(70 ILCS 3610/3.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 353.1)
Sec. 3.1. Also in the manner provided in this Act as amended, a "Local Mass Transit District" may be created with boundary to enclose a unit area of contiguous land, to be known as the "participating area". Such a "participating area" may be organized as a district under this Act without regard to boundaries of counties or other political subdivisions or municipal corporations.
(a) Any 500 or more legal voters who are residents within such "participating area" may file a petition in the circuit court of the county where the proposed district or a major part thereof is located, asking that the question of creating such district be submitted under this Act by referendum to the voters residing within the proposed district. By their power of attorney signed by them and filed in the cause the petitioners may authorize a committee of their number named by the petitioners, to conduct and pursue the cause for them to a conclusion. Such petition shall define the boundaries of the proposed district, shall indicate distances to nearest mass transportation lines in each direction, naming them, shall have attached a fair map of the proposed district, and shall suggest a name for the proposed district.
(b) The circuit clerk shall present to the circuit judge any petition so filed in the court. The judge shall enter an order of record to set a date, hour and place for judicial hearing on the petition. That order shall include instructions to the circuit clerk to give notice by newspaper publication to be made and completed at least 20 days before the hearing is to be held, in 2 or more newspapers published or circulating generally among the people residing within the proposed district. The circuit clerk shall prepare that notice and cause such publication notice to be given as directed.
(c) After proof of such newspaper publication of notice has been made and filed in the cause and shown to the court in full accord with the prior order, the circuit judge shall hear all persons who attend and so request, as to location and boundary and name for the proposed district. After the hearing on such petition is completed, the circuit court by an order of record, shall determine and establish the location, name and boundary for such proposed district, and shall order the proposition submitted at an election in accordance with the general election law to the voters resident within such proposed district. The circuit clerk shall certify the proposition to the proper election officials who shall submit the proposition in accordance with the general election law.
(d) The county clerk shall canvass the ballots and other returns from such referendum, and prepare a full certification of the result and shall file same in the cause pending in the circuit court. When the vote is in favor of the creation of such district as determined by the court order, a true map of such district shall be filed with such report in the circuit court.
(e) When the vote is in favor of creation of such district, the circuit court by an order of record shall confirm the result of election. If the district is wholly contained within a single county the presiding officer of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board shall appoint 5 trustees, not more than 3 of whom shall be affiliated with the same political party, to govern the district and serve one each for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years respectively; upon the expiration of the term of a trustee who is in office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, the successor shall, at the time of the appointment, and thereafter at all times while serving as trustee, be a resident of the Mass Transit District for which such person is appointed as trustee. If a trustee removes his residence to a place outside of the District, a trustee shall be appointed in the same manner as herein provided to take the place of the trustee who so removed his residence. If however the district is located in more than one county, the number of trustees who are residents of a county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number of residents of the district who reside in that county in relation to the total population of the district.
Upon the expiration of the term of a trustee who is in office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1975, the successor shall be a resident of whichever county is entitled to such representation in order to bring about the proportional representation required herein, and he shall be appointed by the county board of that county, or in the case of a home rule county as defined by Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution of 1970, the chief executive officer of that county, with the advice and consent of the county board in accordance with the provisions previously enumerated. Successors shall serve 5 year overlapping terms.
Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of the same county who shall be appointed by the same appointing authority; however, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to the appointment of the successor to each trustee who is in office at the time of the publication of each decennial Federal census of population.
(f) Upon the creation of such district, the circuit clerk shall prepare and certify a copy of the final court order confirming the referendum creating the district, and a duplicate of the map of such district, from the record of the circuit court, and shall file the same with the county clerk for recording in his office as "Certificate of Incorporation" for the district. The county clerk shall cause a duplicate of such "Certificate of Incorporation" to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State of Illinois.
(g) The Board of Trustees of such "Local Mass Transit District" shall have and exercise all the powers and shall perform all the duties of any Board of Trustees of any district created under this Act, as now or hereafter amended.
(h) The circuit court shall require the petitioners to post a surety bond for the payment of all costs and expenses of such proceeding and such referendum. When a district is created, the circuit court shall order the district to pay or reimburse others for all such costs and expenses. The surety bond shall not be released until complete receipts for all such costs and expenses have been filed in the cause and fully audited by the circuit and county clerks.
(i) If the District is wholly contained within a single county, the County Board of such county may, by resolution, provide that, effective upon the next appointment of a Trustee, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, that the Board of Trustees of such Mass Transit District shall be comprised of 7 Trustees, with no more than 4 members of the same political party. This Subsection shall not apply to any Mass Transit District in the State which receives funding in whole or in part from the Regional Transportation Authority or any of its service boards.
(Source: P.A. 86‑472.) |
(70 ILCS 3610/5) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 355)
Sec. 5. (a) The Board of Trustees of every District may establish or acquire any or all manner of mass transit facility. The Board may engage in the business of transportation of passengers on scheduled routes and by contract on nonscheduled routes within the territorial limits of the counties or municipalities creating the District, by whatever means it may decide. Its routes may be extended beyond such territorial limits with the consent of the governing bodies of the municipalities or counties into which such operation is extended.
(b) The Board of Trustees of every District may for the purposes of the District, acquire by gift, purchase, lease, legacy, condemnation, or otherwise and hold, use, improve, maintain, operate, own, manage or lease, as lessor or lessee, such cars, buses, equipment, buildings, structures, real and personal property, and interests therein, and services, lands for terminal and other related facilities, improvements and services, or any interest therein, including all or any part of the plant, land, buildings, equipment, vehicles, licenses, franchises, patents, property, service contracts and agreements of every kind and nature. Real property may be so acquired if it is situated within or partially within the area served by the District or if it is outside the area if it is desirable or necessary for the purposes of the District.
(c) The Board of Trustees of every District which establishes, provides, or acquires mass transit facilities or services may contract with any person or corporation or public or private entity for the operation or provision thereof upon such terms and conditions as the District shall determine.
(d) The Board of Trustees of every District shall have the authority to contract for any and all purposes of the District, including with an interstate transportation authority, or with another local Mass Transit District or any other municipal, public, or private corporation entity in the transportation business including the authority to contract to lease its or otherwise provide land, buildings, and equipment, and other related facilities, improvements, and services, for the carriage of passengers beyond the territorial limits of the District or to subsidize transit operations by a public or private or municipal corporation operating entity providing mass transit facilities.
(e) The Board of Trustees of every District shall have the authority to establish, alter and discontinue transportation routes and services and any or all ancillary or supporting facilities and services, and to establish and amend rate schedules for the transportation of persons thereon or for the public or private use thereof which rate schedules shall, together with any grants, receipts or income from other sources, be sufficient to pay the expenses of the District, the repair, maintenance and the safe and adequate operation of its mass transit facilities and public mass transportation system and to fulfill the terms of its debts, undertakings, and obligations.
(f) The Board of Trustees of every District shall have perpetual succession and shall have the following powers in addition to any others in this Act granted:
(1) to sue and be sued;
(2) to adopt and use a seal;
(3) to make and execute contracts loans, leases, |
| subleases, installment purchase agreements, contracts, notes and other instruments evidencing financial obligations, and other instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers; | |
(4) to make, amend and repeal bylaws, rules and |
| regulations not inconsistent with this Act; | |
(5) to sell, lease, sublease, license, transfer, |
| convey or otherwise dispose of any of its real or personal property, or interests therein, in whole or in part, at any time upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, with public bidding if the value exceeds $1,000 at negotiated, competitive, public, or private sale; | |
(6) to invest funds, not required for immediate |
| disbursement, in property, agreements, or securities legal for investment of public funds controlled by savings banks under applicable law; | |
(7) to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise |
| encumber all or any part of its real or personal property or other assets, or interests therein; | |
(8) to apply for, accept and use grants, loans or |
| other financial assistance from any private entity or municipal, county, State or Federal governmental agency or other public entity; | |
(9) to borrow money from the United States |
| Government or any agency thereof, or from any other public or private source, for the purposes of the District and, as evidence thereof, to issue its revenue bonds, payable solely from the revenue derived from the operation of the District. These bonds may be issued with maturities not exceeding 40 years from the date of the bonds, and in such amounts as may be necessary to provide sufficient funds, together with interest, for the purposes of the District. These bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not more than the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi‑annually, may be made registerable as to principal, and may be made payable and callable as provided on any interest payment date at a price of par and accrued interest under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the bonds. Bonds issued under this Section are negotiable instruments. They shall be executed by the chairman and members of the Board of Trustees, attested by the secretary, and shall be sealed with the corporate seal of the District. In case any Trustee or officer whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons ceases to hold that office before the bonds are delivered, such officer's signature, shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as though such officer had remained in office until the bonds were delivered. The bonds shall be sold in such manner and upon such terms as the Board of Trustees shall determine, except that the selling price shall be such that the interest cost to the District of the proceeds of the bonds shall not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi‑annually, computed to maturity according to the standard table of bond values. | |
The ordinance shall fix the amount of revenue bonds |
| proposed to be issued, the maturity or maturities, the interest rate, which shall not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, and all the details in connection with the bonds. The ordinance may contain such covenants and restrictions upon the issuance of additional revenue bonds thereafter, which will share equally in the revenue of the District, as may be deemed necessary or advisable for the assurance of the payment of the bonds first issued. Any District may also provide in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds under this Section that the bonds, or such ones thereof as may be specified, shall, to the extent and in the manner prescribed, be subordinated and be junior in standing, with respect to the payment of principal and interest and the security thereof, to such other bonds as are designated in the ordinance. | |
The ordinance shall pledge the revenue derived from |
| the operations of the District for the purpose of paying the cost of operation and maintenance of the District, and, as applicable, providing adequate depreciation funds, and paying the principal of and interest on the bonds of the District issued under this Section. | |
(10) subject to Section 5.1, to levy a tax on |
| property within the District at the rate of not to exceed .25% on the assessed value of such property in the manner provided in "The Illinois Municipal Budget Law", approved July 12, 1937, as amended; | |
(11) to issue tax anticipation warrants;
(12) to contract with any school district in this |
| State to provide for the transportation of pupils to and from school within such district pursuant to the provisions of Section 29‑15 of the School Code; | |
(13) to provide for the insurance of any property, |
| directors, officers, employees or operations of the District against any risk or hazard, and to self‑insure or participate in joint self‑insurance pools or entities to insure against such risk or hazard; | |
(14) to use its established funds, personnel, and |
| other resources to acquire, construct, operate, and maintain bikeways and trails. Districts may cooperate with other governmental and private agencies in bikeway and trail programs; and | |
(15) to acquire, own, maintain, construct, |
| reconstruct, improve, repair, operate or lease any light‑rail public transportation system, terminal, terminal facility, public airport, or bridge or toll bridge across waters with any city, state, or both. | |
With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.
This Section shall be liberally construed to give effect to its purposes.
(Source: P.A. 93‑590, eff. 1‑1‑04.) |