Public Act 099-0771
 
HB4536 EnrolledLRB099 16133 AWJ 40458 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 Conservation District Act is amended  by 
changing Section 6 as follows:
 



    (70 ILCS 410/6)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7106)



    Sec. 6. Officers and employees.   As soon as possible after 
the initial
election or the initial appointments, as the case 
may be, the trustees shall organize
by selecting from their 
members a president, secretary, treasurer, and
other officers 
as are deemed necessary, who shall hold office for 2 years in

the case of an elected board, or the
fiscal year in which 
elected in the case of an appointed board, and until their 
successors are selected and
qualify.  Three trustees shall 
constitute a quorum of the board for the
transaction of 
business if the district has 5 trustees.  If the
district has 7 
trustees, 4 trustees shall constitute a quorum of the board
for 
the transaction of business.  The board shall hold regular 
monthly
meetings.  Special meetings may be called by the 
president and shall be called
on the request of a majority of 
members, as may be required.

    The board shall provide for the proper and safe keeping of 
its permanent
records and for the recording of the corporate 
action of the district. It
shall keep a proper system of 
accounts showing a true and accurate record
of its receipts and 
disbursements, and it shall cause an annual audit to be
made of 
its books, records, and accounts.

    The records of the district shall be subject to public 
inspection at all
reasonable hours and under regulations as the 
board may prescribe.

    The district shall annually make a full and complete report 
to the
county board of each county within the district and to 
the Department of Natural Resources of its transactions and

operations for the preceding year.  The report shall contain a 
full statement
of its receipts, disbursements, and the program 
of work for the period covered,
and may include recommendations 
as may be deemed advisable.

    Executive or ministerial duties may be delegated to one or 
more trustees
or to an authorized officer, employee, agent, 
attorney, or other
representative of the district.

    All officers and employees authorized to receive or retain 
the custody
of money or to sign vouchers, checks, warrants, or 
evidences of indebtedness
binding upon the district shall 
furnish surety bond for the faithful
performance of their 
duties and the faithful accounting for all moneys that
may come 
into their hands in an amount to be fixed and in a form to be

approved by the board.

    All contracts for supplies, material, or work involving an 
expenditure in
excess of $25,000, or a lower amount if required 
by board policy, $20,000 shall be let to the lowest responsible 
bidder, after due
advertisement, excepting work requiring 
personal confidence or necessary
supplies under the control of 
monopolies, where competitive bidding is
impossible. All 
contracts for supplies, material, or work shall be signed by

the president of the board and by any other officer as the 
board in
its discretion may designate.

(Source: P.A. 94-454, eff. 8-4-05; 95-54, eff. 8-10-07.)

 
    Section 10. The Downstate Forest Preserve District Act is 
amended  by changing Section 8 as follows:
 



    (70 ILCS 805/8)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6315)



    Sec. 8. Powers and duties of corporate authority and 
officers; contracts; salaries.

    (a) The board shall be the corporate authority of such 
forest
preserve district and shall have power to pass and 
enforce all necessary
ordinances, rules and regulations for the 
management of the property and
conduct of the business of such 
district. The president of such board
shall have power to 
appoint such employees as may be necessary.  In counties
with 
population of less than 3,000,000, within 60 days after their 
selection
the commissioners appointed under the provisions of 
Section 3a of this Act
shall organize by selecting from their 
members a president, secretary,
treasurer and such other 
officers as are deemed necessary who shall hold
office for the 
fiscal year in which elected and until their successors are

selected and qualify.  In the one district in existence on July 
1, 1977, that
is managed by an appointed board of 
commissioners, the incumbent president
and the other officers 
appointed in the manner as originally prescribed in this
Act 
shall hold such offices until the completion of their 
respective terms or
in the case of the officers other than 
president until their successors
are appointed by said 
president, but in all cases not to extend beyond January
1, 
1980 and until their successors are selected and qualify.  
Thereafter,
the officers shall be selected in the manner as 
prescribed in this Section
except that their first term of 
office shall not expire until June 30, 1981
and until their 
successors are selected and qualify.

    (b) In any county, city, village, incorporated town or

sanitary district where the corporate authorities act as the

governing body of a forest preserve district, the person 
exercising
the powers of the president of the board shall have 
power to appoint a
secretary and an assistant secretary and 
treasurer and an assistant
treasurer and such other officers 
and such employees as may be necessary.
The assistant secretary 
and assistant treasurer shall perform the duties
of the 
secretary and treasurer, respectively in case of death of such 
officers
or when such officers are unable to perform the duties 
of their respective
offices. All contracts for supplies, 
material or
work involving an expenditure in excess of $25,000, 
or a lower amount if required by board policy, $20,000 shall be 
let to the lowest
responsible bidder, after advertising at 
least once in one or more
newspapers of general circulation 
within the district, excepting work
requiring personal 
confidence or necessary
supplies under the control of 
monopolies, where competitive bidding is
impossible. Contracts 
for supplies, material or work involving an
expenditure of 
$25,000, or a lower amount if required by board policy, $20,000 
or less may be let without advertising for bids,
but whenever 
practicable, at least 3 competitive bids shall be obtained

before letting such contract. All contracts for supplies, 
material or
work shall be signed by the president of the board 
of commissioners or
by any such other officer as the board in 
its discretion may designate.

    (c) The president of any board of commissioners appointed 
under the
provisions of Section 3a of this Act shall receive a 
salary not to
exceed the sum of $2500 per annum and the salary 
of other members of the
board so appointed shall not exceed 
$1500 per annum. Salaries of the
commissioners, officers and 
employees shall be fixed by ordinance.

    (d) Whenever a forest preserve district owns any personal 
property that, in the opinion of three-fifths of the members of 
the board of commissioners, is no longer necessary, useful to, 
or for the best interests of the forest preserve district, then 
three-fifths of the members of the board, at any regular 
meeting or any special meeting called for that purpose by an 
ordinance or resolution that includes a general description of 
the personal property, may authorize the conveyance or sale of 
that personal property in any manner that they may designate, 
with or without advertising the sale. 
(Source: P.A. 97-851, eff. 7-26-12; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)

 
    Section 15. The Park District Code is amended  by changing 
Section 8-1 as follows:
 



    (70 ILCS 1205/8-1)  (from Ch. 105, par. 8-1)



    Sec. 8-1. General corporate powers.
Every park district 
shall, from the time of its
organization, be a body corporate 
and politic by the name set forth
in the petition for its 
organization, the specific name set forth in this Code, or the 
name it may adopt under
Section 8-9 and shall have and exercise 
the following powers:

    (a) To adopt a corporate seal and alter the same at 
pleasure; to sue
and be sued; and to contract in furtherance of 
any of its corporate purposes.

    (b) (1) To acquire by gift, legacy, grant or purchase, or 
by
condemnation in the manner provided for the exercise of the 
power of eminent
domain under the Eminent Domain Act, any and 
all real estate, or
rights therein necessary for building, 
laying out, extending, adorning
and maintaining any such parks, 
boulevards and driveways, or for
effecting any of the powers or 
purposes granted under this Code as its
board may deem proper, 
whether such lands be located within or without such
district; 
but no park district, except as provided in paragraph (2) of 
this
subsection, shall have any power of condemnation in the 
manner provided for the
exercise of the power of eminent domain 
under the Eminent Domain Act or otherwise as to any real

estate, lands, riparian rights or estate, or other property 
situated outside of
such district, but shall only have power to 
acquire the same by gift, legacy,
grant or purchase, and such 
district shall have the same control of and power
over lands so 
acquired without the district as over parks, boulevards and

driveways within such district.

    (2) In addition to the powers granted in paragraph (1) of 
subsection (b),
a park district located in more than one 
county, the majority of its territory
located in a county over 
450,000 in population and none of its territory
located in a 
county over 1,000,000 in population, shall have condemnation

power in the manner provided for the exercise of the power of 
eminent domain
under the Eminent Domain Act

or as otherwise 
granted by law
as to any and all real estate situated up to one 
mile outside of such district
which is not within the 
boundaries of another park district.

    (c) To acquire by gift, legacy or purchase any personal 
property necessary
for its corporate purposes provided that all 
contracts for supplies, materials
or work involving an 
expenditure in excess of $25,000, or a lower amount if required 
by board policy, $20,000 shall be let to the
lowest responsible 
bidder after due advertisement. No district shall be required 
to accept a bid that does not meet the district's established 
specifications, terms of
delivery, quality, and serviceability 
requirements.   Contracts which, by their nature, are not adapted 
to award by competitive
bidding, such as contracts for the 
services of individuals
possessing a high degree of 
professional skill where the ability or
fitness of the 
individual plays an important part, contracts for the
printing 
of finance committee reports and departmental reports,

contracts for the printing or engraving of bonds, tax warrants 
and other
evidences of indebtedness, contracts for utility 
services such as water,
light, heat, telephone or telegraph, 
contracts for the use, purchase,
delivery, movement, or 
installation of data processing equipment, software, or

services and telecommunications and interconnect equipment, 
software, or
services, contracts for duplicating machines and 
supplies, contracts for goods
or services procured from another 
governmental agency, purchases of equipment
previously owned 
by some entity other than the district itself, and
contracts 
for the purchase of magazines, books, periodicals, pamphlets 
and
reports are not subject to competitive bidding.  Contracts 
for emergency expenditures are also exempt from competitive 
bidding when the

emergency expenditure is approved by 3/4 of 
the members of the board.

    All competitive bids for contracts involving an 
expenditure in excess of $25,000, or a lower amount if required 
by board policy,
$20,000 must be sealed by the bidder and must 
be opened by a member or employee
of the park board at a public 
bid opening at which the contents of the bids
must be 
announced.  Each bidder must receive at least 3 days notice of 
the
time and place of the bid opening.

    For purposes of this subsection, "due advertisement" 
includes, but is not
limited to, at least one public notice at 
least 10 days before the bid date in
a newspaper published in 
the district or, if no newspaper is published in the
district, 
in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the 
district.

    (d) To pass all necessary ordinances, rules and regulations 
for the
proper management and conduct of the business of the 
board and district
and to establish by ordinance all needful 
rules and regulations for the
government and protection of 
parks, boulevards and driveways and other
property under its 
jurisdiction, and to effect the objects for which
such 
districts are formed.

    (e) To prescribe such fines and penalties for the violation 
of
ordinances as it shall deem proper not exceeding $1,000 for 
any
one
offense, which fines and penalties may be recovered by 
an action in the name
of such district in the circuit court for 
the county in which such
violation occurred. The park district 
may also seek in the action, in
addition to or instead of fines 
and penalties, an order that the offender
be required to make 
restitution for damage resulting from violations, and
the court 
shall grant such relief where appropriate.  The procedure in

such actions shall be the same as that provided by law for like 
actions for the
violation of ordinances in cities organized 
under the general laws of this
State, and offenders may be 
imprisoned for non-payment of fines and costs in
the same 
manner as in such cities. All fines when collected shall be 
paid into
the treasury of such district.

    (f) To manage and control all officers and property of such

districts and to provide for joint ownership with one or more 
cities,
villages or incorporated towns of real and personal 
property used for
park purposes by one or more park districts. 
In case of joint ownership,
the terms of the agreement shall be 
fair, just and equitable to all
parties and shall be set forth 
in a written agreement entered into by
the corporate 
authorities of each participating district, city, village
or 
incorporated town.

    (g) To secure grants and loans, or either, from the United 
States
Government, or any agency or agencies thereof, for 
financing the
acquisition or purchase of any and all real 
estate, or rights therein,
or for effecting any of the powers 
or purposes granted under this Code
as its Board may deem 
proper.

    (h) To establish fees for the use of facilities and 
recreational programs of
the districts and to derive revenue 
from non-resident fees from their
operations. Fees charged 
non-residents of such district need not be the same as
fees 
charged to residents of the district. Charging fees or deriving 
revenue
from the facilities and recreational programs shall not 
affect the right to
assert or utilize any defense or immunity, 
common law or statutory, available
to the districts or their 
employees.

    (i) To make contracts for a term exceeding one year, but 
not to exceed
3 years, notwithstanding any provision of this 
Code to the contrary,
relating to:  (1) the employment of a park 
director, superintendent,
administrator, engineer, health 
officer, land planner, finance director,
attorney, police 
chief, or other officer who requires technical training or

knowledge; (2) the employment of outside professional 
consultants such as
engineers, doctors, land planners, 
auditors, attorneys, or other
professional consultants who 
require technical training or knowledge; (3)
the provision of 
data processing equipment and services; and (4) the purchase of 
energy from a utility or an alternative retail electric 
supplier.  With respect to
any contract made under this 
subsection (i), the corporate authorities
shall include in the 
annual appropriation ordinance for each fiscal year an

appropriation of a sum of money sufficient to pay the amount 
which, by the
terms of the contract, is to become due and 
payable during that fiscal year.

    (j) To enter into licensing or management agreements with 
not-for-profit
corporations organized under the laws of this 
State to operate park district
facilities if the corporation 
covenants to use the facilities to provide public
park or 
recreational programs for youth.

(Source: P.A. 98-325, eff. 8-12-13; 98-772, eff. 7-16-14.)

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