Statutes > Illinois Statutes > CHAPTER 55 COUNTIES > 55 ILCS 5/ Counties Code. > Division 5-1 - In General

Division 5-1 - In General


      (55 ILCS 5/Div. 5‑1 heading)
Division 5‑1. In General

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1001) (from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1001)
    Sec. 5‑1001. Corporate name of county. Each county which has been, or may be established in this State, according to the laws thereof, shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "The county of ....," and by that name may sue and be sued, plead and may be impleaded, defend and be defended against in any court having jurisdiction of the subject‑matter, or other place where justice shall be administered.
(Source: P.A. 86‑962.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1002) (from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1002)
    Sec. 5‑1002. Indemnity of sheriff or deputy. If any injury to the person or property of another is caused by a sheriff or any deputy sheriff, while the sheriff or deputy is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as such, and without the contributory negligence of the injured person or the owner of the injured property, or the agent or servant of the injured person or owner, the county shall indemnify the sheriff or deputy, as the case may be, for any judgment recovered against him or her as the result of that injury, except where the injury results from the wilful misconduct of the sheriff or deputy, as the case may be, to the extent of not to exceed $1,000,000, including costs of action. Any sheriff or deputy, as the case may be, or any person who, at the time of performing such an act complained of, was a sheriff or deputy sheriff, who is made a party defendant to any such action shall, within 10 days of service of process upon him or her, notify the county, of the fact that the action has been instituted, and that he or she has been made a party defendant to the action. The notice must be in writing, and be filed in the office of the State's Attorney and also in the office of the county clerk, either by himself or herself, his or her agent or attorney. The notice shall state in substance, that the sheriff or deputy sheriff, as the case may be, (naming him or her), has been served with process and made a party defendant to an action wherein it is claimed that a person has suffered injury to his or her person or property caused by that sheriff or deputy sheriff stating the title and number of the case; the Court wherein the action is pending; and the date the sheriff or deputy sheriff was served with process in the action, and made a party defendant thereto. The county which is or may be liable to indemnify the sheriff or deputy sheriff, as the case may be, may intervene in the action against the sheriff or deputy sheriff, as the case may be, and shall be permitted to appear and defend. The duty of the county to indemnify any sheriff or deputy sheriff for any judgment recovered against him or her is conditioned upon receiving notice of the filing of any such action in the manner and form hereinabove described.
(Source: P.A. 92‑810, eff. 8‑21‑02.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1002.5)
    Sec. 5‑1002.5. Indemnity of regional superintendent of schools and assistants. A county may indemnify and protect the regional superintendent of schools and the assistant regional superintendents against civil rights damage claims and suits, constitutional rights damage claims and suits, and death and bodily injury and property damage claims and suits, including defense of those suits, when damages are sought for negligent or wrongful acts alleged to have been committed in the performance of their duties.
(Source: P.A. 89‑397, eff. 8‑20‑95.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1003) (from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1003)
    Sec. 5‑1003. Indemnity of public defender or assistant public defender. If any injury to the person or property of another is caused by a public defender or any assistant public defender, while the public defender or assistant public defender is engaged in the performance of his duties as such, the county shall indemnify the public defender or assistant public defender, as the case may be, for any judgment recovered against him as the result of that injury, except where the injury results from the willful misconduct of the public defender or assistant public defender, as the case may be. Any person who, at the time of performing such an act complained of, was a public defender or assistant public defender, who is made a party defendant to any such action shall, within 10 days of service of process upon him, notify the county, of the fact that the action has been instituted, and that he has been made a party defendant to the action. The notice must be in writing, and be filed in the office of the State's attorney and also in the office of the county clerk, either by himself, his agent or attorney. The notice shall state in substance, that the public defender or assistant public defender, as the case may be, (naming him), has been served with process and made a party defendant to an action wherein it is claimed that a person has suffered injury to his person or property caused by that public defender or assistant public defender stating the title and number of the case; the court wherein the action is pending; and the date the public defender or assistant public defender was served with process in the action, and made a party defendant thereto. The county which is or may be liable to indemnify the public defender or assistant public defender as the case may be, may intervene in the suit against the public defender or assistant public defender, as the case may be, and shall be permitted to appear and defend. The duty of the county to indemnify any public defender or assistant public defender for any judgment recovered against him is conditioned upon receiving notice of the filing of any such action in the manner and form herein described.
(Source: P.A. 86‑962.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1004) (from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1004)
    Sec. 5‑1004. Exercise of corporate powers. The powers of the county as a body corporate or politic, shall be exercised by a county board, to wit: In counties under township organization (except the County of Cook), by the county board members elected under Division 2‑3; in the County of Cook, by a board of county commissioners, pursuant to Section 3 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution; in counties not under township organization, by the board of county commissioners.
(Source: P.A. 86‑962.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1005)(from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1005)
    Sec. 5‑1005. Powers. Each county shall have power:
        1. To purchase and hold the real and personal estate
     necessary for the uses of the county, and to purchase and hold, for the benefit of the county, real estate sold by virtue of judicial proceedings in which the county is plaintiff.
        2. To sell and convey or lease any real or personal
     estate owned by the county.
        3. To make all contracts and do all other acts in
     relation to the property and concerns of the county necessary to the exercise of its corporate powers.
        4. To take all necessary measures and institute
     proceedings to enforce all laws for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
        5. To purchase and hold or lease real estate upon
     which may be erected and maintained buildings to be utilized for purposes of agricultural experiments and to purchase, hold and use personal property for the care and maintenance of such real estate in connection with such experimental purposes.
        6. To cause to be erected, or otherwise provided,
     suitable buildings for, and maintain a county hospital and necessary branch hospitals and/or a county sheltered care home or county nursing home for the care of such sick, chronically ill or infirm persons as may by law be proper charges upon the county, or upon other governmental units, and to provide for the management of the same. The county board may establish rates to be paid by persons seeking care and treatment in such hospital or home in accordance with their financial ability to meet such charges, either personally or through a hospital plan or hospital insurance, and the rates to be paid by governmental units, including the State, for the care of sick, chronically ill or infirm persons admitted therein upon the request of such governmental units. Any hospital maintained by a county under this Section is authorized to provide any service and enter into any contract or other arrangement not prohibited for a hospital that is licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act, incorporated under the General Not‑For‑Profit Corporation Act, and exempt from taxation under paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.
        7. To contribute such sums of money toward erecting,
     building, maintaining, and supporting any non‑sectarian public hospital located within its limits as the county board of the county shall deem proper.
        8. To purchase and hold real estate for the
     preservation of forests, prairies and other natural areas and to maintain and regulate the use thereof.
        9. To purchase and hold real estate for the purpose
     of preserving historical spots in the county, to restore, maintain and regulate the use thereof and to donate any historical spot to the State.
        10. To appropriate funds from the county treasury to
     be used in any manner to be determined by the board for the suppression, eradication and control of tuberculosis among domestic cattle in such county.
        11. To take all necessary measures to prevent forest
     fires and encourage the maintenance and planting of trees and the preservation of forests.
        12. To authorize the closing on Saturday mornings of
     all offices of all county officers at the county seat of each county, and to otherwise regulate and fix the days and the hours of opening and closing of such offices, except when the days and the hours of opening and closing of the office of any county officer are otherwise fixed by law; but the power herein conferred shall not apply to the office of State's Attorney and the offices of judges and clerks of courts and, in counties of 500,000 or more population, the offices of county clerk.
        13. To provide for the conservation, preservation and
     propagation of insectivorous birds through the expenditure of funds provided for such purpose.
        14. To appropriate funds from the county treasury and
     expend the same for care and treatment of tuberculosis residents.
        15. In counties having less than 1,000,000
     inhabitants, to take all necessary or proper steps for the extermination of mosquitoes, flies or other insects within the county.
        16. To install an adequate system of accounts and
     financial records in the offices and divisions of the county, suitable to the needs of the office and in accordance with generally accepted principles of accounting for governmental bodies, which system may include such reports as the county board may determine.
        17. To purchase and hold real estate for the
     construction and maintenance of motor vehicle parking facilities for persons using county buildings, but the purchase and use of such real estate shall not be for revenue producing purposes.
        18. To acquire and hold title to real property
     located within the county, or partly within and partly outside the county by dedication, purchase, gift, legacy or lease, for park and recreational purposes and to charge reasonable fees for the use of or admission to any such park or recreational area and to provide police protection for such park or recreational area. Personnel employed to provide such police protection shall be conservators of the peace within such park or recreational area and shall have power to make arrests on view of the offense or upon warrants for violation of any of the ordinances governing such park or recreational area or for any breach of the peace in the same manner as the police in municipalities organized and existing under the general laws of the State. All such real property outside the county shall be contiguous to the county and within the boundaries of the State of Illinois.
        19. To appropriate funds from the county treasury to
     be used to provide supportive social services designed to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of elderly residents, or, for operation of, and equipment for, senior citizen centers providing social services to elderly residents.
        20. To appropriate funds from the county treasury and
     loan such funds to a county water commission created under the "Water Commission Act", approved June 30, 1984, as now or hereafter amended, in such amounts and upon such terms as the county may determine or the county and the commission may agree. The county shall not under any circumstances be obligated to make such loans. The county shall not be required to charge interest on any such loans.
        21. To appropriate and expend funds from the county
     treasury for economic development purposes, including the making of grants to any other governmental entity or commercial enterprise deemed necessary or desirable for the promotion of economic development in the county.
        22. To lease space on a telecommunications tower to
     a public or private entity.
        23. In counties having a population of 100,000 or
     less and a public building commission organized by the county seat of the county, to cause to be erected or otherwise provided, and to maintain or cause to be maintained, suitable facilities to house students pursuing a post‑secondary education at an academic institution located within the county. The county may provide for the management of the facilities.
    All contracts for the purchase of coal under this Section shall be subject to the provisions of "An Act concerning the use of Illinois mined coal in certain plants and institutions", filed July 13, 1937, as amended.
(Source: P.A. 95‑197, eff. 8‑16‑07; 95‑813, eff. 1‑1‑09; 96‑622, eff. 8‑24‑09.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1005.5)
    Sec. 5‑1005.5. Advisory referenda. By a vote of the majority of the members of the county board, the board may authorize an advisory question of public policy to be placed on the ballot at the next regularly scheduled election in the county. The county board shall certify the question to the proper election authority, which must submit the question at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1006)(from Ch. 34, par. 5‑1006)
    Sec. 5‑1006. Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax Law. Any county that is a home rule unit may impose a tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property, other than an item of tangible personal property titled or registered with an agency of this State's government, at retail in the county on the gross receipts from such sales made in the course of their business. If imposed, this tax shall only be imposed in 1/4% increments. On and after September 1, 1991, this additional tax may not be imposed on the sales of food for human consumption which is to be consumed off the premises where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and food which has been prepared for immediate consumption) and prescription and nonprescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances and insulin, urine testing materials, syringes and needles used by diabetics. The tax imposed by a home rule county pursuant to this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The certificate of registration that is issued by the Department to a retailer under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act shall permit the retailer to engage in a business that is taxable under any ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant to this Section without registering separately with the Department under such ordinance or resolution or under this Section. The Department shall have full power to administer and enforce this Section; to collect all taxes and penalties due hereunder; to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder. In the administration of, and compliance with, this Section, the Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers and duties, and be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties and definitions of terms, and employ the same modes of procedure, as are prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a‑1, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 1k, 1m, 1n, 2 through 2‑65 (in respect to all provisions therein other than the State rate of tax), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and Section 3‑7 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.
    No tax may be imposed by a home rule county pursuant to this Section unless the county also imposes a tax at the same rate pursuant to Section 5‑1007.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed pursuant to the authority granted in this Section may reimburse themselves for their seller's tax liability hereunder by separately stating such tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax which sellers are required to collect under the Use Tax Act, pursuant to such bracket schedules as the Department may prescribe.
    Whenever the Department determines that a refund should be made under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State Comptroller, who shall cause the order to be drawn for the amount specified and to the person named in the notification from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of the home rule county retailers' occupation tax fund.
    The Department shall forthwith pay over to the State Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and penalties collected hereunder.
    As soon as possible after the first day of each month, beginning January 1, 2011, upon certification of the Department of Revenue, the Comptroller shall order transferred, and the Treasurer shall transfer, to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund the local sales tax increment, as defined in the Innovation Development and Economy Act, collected under this Section during the second preceding calendar month for sales within a STAR bond district.
    After the monthly transfer to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund, on or before the 25th day of each calendar month, the Department shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller the disbursement of stated sums of money to named counties, the counties to be those from which retailers have paid taxes or penalties hereunder to the Department during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be paid to each county shall be the amount (not including credit memoranda) collected hereunder during the second preceding calendar month by the Department plus an amount the Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that were erroneously paid to a different taxing body, and not including an amount equal to the amount of refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by the Department on behalf of such county, and not including any amount which the Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts which were payable to a different taxing body but were erroneously paid to the county, and not including any amounts that are transferred to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund. Within 10 days after receipt, by the Comptroller, of the disbursement certification to the counties provided for in this Section to be given to the Comptroller by the Department, the Comptroller shall cause the orders to be drawn for the respective amounts in accordance with the directions contained in the certification.
    In addition to the disbursement required by the preceding paragraph, an allocation shall be made in March of each year to each county that received more than $500,000 in disbursements under the preceding paragraph in the preceding calendar year. The allocation shall be in an amount equal to the average monthly distribution made to each such county under the preceding paragraph during the preceding calendar year (excluding the 2 months of highest receipts). The distribution made in March of each year subsequent to the year in which an allocation was made pursuant to this paragraph and the preceding paragraph shall be reduced by the amount allocated and disbursed under this paragraph in the preceding calendar year. The Department shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller for disbursement the allocations made in accordance with this paragraph.
    For the purpose of determining the local governmental unit whose tax is applicable, a retail sale by a producer of coal or other mineral mined in Illinois is a sale at retail at the place where the coal or other mineral mined in Illinois is extracted from the earth. This paragraph does not apply to coal or other mineral when it is delivered or shipped by the seller to the purchaser at a point outside Illinois so that the sale is exempt under the United States Constitution as a sale in interstate or foreign commerce.
    Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize a county to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business which under the Constitution of the United States may not be made the subject of taxation by this State.
    An ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing a tax hereunder or effecting a change in the rate thereof shall be adopted and a certified copy thereof filed with the Department on or before the first day of June, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Section as of the first day of September next following such adoption and filing. Beginning January 1, 1992, an ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing the tax hereunder or effecting a change in the rate thereof shall be adopted and a certified copy thereof filed with the Department on or before the first day of July, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Section as of the first day of October next following such adoption and filing. Beginning January 1, 1993, an ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing the tax hereunder or effecting a change in the rate thereof shall be adopted and a certified copy thereof filed with the Department on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Section as of the first day of January next following such adoption and filing. Beginning April 1, 1998, an ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing the tax hereunder or effecting a change in the rate thereof shall either (i) be adopted and a certified copy thereof filed with the Department on or before the first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Section as of the first day of July next following the adoption and filing; or (ii) be adopted and a certified copy thereof filed with the Department on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Section as of the first day of January next following the adoption and filing.
    When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement to a county under this Section, the Department shall increase or decrease such amount by an amount necessary to offset any misallocation of previous disbursements. The offset amount shall be the amount erroneously disbursed within the previous 6 months from the time a misallocation is discovered.
    This Section shall be known and may be cited as the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax Law.
(Source: P.A. 96‑939, eff. 6‑24‑10.)

    (55 ILCS 5/5‑1006.5)
    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 96‑845)
    Sec. 5‑1006.5. Special County Retailers' Occupation Tax For Public Safety, Public Facilities, or Transportation.
    (a) The county board of any county may impose a tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property, other than personal property titled or registered with an agency of this State's government, at retail in the county on the gross receipts from the sales made in the course of business to provide revenue to be used exclusively for public safety, public facility, or transportation purposes in that county, if a proposition for the tax has been submitted to the electors of that county and approved by a majority of those voting on the question. If imposed, this tax shall be imposed only in one‑quarter percent increments. By resolution, the county board may order the proposition to be submitted at any election. If the tax is imposed for transportation purposes for expenditures for public highways or as authorized under the Illinois Highway Code, the county board must publish notice of the existence of its long‑range highway transportation plan as required or described in Section 5‑301 of the Illinois Highway Code and must make the plan publicly available prior to approval of the ordinance or resolution imposing the tax. If the tax is imposed for transportation purposes for expenditures for passenger rail transportation, the county board must publish notice of the existence of its long‑range passenger rail transportation plan and must make the plan publicly available prior to approval of the ordinance or resolution imposing the tax.
    If a tax is imposed for public facilities purposes, then the name of the project may be included in the proposition at the discretion of the county board as determined in the enabling resolution. For example, the "XXX Nursing Home" or the "YYY Museum".
    The county clerk shall certify the question to the proper election authority, who shall submit the proposition at an election in accordance with the general election law.
        (1) The proposition for public safety purposes shall
    be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public safety purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
    provision at which time the additional sales tax would cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board. If the county board votes to include a sunset provision, the proposition for public safety purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public safety purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate) for a period not to exceed (insert number of years)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed, the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board."
        For the purposes of the paragraph, "public safety
    purposes" means crime prevention, detention, fire fighting, police, medical, ambulance, or other emergency services.
        Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
        (2) The proposition for transportation purposes shall
    be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for improvements to roads and other
    transportation purposes, shall (name of county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
    provision at which time the additional sales tax would cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board. If the county board votes to include a sunset provision, the proposition for transportation purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for road improvements and other
    transportation purposes, shall (name of county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate) for a period not to exceed (insert number of years)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed, the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board."
        For the purposes of this paragraph, transportation
    purposes means construction, maintenance, operation, and improvement of public highways, any other purpose for which a county may expend funds under the Illinois Highway Code, and passenger rail transportation.
        The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
        (3) The proposition for public facilities purposes
    shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public facilities purposes, shall (name
    of county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
     question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
     additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
     provision at which time the additional sales tax would cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board. If the county board votes to include a sunset provision, the proposition for public facilities purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public facilities purposes, shall (name