to the 
municipality
nor shall the territory of the forest preserve 
district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, or open space, or 
conservation area be subject to
rights-of-way for access or 
services between the parts of the municipality
separated by the 
forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, 
or open space, or conservation area without the consent of the 
governing
body of the forest preserve district  or federal 
wildlife refuge.
The changes made to this Section by Public Act 
91-824 this amendatory Act of 91st General
Assembly are

declaratory of existing law and shall not be construed as a new 
enactment.

    For the purpose of this Section, "conservation area" means 
an area dedicated to conservation and owned by a not-for-profit 
organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986. 
    In counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River 
with populations
of more than 200,000 but less than 255,000, a 
municipality that is partially
located in territory that is 
wholly surrounded by the Mississippi River and a
canal, 
connected at both ends to the Mississippi River and located on 
property
owned by the United States of America, may annex 
noncontiguous territory in the
surrounded territory under 
Sections 7-1-7, 7-1-8, or 7-1-9 if that territory is
separated 
from the municipality by property owned by the United States of

America, but that federal property shall not be annexed without 
the consent of
the federal government.

    For the purposes of this Article, any territory to be 
annexed to a municipality that is located in a county with more 
than 500,000 inhabitants shall be considered to be contiguous 
to the municipality if only a river and a national heritage 
corridor separate the territory from the municipality. Upon 
annexation, no river or national heritage corridor shall be 
considered annexed to the municipality.

    When any land proposed to be annexed is part of any Fire 
Protection
District or of any Public Library District and the 
annexing
municipality provides fire protection or a public 
library, as the case
may be, the Trustees of each District 
shall be notified in writing by
certified or registered mail 
before any court hearing or other action is
taken for 
annexation.  The notice shall be served 10 days in advance.
An 
affidavit that service of notice has been had as provided by 
this
Section must be filed with the clerk of the court in which 
the
annexation proceedings are pending or will be instituted 
or, when no
court proceedings are involved, with the recorder 
for the
county where the land is situated.  No annexation of 
that land is
effective unless service is had and the affidavit 
filed as provided in
this Section.

    The new boundary shall extend to the far side of any 
adjacent highway
and shall include all of every highway within 
the area annexed.  These
highways shall be considered to be 
annexed even though not included in
the legal description set 
forth in the petition for annexation.  When
any land proposed to 
be annexed includes any highway under the
jurisdiction of any 
township, the Township Commissioner of Highways,

the Board of 
Town Trustees, the Township Supervisor, and the Township Clerk 
shall be notified in writing by certified or
registered mail 
before any court hearing or other action is taken for

annexation. In the event that a municipality fails to notify 
the Township
Commissioner of Highways, the Board of Town 
Trustees, the Township Supervisor, and the Township Clerk of 
the annexation
of an area within the township, the municipality 
shall reimburse that
township for any loss or liability caused 
by the failure to give
notice. If any municipality has annexed 
any area before October 1,
1975, and the legal description in 
the petition for annexation did not
include the entire adjacent 
highway, any such annexation shall be valid and any
highway 
adjacent to the area annexed shall be considered to be annexed

notwithstanding the failure of the petition to annex to include 
the
description of the entire adjacent highway.

    Any annexation, disconnection and annexation, or 
disconnection under
this Article of any territory must be 
reported by certified or
registered mail by the corporate 
authority initiating the action to the
election authorities 
having jurisdiction in the territory and the post
office 
branches serving the territory within 30 days of the 
annexation,
disconnection and annexation, or disconnection.

    Failure to give notice to the required election authorities 
or
post office branches will not invalidate the annexation or

disconnection.  For purposes of this Section "election 
authorities"
means the county clerk where the clerk acts as the 
clerk of elections
or the clerk of the election commission 
having jurisdiction.

    No annexation, disconnection and annexation, or 
disconnection under
this Article of territory having electors 
residing therein made (1)
before any primary election to be 
held within the municipality
affected thereby and after the 
time for filing petitions as a candidate
for nomination to any 
office to be chosen at the primary election or (2) within
60 
days before any general election to be held within the 
municipality shall be
effective until the day after the date of 
the primary or general election, as
the case may be.

    For the purpose of this Section, a toll highway or 
connection between
parcels via an overpass bridge over a toll 
highway shall not be
considered a deterrent to the definition 
of contiguous territory.

    When territory is proposed to be annexed
by court order 
under this Article, the corporate
authorities or petitioners

initiating the action shall notify each person who pays real 
estate taxes on
property within that territory unless the 
person is a petitioner.  The notice
shall be served
by certified

or registered mail, return receipt requested, at least 20 days 
before a court
hearing or other court action.
If the person
who 
pays real estate taxes on the property is not the owner of

record, then the payor shall notify the owner of record of the 
proposed
annexation.

(Source: P.A. 94-361, eff. 1-1-06; 94-1065, eff. 8-1-06; 
95-174, eff. 1-1-08; revised 11-3-09.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.