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70 ILCS 1605/ Metro-East Park and Recreation District Act.

(70 ILCS 1605/1)     Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Act. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

    (70 ILCS 1605/5)
    Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Board" means the board of directors of the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District.
    "Chief executive officer" means the chairman of the county board of a county.
    "County" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, Jersey, or Macoupin County.
    "District" or "Metro‑East District" means the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District created under this Act.
    "Governing body" means a county board.
    "Metro‑East Park and Recreation Fund" means the fund held by the District that is the repository for all taxes and other moneys raised by or for the District under this Act.
    "Metro‑East region" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, Macoupin, and Jersey Counties.
    "Park district" means a park district organized under the Park District Code.
(Source: P.A. 95‑364, eff. 8‑23‑07.)

    (70 ILCS 1605/10)
    Sec. 10. Creation of Metro‑East Park and Recreation District.
    (a) The Metro‑East Park and Recreation District may be created, incorporated, and managed under this Section and may exercise the powers given to the District under this Act. Any county may be included in the Metro‑East District if the voters in the county or counties to be included in the District vote to be included in the District. Any recreation system or public parks system that exists within the Metro‑East District created under this Section shall remain in existence with the same powers and responsibilities it had prior to the creation of the Metro‑East District. Nothing in this Section shall be construed in any manner to limit or prohibit:
        (1) later establishment or cessation of any park or

recreation system provided for by law; or

(2) any powers and responsibilities of any park or

recreation system provided for by law.

(b) When the Metro‑East District is organized, it shall be a body corporate and a political subdivision of this State, and the District shall be known as the "Metro‑East Park and Recreation District", and in that name may sue and be sued, issue general revenue bonds, and impose and collect taxes or fees under this Act.     (c) The Metro‑East District shall have as its primary duty the development, operation, and maintenance of a public system of interconnecting trails and parks throughout the counties comprising the District. The Metro‑East District shall supplement but shall not substitute for the powers and responsibilities of the other parks and recreation systems within the Metro‑East District and shall have the power to contract with the State of Illinois, the United States government, and other parks and recreation systems as well as with the departments or agencies of any of those governmental bodies and with other public and private entities.     (d) All counties and communities comprising the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District shall make available upon written request from the District, at no cost to the District, any and all technical information and data necessary for the implementation of the District's goals. (Source: P.A. 95‑364, eff. 8‑23‑07.)

(70 ILCS 1605/15)     Sec. 15. Creation of District; referendum.     (a) The governing body of a county may, by resolution, elect to create the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District. The Metro‑East District shall be established at a referendum on the question of the formation of the District that is submitted to the electors of a county at a regular election and approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question. The governing body must certify the question to the proper election authority, which must submit the question at an election in accordance with the Election Code.     The question must be submitted in substantially the following form:         Shall the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District be

created for the purposes of improving water quality; increasing park safety; providing neighborhood trails; improving, restoring, and expanding parks; providing disabled and expanded public access to recreational areas; preserving natural lands for wildlife; and maintaining other recreation grounds within the boundaries of the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District; and shall (name of county) join any other counties in the Metro‑East region that approve the formation of the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District, with the authority to impose a Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Retailers' Occupation Tax at a rate of one‑tenth of 1% upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in the district on gross receipts on the sales made in the course of their business for the purposes stated above, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue returned to the county from which the tax was collected?

The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No"     In the proposed Metro‑East District that consists of only one county, if a majority of the electors in that county voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the Metro‑East District may be organized. In the proposed Metro‑East District that consists of more than one county, if a majority of the electors in any county proposed for inclusion in the District voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the Metro‑East District may be organized and that county may be included in the District.     (b) After the Metro‑East District has been created, any county eligible for inclusion in the Metro‑East District may join the District after the county submits the question of joining the District to the electors of the county at a regular election. The county board must submit the question to the proper election authority, which must submit the question at an election in accordance with the Election Code.     The question must be submitted in substantially the following form:         Shall (name of county) join the Metro‑East Park and

Recreation District with the authority to impose a Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Retailers' Occupation Tax at a rate of one‑tenth of 1% upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in the district on gross receipts on the sales made in the course of their business, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue returned to the county from which the tax was collected?

The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No".     If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the county shall be included in the District. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

    (70 ILCS 1605/20)
    Sec. 20. Board of directors.
    (a) If the Metro‑East District is created by only one county, the District shall be managed by a board of directors consisting of 3 members. Two members shall be appointed by the chief executive officer, with the advice and consent of the county board, of the county in which the District is located, and one member shall be appointed by the minority members of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board. The first appointment shall be made within 90 days and not sooner than 60 days after the District has been organized. Each member of the board so appointed shall be a legal voter in the District. The first directors shall be appointed to hold office for terms of one, 2, and 3 years, and until June 30 thereafter, respectively, as determined by lot. Thereafter, successors shall be appointed in the same manner no later than the first day of the month in which the term of a director expires. All terms expire if another county joins the District.
    A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
    (b) If the Metro‑East District is created by more than one county, each county that elects to join the District shall be represented by a certain number of board members. The board members shall be distributed from the counties electing to join the District as follows:
        (1) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of St. Clair county shall appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, shall appoint one member.

(2) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of Madison County shall appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, shall appoint one member.

(3) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of Clinton County shall appoint one member.

(4) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of Jersey County shall appoint one member.

(5) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of Monroe County shall appoint one member.

(6) The chief executive officer, with the advice and

consent of the county board, of Macoupin County shall appoint one member.

The board members shall serve 3‑year terms, except that board members first appointed shall be appointed to serve terms of one, 2, or 3 years as determined by lot, provided that board members from counties eligible to appoint more than one member may not serve identical initial terms. On the expiration of the initial terms of appointment and on the expiration of any subsequent term, the resulting vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Board members shall serve until their successors are appointed. Board members are eligible for reappointment.     (c) No board member may hold a public office in any county within the Metro‑East District, other than the office of notary public. Board members must be citizens of the United States and they must reside within the county from which they are appointed. No board member may receive compensation for performance of duties as a board member. No board member may be financially interested directly or indirectly in any contract entered into under this Act.     (d) Promptly after their appointment, the initial board members shall hold an organizational meeting at which they shall elect a president and any other officers that they deem necessary from among their number. The members shall make and adopt any bylaws, rules, and regulations for their guidance and for the government of the parks, neighborhood trails, and recreational grounds and facilities that may be expedient and not inconsistent with this Act.     (e) Board members shall have the exclusive control of the expenditures of all money collected to the credit of the Metro‑East Park and Recreation Fund created pursuant to Section 35, and of the supervision, improvement, care, and custody of public parks, neighborhood trails, recreational facilities, and grounds owned, maintained, or managed by the Metro‑East District. All moneys received for those purposes shall be deposited in the Metro‑East Park and Recreation Fund. The board shall have power to purchase or otherwise secure ground to be used for parks, neighborhood trails, recreational facilities, and grounds; shall have power to appoint suitable persons to maintain the parks, neighborhood trails, recreational grounds, and facilities and to administer recreational programs and to fix their compensation; and shall have power to remove those appointees. The board shall keep accurate records of all its proceedings and actions and shall comply with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. (Source: P.A. 95‑364, eff. 8‑23‑07.)

(70 ILCS 1605/25)     Sec. 25. Powers and duties.     (a) The Metro‑East Park and Recreation District has the power to:         (1) issue bonds, notes, or other obligations for any

of the purposes of the District, and to refund the bonds, notes, or obligations, as provided in Section 40;

(2) contract, as provided by law, with public and

private entities or individuals both within and without the State and contract with the United States or any agency thereof in furtherance of any of the purposes of the District;

(3) own, hold, control, lease, purchase from willing

sellers, contract, and sell any and all rights in land, buildings, improvements, and any and all other real, personal, or mixed property, provided that real property within a county may be purchased by the District only if a majority of the board members from the county in which the real property is located consent to the acquisition;

(4) receive property, both real and personal, or

money that has been granted, donated, devised, or bequeathed to the District;

(5) establish and collect reasonable charges for the

use of the facilities of the District; and

(6) maintain an office and staff at any place or

places in this State that it may designate and conduct any business and operations that are necessary to fulfill the District's duties under this Section.

(b) When a public highway, street, or road extends into or through a public trail, trail area, or park area of the Metro‑East District, or when a public highway, street, or road forms all or part of a suitable connection between 2 or more public trails, trail areas, or park areas within the Metro‑East District, and it is advisable by the board to make alterations in the route or width of the highway or to grade, drain, pave, or otherwise improve the highway, the board may enter into agreements, consistent with the purposes of the Metro‑East District, with the public agency in control of the portion of the highway, street, or road that lies within any, or forms any part of, a connecting link to and between any public trail, trail area, or park area of the Metro‑East District. Any agreement with any public agency must be consistent with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.     This subsection does not alter the legal status of the highway, street, or road in any way.     (c) The Metro‑East District does not have any power of eminent domain. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

    (70 ILCS 1605/30)
    Sec. 30. Taxes.
    (a) The board shall 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 District on the gross receipts from the sales made in the course of business. This tax shall be imposed only at the rate of one‑tenth of one per cent.
    This additional tax may not be imposed on the sales of food for human consumption that 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 non‑prescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances, and insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and needles used by diabetics. The tax imposed by the Board under this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident of the tax shall be collected and enforced by the 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 without registering separately with the Department under an ordinance or resolution under this Section. The Department has full power to administer and enforce this Section, to collect all taxes and penalties due under this Section, to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in the manner provided in this Section, and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of a tax or penalty under this Section. In the administration of and compliance with this Section, the Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a‑1, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 1k, 1m, 1n, 2, 2‑5, 2‑5.5, 2‑10 (in respect to all provisions contained in those Sections other than the State rate of tax), 2‑15 through 2‑70, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 (except provisions relating to transaction returns and quarter monthly payments), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act as if those provisions were set forth in this Section.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority granted in this Section may reimburse themselves for their sellers' tax liability by separately stating the 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 bracketed 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 State Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Fund.
    (b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a service occupation tax shall also be imposed at the same rate upon all persons engaged, in the District, in the business of making sales of service, who, as an incident to making those sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within the District as an incident to a sale of service. This tax may not be imposed on sales of food for human consumption that is to be consumed off the premises where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food prepared for immediate consumption) and prescription and non‑prescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances, and insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and needles used by diabetics. The tax imposed under this subsection and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue. The Department has full power to administer and enforce this subsection; 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 subsection, the Department and persons who are subject to this paragraph shall (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions, and definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are prescribed in Sections 2 (except that the reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining a place of business in this State shall mean the District), 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 through 3‑50 (in respect to all provisions therein other than the State rate of tax), 4 (except that the reference to the State shall be to the District), 5, 7, 8 (except that the jurisdiction to which the tax shall be a debt to the extent indicated in that Section 8 shall be the District), 9 (except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference therein to Section 2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act), 13 (except that any reference to the State shall mean the District), Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Service Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their serviceman's tax liability by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax that servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use Tax Act, in accordance with such bracket schedules as the Department may prescribe.
    Whenever the Department determines that a refund should be made under this subsection to a claimant instead of issuing a credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State Comptroller, who shall cause the warrant 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 State Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Fund.
    Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the board 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 the State.
    (c) The Department shall immediately pay over to the State Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and penalties collected under this Section to be deposited into the State Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Fund, which shall be an unappropriated trust fund held outside of the State treasury.
    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. The Department shall make this certification only if the Metro East Park and Recreation District imposes a tax on real property as provided in the definition of "local sales taxes" under the Innovation Development and Economy Act.
    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 pursuant to Section 35 of this Act to the District from which retailers have paid taxes or penalties to the Department during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be paid to the District shall be the amount (not including credit memoranda) collected under this Section 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 (i) an amount equal to the amount of refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by the Department on behalf of the District, (ii) any amount that the Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that were payable to a different taxing body but were erroneously paid to the District, and (iii) 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 District 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 directions contained in the certification.
    (d) For the purpose of determining whether a tax authorized under this Section is applicable, a retail sale by a producer of coal or another 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 another 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.
    (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize the board to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business that under the Constitution of the United States may not be made the subject of taxation by this State.
    (f) An ordinance imposing a tax under this Section or an ordinance extending the imposition of a tax to an additional county or counties shall be certified by the board and filed with the Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of July next following the filing; or (ii) on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of January next following the filing.
    (g) When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement to the District under this Section, the Department shall increase or decrease the amounts 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.
(Source: P.A. 96‑939, eff. 6‑24‑10.)

(70 ILCS 1605/35)     Sec. 35. Allocation of moneys collected. The taxes authorized by Section 30 of this Act shall be allocated as follows:     (1) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each county shall be returned to the Metro‑East District for distribution by the District to each respective county for park and recreation purposes, except that not less than 50% of the amount returned to the county shall be allocated for distribution annually to park districts and municipal park and recreation departments within the county in the form of grants. Each county in the District shall establish a grant commission of not less than 3 members with equal representation from the county board and municipalities and park districts in the county. The grant commission shall award grants to park districts and municipalities for park and recreation purposes.     (2) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each county shall be retained by the District for deposit by the District into the Metro‑East Park and Recreation District Fund. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

(70 ILCS 1605/40)     Sec. 40. Bonds. The board of the District created under this Act may issue and sell revenue bonds, payable from the revenue derived from taxes imposed under Section 30, for any of the purposes enumerated in this Act or for the purpose of refunding any revenue bonds theretofore issued from time to time when considered necessary or advantageous in the public interest. These bonds shall be authorized by an ordinance without submission thereof to the electors of the District, shall mature at any time not to exceed 40 years from the date of issue, shall bear any rate of interest not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, that the board may determine, and may be sold by the board in any manner that it deems best in the public interest. However, the bonds shall be sold at any price that the interest cost of the proceeds therefrom will not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, based on the average maturity of the bonds and computed according to standard tables of bond values. No member of the board shall have any personal economic interest in any bonds issued in accordance with this Section.     The board of the District, when availing itself of the provisions of this Section, shall adopt an ordinance describing in a general way the purposes for which the bonds will be issued. The ordinance shall fix the amount of revenue bonds proposed to be issued, the maturity, interest rate, and all details in respect thereof, including any provision for redemption prior to maturity, with or without premium, and upon any notice that may be provided by the ordinance.     Revenue bonds issued under this Section shall be signed by the chairman and secretary of the board or any other officers that the board may by ordinance direct to sign the bonds, and shall be payable from revenue derived from taxes imposed under Section 30. These bonds may not in any event constitute an indebtedness of the District within the meaning of any constitutional provision or limitation. It shall be plainly written or printed on the face of each bond that the bond has been issued under the provisions of this Section, that the bond, including the interest thereon, is payable from the revenue pledged to the payment thereof, and that it does not constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the District within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitation or provision. No holder of any such revenue bond may compel any exercise of the taxing power of the District to pay the bond or interest thereon.     The District may not issue any bonds under this Section unless a public hearing, with adequate notice to the public, is held prior to the issuance of the bonds. Notice of the hearing giving the purpose, time, and place of the hearing shall be published at least once, not more than 30 nor less than 15 days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers published in the District. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

(70 ILCS 1605/45)     Sec. 45. Report. The board shall, by the end of the District's fiscal year, submit a financial report to the State Comptroller. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)

(70 ILCS 1605/900)     Sec. 900. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted). (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99; text omitted.)

(70 ILCS 1605/999)     Sec. 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law. (Source: P.A. 91‑103, eff. 7‑13‑99.)