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91_HB2699
LRB9100451PTpkA
1 AN ACT to amend the Conservation District Act by changing
2 Sections 5 and 6.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Conservation District Act is amended by
6 changing Sections 5 and 6 as follows:
7 (70 ILCS 410/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7105)
8 Sec. 5. Board of trustees.
9 (a) The affairs of a conservation district shall be
10 managed by a board consisting which shall consist of 5
11 trustees, except as otherwise provided in this Section. If
12 the boundaries of the district are coextensive with the
13 boundaries of one county, the trustees shall be residents of
14 that county. If the district embraces 2 counties, 3 trustees
15 shall be residents of the county with the larger population
16 and 2 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the
17 district embraces 3 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
18 of the county with the smallest population and each of the
19 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
20 district embraces 4 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents
21 of the county with the largest population and each of the
22 other counties shall have one resident trustee. If the
23 district embraces 5 counties, each county shall have one
24 resident trustee.
25 (b) A district that is entirely within a county of under
26 200,000 inhabitants and contiguous to a county of more than
27 2,000,000 inhabitants and that is authorized by referendum as
28 provided in subsection (d) of Section 15 to incur
29 indebtedness over 0.575% but not to exceed 1.725% shall have
30 a board consisting of 7 trustees, all of whom shall be
31 residents of the county. The additional 2 trustees shall be
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1 appointed by the chairman of the county board, with the
2 consent of the county board, and shall hold office for terms
3 expiring on June 30 as follows: one trustee after 4 years
4 and one trustee after 5 years from the date of the
5 referendum. Successor trustees shall be appointed in the
6 same manner no later than June 1 before the commencement of
7 the term of the trustee.
8 (c) Trustees shall be qualified voters of the such
9 district who do not hold any other public office and are not
10 officers of any political party. Trustees, if nominated by
11 the county board chairman as hereinafter provided, shall be
12 selected on the basis of their demonstrated interest in the
13 purpose of conservation districts.
14 (d) If the trustees are appointed, the chairman of the
15 county board for the county of which the trustee is a
16 resident shall, with the consent of the county board of that
17 county, appoint the first trustees who shall hold office for
18 terms expiring on June 30 after one, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year
19 periods respectively as determined and fixed by lot.
20 Thereafter, successor appointed trustees shall be appointed
21 for a term of 5-years in the same manner no later than June 1
22 prior to the commencement of term of the trustee. If the
23 term of office of any appointed trustee expires before the
24 first election of trustees under subsection (i) after
25 referendum approval of elected trustees, the chairman of the
26 county board who appointed that trustee under this subsection
27 shall appoint a successor to serve until a successor is
28 elected and has qualified.
29 (e) When a vacancy occurs in the office of trustee,
30 whether by death, resignation, refusal to qualify, no longer
31 being a qualified voter of the district, or for any other
32 reason, the board of trustees shall declare that a vacancy
33 exists. The vacancy shall be filled within 60 days each
34 successor trustee shall serve for a term of 5 years. A
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1 vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, for
2 appointed trustees, shall be filled for the unexpired term by
3 appointment of a trustee by the county board chairman of the
4 county of which the trustee shall be a resident, with the
5 approval of the county board of that county. An appointed A
6 trustee who has served a full term of 5 years is ineligible
7 to serve as a trustee for a period of one year following the
8 expiration of his or her term. In the case of an elected
9 trustee, appointment of an eligible person shall be by the
10 president of the board of trustees with the advice and
11 consent of the other trustees. The appointee shall serve the
12 remainder of the unexpired term. If, however, more than 28
13 months remain in the term of an elected trustee and the
14 vacancy occurs at least 182 days before the next general
15 election, the appointment shall be until the next general
16 election, at which time the vacated office of the elected
17 trustee shall be filled by election for the remainder of the
18 term.
19 If a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the
20 board of trustees, the remaining trustees shall select one of
21 their number to serve as president for the balance of the
22 unexpired term of the president in whose office the vacancy
23 occurred.
24 When any trustee during his or her term of office shall
25 cease to be a bona fide resident of the county or district,
26 or shall move from one township or congressional township in
27 the district to another so that the township residency
28 requirements of this Section are no longer met, then he or
29 she is disqualified as a trustee and the office becomes
30 vacant. If the district has decided to elect or appoint
31 trustees from single member subdistricts under subsection
32 (i), then when any trustee during his or her term of office
33 shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the subdistrict
34 district he or she is disqualified as a trustee and the his
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1 office becomes vacant.
2 (f) Trustees shall serve without compensation, but may
3 be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
4 performance of their official duties.
5 (g) An appointed A trustee may be removed for cause by
6 the county board chairman for the county of which the trustee
7 is a resident, with the approval of the county board of that
8 county, but every such removal shall be by a written order
9 and, which shall be filed with the county clerk.
10 (h) A conservation district with 5 trustees may
11 determine by majority vote of the board to increase the size
12 of the board to 7 trustees. With respect to a 7-member
13 board, no more than 3 members may be residents of any
14 township in a county under township organization or of any
15 congressional township in a county not under township
16 organization. In the case of a 7-member board representing a
17 district that embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be
18 residents of the county with the larger population and 3
19 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the
20 district embraces 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents
21 of each of the 2 counties with the smallest population and
22 the largest county shall have 3 resident trustees. If the
23 district embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
24 of the county with the smallest population and each of the
25 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
26 district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest
27 population shall each have 2 resident trustees and each of
28 the other counties shall have one resident trustee. The
29 pertinent appointing authorities shall appoint the additional
30 2 trustees to initial terms as equally staggered as possible
31 from the terms of the trustees already appointed from that
32 township or county so that 2 trustees representing the same
33 area shall not be succeeded in the same year.
34 (i) Except as provided in subsection (b), a conservation
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1 district in a county adjacent to county with more than
2 3,000,000 inhabitants may determine by referendum (i) to have
3 an elected or appointed board of trustees, (ii) to have a
4 board of trustees with 5 or 7 members, and (iii) to have
5 trustees chosen at large or from single member subdistricts.
6 If the boundaries of the district are coextensive with the
7 boundaries of a single county, the county board may determine
8 by ordinance to hold the referendum; or if the boundaries of
9 the district are embraced by more than one county, the county
10 boards of each county in the district, jointly, may determine
11 by ordinance to hold the referendum; or a petition signed by
12 not less than 5% of the electors of the entire district may
13 be submitted to the board of trustees requiring the district
14 to hold the referendum.
15 The secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the
16 proposition to the appropriate election authorities who shall
17 submit the proposition at a consolidated or general election
18 according to the Election Code. The Election Code shall
19 apply to and govern the election. The proposition shall be in
20 substantially the following form:
21 Shall the (insert name) Conservation District have
22 an (insert "elected" or "appointed") board of trustees
23 with (insert "5" or "7") trustees chosen (insert "at
24 large" or "from single member subdistricts")?
25 The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
26 If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in
27 the affirmative, the trustees of the district shall
28 thereafter be chosen as provided in this paragraph. At the
29 next consolidated election, a district that has decided by
30 referendum to have its trustees elected rather than appointed
31 shall elect 5 or 7 trustees as provided in the ordinance or
32 petition and in the proposition. The trustees shall be
33 elected on a nonpartisan basis. The provisions of the general
34 election law shall apply to and govern the nomination and
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1 election of the trustees.
2 (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
3 at large trustees, then with respect to a 5-member board,
4 the residency of members shall be the same as prescribed
5 in subsection (a).
6 With respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3
7 members may be residents of any township in a county
8 under township organization or of any congressional
9 township in a county not under township organization. In
10 the case of a 7-member board representing a district that
11 embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be residents of the
12 county with the larger population and 3 trustees shall be
13 residents of the other county. If the district embraces
14 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of each of the
15 2 counties with the smallest population and the largest
16 county shall have 3 resident trustees. If the district
17 embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of
18 the county with the smallest population and each of the
19 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
20 district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the
21 largest population shall each have 2 resident trustees
22 and each of the other counties shall have one resident
23 trustee.
24 (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
25 trustees from single member subdistricts, then with
26 respect to a 5-member board of a district embracing a
27 single county, the county board shall apportion the
28 district into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a
29 resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 5
30 subdistricts. In the case of a 5-member board of a
31 district embracing more than one county, the members of
32 each county board shall, jointly, apportion the district
33 into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of
34 and elected or appointed from each of the 5 subdistricts.
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1 The initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90
2 days after the referendum is approved, and the
3 subdistricts shall be reapportioned after each decennial
4 census.
5 With respect to a 7-member board of a district
6 embracing a single county, the county board shall
7 apportion the district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee
8 shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each
9 of the 7 subdistricts. In the case of a 7-member board
10 of a district embracing more than one county, the members
11 of each county board shall, jointly, apportion the
12 district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a
13 resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 7
14 subdistricts. The initial subdistricts shall be
15 apportioned within 90 days after the referendum is
16 approved, and the subdistricts shall be reapportioned
17 after each decennial census.
18 (j) When a conservation district determines to elect or
19 appoint trustees as provided in subsection (i), the terms of
20 these trustees shall commence on the first Monday of December
21 following the election. The terms of all trustees previously
22 appointed or elected under this Section shall expire on the
23 first Monday of December following the first election.
24 (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
25 at large trustees, then the initial elected board of
26 trustees shall, no later than 45 days after taking
27 office, divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as
28 possible into 2 groups. Trustees or their successors
29 from the larger group shall serve for terms of 4 years;
30 the initial elected trustees from the second group shall
31 serve for terms of 2 years, and their successors shall be
32 elected for terms of 4 years.
33 (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
34 trustees from single member subdistricts, then the
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1 members of the initial elected board of trustees and each
2 subsequent board elected prior to the first decennial
3 census following the initial apportionment shall be
4 elected to a term of 2 years. In the year following the
5 first decennial census occurring after the initial
6 apportionment and in the year following each subsequent
7 decennial census, the 5 or 7 subdistricts shall be
8 reapportioned to reflect the results of the census. The
9 board of trustees elected in the first election following
10 a decennial census shall, no later than 45 days after
11 taking office, divide themselves publicly by lot as
12 equally as possible into 3 groups. Trustees or their
13 successors from one group shall be elected to terms of 4
14 years, 4 years, and 2 years. Trustees or their
15 successors from the second group shall be elected to
16 terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 4 years. The trustee or
17 successors from the third group shall be elected to terms
18 of 2 years, 4 years, and 4 years.
19 (Source: P.A. 90-195, eff. 7-24-97.)
20 (70 ILCS 410/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7106)
21 Sec. 6. Officers and employees. As soon as possible
22 after the initial election or the initial appointments, as
23 the case may be Within 60 days after their selection, the
24 trustees shall organize by selecting from their members a
25 president, secretary, treasurer, and such other officers as
26 are deemed necessary, who shall hold office for 2 years in
27 the case of an elected board, or the fiscal year in which
28 elected in the case of an appointed board, and until their
29 successors are selected and qualify. Three trustees shall
30 constitute a quorum of the board for the transaction of
31 business if the district has 5 trustees. If the district has
32 7 trustees, 4 trustees shall constitute a quorum of the board
33 for the transaction of business. The board shall hold
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1 regular monthly meetings. Special meetings may be called by
2 the president and shall be called on the request of a
3 majority of members, as may be required.
4 The board shall provide for the proper and safe keeping
5 of its permanent records and for the recording of the
6 corporate action of the district. It shall keep a proper
7 system of accounts showing a true and accurate record of its
8 receipts and disbursements, and it shall cause an annual
9 audit to be made of its books, records, and accounts.
10 The records of the district shall be subject to public
11 inspection at all reasonable hours and under such regulations
12 as the board may prescribe.
13 The district shall annually make a full and complete
14 report to the county board of each county within the district
15 and to the Department of Natural Resources of its
16 transactions and operations for the preceding year. The Such
17 such recommendations as may be
20 deemed advisable.
21 Executive or ministerial duties may be delegated to one
22 or more trustees or to an authorized officer, employee,
23 agent, attorney, or other representative of the district.
24 All officers and employees authorized to receive or
25 retain the custody of money or to sign vouchers, checks,
26 warrants, or evidences of indebtedness binding upon the
27 district shall furnish surety bond for the faithful
28 performance of their duties and the faithful accounting for
29 all moneys that may come into their hands in an amount to be
30 fixed and in a form to be approved by the board.
31 All contracts for supplies, material, or work involving
32 an expenditure in excess of $10,000 shall be let to the
33 lowest responsible bidder, after due advertisement, excepting
34 work requiring personal confidence or necessary supplies
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1 under the control of monopolies, where competitive bidding is
2 impossible. All contracts for supplies, material, or work
3 shall be signed by the president of the board and by any such
4