SB2139eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2139 Engrossed LRB097 10300 RLJ 50506 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 Park District Code is amended by changing Sections 2-18, 8-1, and 8-9 and by adding Section 2-17.5 as follows:

(70 ILCS 1205/2-17.5 new)

Sec. 2-17.5. Fox Valley Park District.

(a) The Fox Valley Pleasure Driveway and Park District is reorganized by operation of law as the Fox Valley Park District under this Code on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(b) Each Fox Valley Park District commissioner shall be a legal voter and reside within the park district. The proper election authority shall conduct the elections for commissioners at the time and in the manner provided by the general election law.

(c) Beginning with the general election in 2012, 7 commissioners shall be elected for 4-year terms from single-member districts. The number of commissioners who are residents of a county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number of residents of the district who reside in that county in relation to the total population of the district. The county board chairperson and county executive, as applicable, of Kane, DuPage, Kendall, and Will counties shall each appoint a member, approved by the respective county board, to a commission to draw the initial districts of the Fox Valley Park District. Each of the 4 members of the commission shall receive a weighted vote based upon the population of the district at the time of the last preceding federal decennial census. The commission shall draw and vote upon a map of single-member districts that shall be compact, contiguous, and respect county boundaries as closely as possible. These districts shall be drawn with preference given to drawing districts in single counties. By no later than July 1, 2012, the districts must be approved by the members of the commission for the initial election of commissioners. In the year following the next decennial census and each decennial census thereafter, the board of commissioners shall reapportion the districts to reflect the results of the census. The term of office for the commissioners elected under this Section shall commence on the first Monday of the month following the month of election. The terms of all appointed trustees serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall end on December 2, 2012.

(d) The Fox Valley Park District board of commissioners shall elect officers of the board at the first meeting of the board following the next general election for park district commissioners.

(e) As of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, each Fox Valley Pleasure Driveway and Park District trustee in office shall, as a member of the board of the Fox Valley Park District, perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred upon park board commissioners under this Code, until his or her successor is elected and has qualified.

(f) Any tax authorized by referendum or other means under this Code and levied by the Fox Valley Pleasure Driveway and Park District before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall not be affected or abrogated because of the name change, and the Fox Valley Park District may continue to levy and collect that tax.

(70 ILCS 1205/2-18) (from Ch. 105, par. 2-18)

Sec. 2-18. (a) Except for the Fox Valley Park District on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, in In any Pleasure Driveway and Park District in which the legal voters have heretofore determined that the governing board shall be appointed, such method shall continue in effect and the board shall consist of 7 trustees. In such case and if the district is wholly contained within a single county the trustees shall be appointed by the presiding officer of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board. If the district is located in more than one county, the number of trustees who are residents of a county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number of residents of the district who reside in that county in relation to the total population of the district, except that the board of trustees may determine that one trustee is to be appointed from each county within the district, such appointment to be made by the appropriate appointing authority as hereinafter provided. Each trustee shall be appointed by the county board of his or her county of residence, or in the case of a home rule county, by the chief executive officer of the county with the advice and consent of the county board.

(b) Upon the expiration of the term of a trustee who is in office at the time of the publication of each decennial Federal census of population, the successor shall be a resident of whichever county is entitled to such representation as determined under subsection (a), and he shall be appointed by the county board of that county, or in the case of a home rule county as defined by Article VII, Section 6 of the Illinois Constitution, the chief executive officer of that county, with the advice and consent of the county board. Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of the same county who shall be appointed by the same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing authority shall appoint trustees biennially for such district on the first Monday in July, to fill the vacancies on the board of trustees caused by the expiration of the term of office of trustees and the trustees shall be legal voters and reside within the park district; provided, that no more than 4 trustees at any one time shall belong to the same political party. Each of the trustees shall receive a certificate of appointment and qualify within 10 days from the receipt of notice of appointment.

Trustees shall be appointed for a period of 4 years and shall hold their office until their successors are appointed and qualified.

Whenever a vacancy is created other than by the expiration of a trustee's term of office, it shall be filled by the appropriate appointing authority as provided in subsection (a).

All trustees appointed for any park district, as herein provided, shall have and exercise all the powers conferred upon trustees elected under the provisions of this Code.

In a Pleasure Driveway and Park District the trustees of which are appointed as herein provided, whenever a provision in this Code or any other applicable law authorizes a public question of any kind to be submitted to the electors of the district at an election, a petition by electors of the district asking that such question be submitted shall be signed by a number of registered voters of such district equal to not less than 10% of the number of registered voters in the district as of the last preceding regular election.

(Source: P.A. 86-694.)

(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 such name as set forth in the petition for its organization, the specific name set forth in this Code, or the such name as it may adopt under Section 8-9 8-8 hereof 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 $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 $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; and (3) the provision of data processing equipment and services. 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. 94-1055, eff. 1-1-07; 95-67, eff. 1-1-08.)

(70 ILCS 1205/8-9) (from Ch. 105, par. 8-9)

Sec. 8-9. Name change.

(a) Whenever two-thirds of the governing board of a park district shall approve an ordinance or resolution to change the name of such park district, a copy of such ordinance or resolution shall be duly certified by the president and secretary of such board and filed in the office of the county clerk of the counties wherein such park district is located. Upon the filing of the aforesaid ordinance or resolution for change of name in the office of said county clerk such change of name of such park district shall be complete.

(b) Whenever a Public Act changes the name of a park district, the secretary of the board of the park district shall, within 30 days after the date upon which the Public Act becomes law, obtain copies of the Public Act that are duly certified by the Secretary of State and file a certified copy of the Public Act in the office of the county clerk of each county in which the park district is located. The change of name of a park district by a Public Act shall be complete upon the Public Act becoming law.

(Source: Laws 1951, p. 113.)

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