620 ILCS 45/ County Airport Law of 1943.
(620 ILCS 45/1) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 84) Sec. 1. The county board of each county having a population of less than 1,000,000 may in the manner hereinafter provided, establish and maintain airports and landing fields and other auxiliary institutions connected with the same within the limits of such county for the use and benefit of the inhabitants thereof and may levy a tax subject to such further limitation as may be occasioned by the issue of bonds as hereinafter provided, not to exceed .25 per cent of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, annually on all taxable property of such county, such tax to be levied and collected in like manner with the general taxes of such county, and to form, when collected, a fund to be known as the "County Airport Fund". Such tax shall be in addition to all other taxes which such county is now or hereafter may be authorized to levy on the aggregate valuation of all property within such county and shall not be included within the rate for general county purposes, but shall be in addition thereto and exclusive thereof. The foregoing limitations upon tax rates may be increased or decreased under the referendum provisions of the General Revenue Law of Illinois. (Source: P.A. 81‑1509.) |
(620 ILCS 45/1.5) Sec. 1.5. Short title. This Act may be cited as the County Airport Law of 1943. (Source: P.A. 88‑45.) |
(620 ILCS 45/2) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 85) Sec. 2. When 100 legal voters of any such county shall present a petition to the county board of such county asking that an annual tax be levied for the establishment, operation and maintenance of an airport and landing field in such county, the county board shall certify the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form: Shall an annual tax be levied in.................... County for a county airport and landing field under the provisions of "An Act in YES relation to the establishment, acquisition, maintenance and operation of airports and landing fields by counties of less than 1,000,000 population, and by such counties jointly with certain taxing districts NO located within or partly within such counties, and to provide methods for the financing thereof", approved July 22, 1943, as amended? If a majority of all the votes cast upon the proposition shall be in favor thereof the county board shall thereafter annually levy a tax of not to exceed .25 per cent of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, which tax shall be collected in like manner and with other general taxes in such county and shall be known as the "County Airport Fund", and thereafter the county board shall, in the annual appropriation bill, appropriate from such fund such sum or sums of money as may be necessary to defray all necessary expenses and liabilities of the county airport and landing field. The county board of any such county and the corporate authorities of any one or more taxing districts lying wholly or partly within the corporate limits of the county which taxing district or districts are authorized under the laws of this state to acquire, establish, operate and maintain airports and landing fields, may hereafter by agreement provide for the joint construction, maintenance and control of an airport and landing field. Such agreement shall specify the site of the proposed airport and landing field and the proportionate share of the cost of construction and the cost of maintenance which shall be borne by such county and each of such taxing districts. The County Board shall certify the proposition for such joint construction, maintenance and control to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition to the voters of the county and each such taxing district at an election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall state the proposed site of such airport and landing field and the proportionate share of the cost of construction and maintenance to be borne by the respective governmental units concerned. If the proposition is approved by a majority of the voters in the county and any taxing district voting on the proposition, the corporate authorities of each such governmental unit may, irrespective of any limitation of rate in any other act or provision to the contrary, levy a tax subject to such further limitation as may be occasioned by the issue of bonds as hereinafter provided, not to exceed .25 per cent of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, annually on all taxable property of such governmental unit. Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner with the general taxes of such governmental unit and shall form when collected a fund to be known as the "County Airport Fund" and deposited with the County Treasurer of the County. Such tax shall be in addition to all other taxes which such governmental unit is now or hereafter may be authorized to levy on the aggregate of all property therein, and shall not be included within the rate for general corporate purposes for each such governmental unit but shall be in addition thereto and exclusive thereof; and each such governmental unit shall appropriate such sum or sums as its proportionate share shall be under the agreement as may be necessary to defray all necessary expenses and liability of such airport and landing field. If such proposition is approved by a majority of the voters in the county and each of the taxing districts voting on the proposition, the corporate authorities of each such governmental unit shall appoint 3 directors. The qualifications, terms of office and removal of such directors shall be as provided in Sections 3 and 4 of this Act, and vacancies shall be filled in the manner as provided in Section 5 hereof. The directors so appointed shall constitute a joint Board of Directors for the control and management of the airport and landing field. The joint Board of Directors shall exercise the powers and be subject to the duties prescribed in this Act for Board of Directors of airports and landing fields. The corporate authorities of each of such governmental units shall annually appropriate funds for the maintenance and operation of the airport in the proportion set forth in the proposition adopted, for the use of the Airport Fund and shall levy the tax herein provided, or so much of such rate as will provide the sum, and may issue bonds as provided in this Act for the purpose of defraying its proportionate share of the costs of construction and maintenance of the airport and landing field. If any county or taxing district shall issue bonds as hereinafter provided, then so long as taxes are required to be levied and extended to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds, the rate extended in any year for the benefit of the Airport Fund shall be limited to the amount by which .25 per cent of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, exceeds the rate extended in such year to pay such principal and interest on such bonds. The foregoing limitations upon tax rates may be increased or decreased under the referendum provisions of the General Revenue Law of Illinois. (Source: P.A. 81‑1489; 81‑1509.) |
(620 ILCS 45/3) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 86) Sec. 3. When in any county a proposition for the levy of a tax for an airport and landing field has been adopted as aforesaid, the presiding officer of the county board shall, with the advice and consent of the county board, appoint a board of 5 directors each of whom shall be a resident of the county who does not hold any other office of honor or profit. All members shall be chosen with reference to their special fitness for such office. When the voters of any taxing district or districts lying wholly or partly within the county, shall have adopted a proposition for joint control of an airport and landing field with the county, the governing body of each of said taxing districts shall by a majority vote of such governing body appoint 5 directors, residents of the respective taxing district and not holding any office of honor or profit, all of whom shall be chosen with reference to their special fitness for such office. (Source: P.A. 81‑1390.) |
(620 ILCS 45/4) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 87) Sec. 4. One of the directors of each governmental unit shall hold office for one year, 2 for two years, and 2 for three years from the first day of July following their respective appointments, and until his successor is appointed, and at their first regular meeting they shall cast lots for the respective terms; and annually thereafter, the chairman or president of the county board, and the governing body of any taxing district jointly interested in the maintenance and operation of such airport and landing field, as provided in this Act, shall before the first day of July of each year, appoint in the manner hereinbefore provided, one director to take the place of each retiring director, who shall hold office for three years and until his successor is appointed. The chairman or president of the county board may, with the consent of three‑fourths of the members of the county board, remove any director for misconduct or neglect of duty, and any governing body of any taxing district jointly operating said airport as herein provided may, by three‑fourths vote, remove any director so appointed by the respective taxing district for like reasons. Any board organized under the provisions of Section 3 of this Act, already in existence at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1980, shall be expanded immediately by the appointment of the additional directors as herein provided. One director shall be appointed to serve until July 1, 1981; the other shall be appointed to serve until July 1, 1982. At the end of the respective terms a successor shall be appointed for each director to serve the full term as hereinbefore provided. (Source: P.A. 81‑1390.) |
(620 ILCS 45/5) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 88) Sec. 5. Vacancies in the Board of Directors occasioned by removal, resignation or otherwise, shall be reported to the county board, or to the governing authorities of the respective taxing body appointing the director, and shall be filled in like manner as the original appointments. No director shall receive compensation as such, or be interested, either directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any supplies or equipment, land or other facilities, or in any contract on behalf of the airport and landing field. (Source: Laws 1943, vol. 1, p. 516.) |
(620 ILCS 45/6) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 89) Sec. 6. The directors shall, immediately after appointment, meet and organize by the election of one of their number as president and one as secretary, and by the election of such other officers as they may deem necessary. They shall make and adopt such by‑laws, rules and regulations for their own guidance and for the government of the airport and landing field, buildings, equipment and other facilities or activities and institutions connected therewith as may be expedient, not inconsistent with the "Illinois Aeronautics Act", as now or hereafter amended or supplemented, or any rule, ruling, regulation, order or decision of the Department of Transportation of this State. They shall have the exclusive control of the expenditure of all moneys collected to the credit of the Airport Fund, and of the construction of any airport, building, landing strips or other facilities connected therewith, or auxiliary institutions or activities in connection therewith, and of the supervision, care and custody of the grounds, buildings and facilities constructed, leased, or set apart for that purpose: Provided, that all moneys received for such airport with the exception of moneys the title to which rests in the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 9, shall be deposited in the treasury of the county to the credit of the Airport fund and shall not be used for any other purpose, and shall be drawn upon by the proper officers of the county upon the properly authenticated vouchers of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may purchase or lease ground within the limits of such county, and occupy, lease or erect an appropriate building or buildings for the use of the airport, auxiliary institutions and activities connected therewith: Provided, however, that no such building, landing strips or other facilities shall be constructed or erected until detailed plans therefor shall have been submitted to and approved by the Department of Transportation of this State. The Board of Directors may appoint suitable managers, assistants and employees and fix their compensation by resolution duly adopted, and may also remove such appointees, and shall carry out the spirit and intent of this Act in establishing and maintaining an airport and landing field. The Board of Directors shall, in addition to the powers set forth in this Act, specifically have the powers designated as follows: 1. To locate, establish and maintain an airport and airport facilities within the area of its jurisdiction, and to develop, expand, extend and improve any such airport or airport facility. 2. To acquire land, rights in and over land and easements upon, over or across land, and leasehold interests in land, and tangible and intangible personal property, used or useful for the location, establishment, maintenance, development, expansion, extension or improvement of any such airport or airport facility. Such acquisition may be by dedication, purchase, gift, agreement, lease, or by user or adverse possession or condemnation. In the determination of the compensation to be paid in any condemnation proceeding under this subsection involving property or facilities used in agriculture, commerce, industry or trade there shall be included not only the value of the property and facilities affected and the cost of any changes in or relocation of such property and facilities but also compensation for any loss occasioned in the operation thereof. 3. To operate, manage, lease, sublease, and to make and enter into contracts for the use, operation or management of, and to provide rules and regulations for the operation, management or use of any such airport or airport facility. 4. To fix, charge and collect rentals, tolls, fees and charges for the use of any such airport, or any part thereof, or any such airport facility, and to grant privileges within any airport or structure therein or any part thereof, and to charge and collect compensation for such privileges and to lease any building or structure or any part thereof to private or public concerns or corporations in connection with the use and operation of such airport and to enter into contracts or agreements permitting private or public concerns to erect and build structures for airport purposes and purposes auxiliary thereto and connected therewith, on such terms and conditions as the directors deem expedient and in the public interest; provided, that no such structure may be erected by any public or private concern or corporation pursuant to such agreement until the plans and specifications therefor shall have been submitted to and approved by the Department of Transportation of this State. 5. To establish, maintain, extend and improve roadways and approaches by land, water or air to any such airport. 6. To contract or otherwise to provide by condemnation if necessary for the removal or relocation of all private structures, railways, mains, pipes, conduits, wires, poles and all other facilities and equipment which may interfere with the location, expansion, development, or improvement of airports or with the safe approach thereto or takeoff therefrom by aircraft, and to assume any obligation and pay any expense incidental to such removal or relocation. 7. Within territory two miles from any airport or landing field, as measured at a right angle from any side, or in a radial line from the corner of any established boundary line thereof, to enter into contracts for a term of years or permanently with the owners of such land to restrict the height of any structure upon the relationship of one foot of height to each twenty feet of distance from the boundary line, upon such terms and conditions and for the such consideration as the Board of Directors deems equitable; and to adopt, administer and enforce airport zoning regulations for and within the county and within any territory which extends not more than 2 miles beyond the boundaries of any Airport under the control of the Board of Directors. 8. To borrow money and to issue bonds, notes, certificates or other evidences of indebtedness for the purpose of accomplishing any of the corporate purposes, subject, however, to compliance with the conditions or limitations of this Act or otherwise provided by the constitution or laws of the State of Illinois. 9. To employ or enter into contracts for the employment of any person, firm or corporation, and for professional services, necessary or desirable for the accomplishment of the objects of the Board of Directors or the proper administration, management, protection or control of its property. 10. To police its property and to exercise police powers in respect thereto or in respect to the enforcement of any rule or regulation provided by the resolutions of the Board of Directors and to employ and commission police officers and other qualified persons to enforce the same. Nothing in this section or in other provisions of this Act shall be construed to authorize the Board of Directors to establish or enforce any regulation or rule in respect to aviation or the operation or maintenance of any airport or any airport facility within its jurisdiction which is in conflict with any federal or state law or regulation applicable to the same subject matter. This section is subject to the "Illinois Aeronautics Act", as now or hereafter amended or supplemented, or any rule, ruling, regulation, order or decision of the Department of Transportation of this State. The Federal Government or any department or agency thereof, the State of Illinois or any department or agency thereof, or any political subdivision of the State of Illinois and any public or private aircraft shall be permitted to use any airport facility subject to the regulation and control of, and upon such terms and conditions as shall be established by the Board of Directors. (Source: P.A. 81‑840.) |
(620 ILCS 45/6.1) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 89.1) Sec. 6.1. Purchases made pursuant to this Act shall be made in compliance with the "Local Government Prompt Payment Act", approved by the Eighty‑fourth General Assembly. (Source: P.A. 84‑731.) |
(620 ILCS 45/8) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 91) Sec. 8. The Board of Directors, in the name of the airport, may receive from any person any contribution or donation of money or property, and shall pay over to the treasurer of the county all moneys thus received as often as once in each month, and shall take the receipt of such treasurer therefor; and shall semi‑annually report to the county board and to each taxing body jointly interested in the airport, the names of all persons from whom any such contributions have been received since the date of the last report and the amount and nature of the property so received from each, and the date when same was received, and the Board of Directors shall make, on or before the second Monday in June of each year, an annual report to the county board and to each taxing district jointly interested in the airport, stating the condition of their trust on the first day in June of that year, the various sums of money received from the Airport Fund and from other sources, and how such moneys have been expended and for what purpose, and such other statistics, information and suggestions as they may deem of general interest, which report shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not more than thirty (30) days subsequent to the filing of such report. (Source: Laws 1943, vol. 1, p. 516.) |
(620 ILCS 45/9) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 92) Sec. 9. Any person desiring to make any donation or legacy of any money, personal property or real estate, for the benefit of such airport, shall have the right to vest the title to the money, personal property or real estate so donated, in the Board of Directors, to be held and controlled by such Board when accepted, according to the terms of the deed, gift or legacy of such property, and as to such property, the Board of Directors shall be held and considered to be special trustees and shall include in the annual report a complete report of their acts as such trustees. (Source: P.A. 83‑388.) |
(620 ILCS 45/10) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 93) Sec. 10. Any county or any other taxing body which has adopted a proposition for a tax under the provisions of this Act may discontinue such tax and such operation by a referendum, provided that the Board of Directors shall have adopted a resolution affirmatively recommending the discontinuance of such tax and such operation. The resolution shall declare the determination to submit the proposition of the discontinuance of the tax to a vote. Upon the adoption of such a resolution the secretary of the Board of Directors shall certify the resolution and the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form: Shall the levy of an annual tax in................. County for a county airport and landing field under the YES provisions of "An Act in relation to the establishment, acquisition, maintenance and operation of airports and landing fields by counties of less than 500,000 population, and by such counties jointly with certain taxing districts located within or partly within such NO counties, and to provide methods for the financing thereof", approved July 22, 1943, as amended, be discontinued? If a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition are for the discontinuance of the tax the proposition shall be deemed adopted, and, if the county alone (not in conjunction with any other governmental unit) had levied a tax under the provisions of this Act for an airport and landing field, the Board of Directors shall proceed at once to close up the affairs of the airport and landing field, and after the payment of all obligations, the moneys in the Airport Fund shall become a part of the general funds of the county and the personal property and real estate shall become the property of the county. In the event that an airport is jointly operated by a county and other taxing bodies and one or more of such taxing bodies, but not all, elect by the adoption of a proposition pursuant to a petition duly filed with the clerk of the respective taxing body as provided for herein for discontinuance of said participation in said airport, the members of the Board of Directors remaining shall proceed to reorganize within thirty days after certification that the proposal for discontinuance has carried by a majority vote. Any taxing body which so discontinues shall not be entitled to receive any money or property, real or personal, belonging to the airport, or airport fund, or held by the directors as trustees, but such property or money shall then vest in and continue to be the property of the airport; provided, that if any bonds remain outstanding and unpaid as to the principal and interest, issued by any taxing body electing to discontinue, the county clerk shall continue to extend so much of the rate annually, as may be necessary to retire the principal and interest of such bonds until all such bonds shall have been paid as to both principal and interest. In the event that all taxing districts participating in the joint control and operation of the said airport, shall vote for the discontinuance of the tax as provided in this section, the Board of Directors within thirty days after receiving a certification from the clerks of the various taxing authorities that the proposal for discontinuance is carried by a majority vote, shall proceed to wind up the affairs of the airport and after the payment of all obligations, the moneys in the airport fund shall become a part of the General Fund of the respective taxing districts in the proportion that each taxing district contributed financially in the maintenance and operation of such airport; and the Circuit Court in the County shall, upon due application by the Board of Directors, stating the facts, the date of the discontinuance of the respective taxing bodies, together with an inventory of the property, appoint a receiver to take charge of the property and equipment, both real and personal, in the custody and under the control of the Board of Directors. The receiver shall be empowered by the Court to sell the property under the direction of the Court, in accordance with the laws for the sale of property in partition proceedings and after payment of all costs and expenses, distribute the proceeds thereof equitably among the taxing bodies jointly participating therein to their respective General Funds in the proportion that each participated financially in the construction and operation of the airport. |