HB2612 EngrossedLRB100 06182 NHT 16216 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
55-1, 7-04, 7-1, 7-2a, 7-2.4, 7-2.5, 7-2.6, 7-2.7, 7-4, 7-4.1,
67-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, 7-9, 7-10, 7-11, 7-12, 7-29, 12-24, 16-2,
7and 32-4.6 and by adding Sections 7-01a, 7-01b, 7-10.5, 7-31,
8and 10-22.35B as follows:
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/5-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 5-1)
10    Sec. 5-1. County school units.
11    (a) The territory in each county, exclusive of any school
12district governed by any special act which requires the
13district to appoint its own school treasurer, shall constitute
14a county school unit. County school units of less than
152,000,000 inhabitants shall be known as Class I county school
16units and the office of township trustees, where existing on
17July 1, 1962, in such units shall be abolished on that date and
18all books and records of such former township trustees shall be
19forthwith thereafter transferred to the county board of school
20trustees. County school units of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants
21shall be known as Class II county school units and shall retain
22the office of township trustees unless otherwise provided in
23subsection (b) or (c).

 

 

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1    (b) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the school
2board of any elementary school district having a fall, 1989
3aggregate enrollment of at least 2,500 but less than 6,500
4pupils and having boundaries that are coterminous with the
5boundaries of a high school district, and the school board of
6any high school district having a fall, 1989 aggregate
7enrollment of at least 2,500 but less than 6,500 pupils and
8having boundaries that are coterminous with the boundaries of
9an elementary school district, may, whenever the territory of
10such school district forms a part of a Class II county school
11unit, by proper resolution withdraw such school district from
12the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of
13the township in which such school district is located and from
14the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer in
15such Class II county school unit; provided that the school
16board of any such school district shall, upon the adoption and
17passage of such resolution, thereupon elect or appoint its own
18school treasurer as provided in Section 8-1. Upon the adoption
19and passage of such resolution and the election or appointment
20by the school board of its own school treasurer: (1) the
21trustees of schools in such township shall no longer have or
22exercise any powers and duties with respect to the school
23district governed by such school board or with respect to the
24school business, operations or assets of such school district;
25and (2) all books and records of the township trustees relating
26to the school business and affairs of such school district

 

 

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1shall be transferred and delivered to the school board of such
2school district. Upon the effective date of this amendatory Act
3of 1993, the legal title to, and all right, title and interest
4formerly held by the township trustees in any school buildings
5and school sites used and occupied by the school board of such
6school district for school purposes, that legal title, right,
7title and interest thereafter having been transferred to and
8vested in the regional board of school trustees under P.A.
987-473 until the abolition of that regional board of school
10trustees by P.A. 87-969, shall be deemed transferred by
11operation of law to and shall vest in the school board of that
12school district.
13    Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the school boards
14of Oak Park & River Forest District 200, Oak Park Elementary
15School District 97, and River Forest School District 90 may, by
16proper resolution, withdraw from the jurisdiction and
17authority of the trustees of schools of Proviso and Cicero
18Townships and the township treasurer, provided that the school
19board shall, upon the adoption and passage of the resolution,
20elect or appoint its own school treasurer as provided in
21Section 8-1 of this Code. Upon the adoption and passage of the
22resolution and the election or appointment by the school board
23of its own school treasurer: (1) the trustees of schools in the
24township or townships shall no longer have or exercise any
25powers or duties with respect to the school district or with
26respect to the school business, operations, or assets of the

 

 

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1school district; (2) all books and records of the trustees of
2schools and all moneys, securities, loanable funds, and other
3assets relating to the school business and affairs of the
4school district shall be transferred and delivered to the
5school board; and (3) all legal title to and all right, title,
6and interest formerly held by the trustees of schools in any
7common school lands, school buildings, or school sites used and
8occupied by the school board and all rights of property and
9causes of action pertaining to or constituting a part of the
10common school lands, buildings, or sites shall be deemed
11transferred by operation of law to and shall vest in the school
12board.
13    Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), the respective
14school boards of Berwyn North School District 98, Berwyn South
15School District 100, Cicero School District 99, and J.S. Morton
16High School District 201 may, by proper resolution, withdraw
17from the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools
18of Cicero Township and the township treasurer, provided that
19the school board shall, upon the adoption and passage of the
20resolution, elect or appoint its own school treasurer as
21provided in Section 8-1 of this Code. Upon the adoption and
22passage of the resolution and the election or appointment by
23the school board of its own school treasurer: (1) the trustees
24of schools in the township shall no longer have or exercise any
25powers or duties with respect to the school district or with
26respect to the school business, operations, or assets of the

 

 

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1school district; (2) all books and records of the trustees of
2schools and all moneys, securities, loanable funds, and other
3assets relating to the school business and affairs of the
4school district shall be transferred and delivered to the
5school board; and (3) all legal title to and all right, title,
6and interest formerly held by the trustees of schools in any
7common school lands, school buildings, or school sites used and
8occupied by the school board and all rights of property and
9causes of action pertaining to or constituting a part of the
10common school lands, buildings, or sites shall be deemed
11transferred by operation of law to and shall vest in the school
12board.
13    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the
14offices of township treasurer and trustee of schools of any
15township located in a Class II county school unit shall be
16abolished as provided in this subsection if all of the
17following conditions are met:
18        (1) During the same 30 day period, each school board of
19    each elementary and unit school district that is subject to
20    the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer
21    and trustees of schools of the township in which those
22    offices are sought to be abolished gives written notice by
23    certified mail, return receipt requested to the township
24    treasurer and trustees of schools of that township of the
25    date of a meeting of the school board, to be held not more
26    than 90 nor less than 60 days after the date when the

 

 

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1    notice is given, at which meeting the school board is to
2    consider and vote upon the question of whether there shall
3    be submitted to the electors of the school district a
4    proposition to abolish the offices of township treasurer
5    and trustee of schools of that township. None of the
6    notices given under this paragraph to the township
7    treasurer and trustees of schools of a township shall be
8    deemed sufficient or in compliance with the requirements of
9    this paragraph unless all of those notices are given within
10    the same 30 day period.
11        (2) Each school board of each elementary and unit
12    school district that is subject to the jurisdiction and
13    authority of the township treasurer and trustees of schools
14    of the township in which those offices are sought to be
15    abolished, by the affirmative vote of at least 5 members of
16    the school board at a school board meeting of which notice
17    is given as required by paragraph (1) of this subsection,
18    adopts a resolution requiring the secretary of the school
19    board to certify to the proper election authorities for
20    submission to the electors of the school district at the
21    next consolidated election in accordance with the general
22    election law a proposition to abolish the offices of
23    township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township.
24    None of the resolutions adopted under this paragraph by any
25    elementary or unit school districts that are subject to the
26    jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and

 

 

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1    trustees of schools of the township in which those offices
2    are sought to be abolished shall be deemed in compliance
3    with the requirements of this paragraph or sufficient to
4    authorize submission of the proposition to abolish those
5    offices to a referendum of the electors in any such school
6    district unless all of the school boards of all of the
7    elementary and unit school districts that are subject to
8    the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer
9    and trustees of schools of that township adopt such a
10    resolution in accordance with the provisions of this
11    paragraph.
12        (3) The school boards of all of the elementary and unit
13    school districts that are subject to the jurisdiction and
14    authority of the township treasurer and trustees of schools
15    of the township in which those offices are sought to be
16    abolished submit a proposition to abolish the offices of
17    township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township
18    to the electors of their respective school districts at the
19    same consolidated election in accordance with the general
20    election law, the ballot in each such district to be in
21    substantially the following form:
22    -------------------------------------------------------------
23
OFFICIAL BALLOT
24            Shall the offices of township
25            treasurer and                       YES
26            trustee of                      -------------

 

 

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1            schools of Township .....           NO
2            Range ..... be abolished?
3    -------------------------------------------------------------
4        (4) At the consolidated election at which the
5    proposition to abolish the offices of township treasurer
6    and trustee of schools of a township is submitted to the
7    electors of each elementary and unit school district that
8    is subject to the jurisdiction and authority of the
9    township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township,
10    a majority of the electors voting on the proposition in
11    each such elementary and unit school district votes in
12    favor of the proposition as submitted to them.
13    If in each elementary and unit school district that is
14subject to the jurisdiction and authority of the township
15treasurer and trustees of schools of the township in which
16those offices are sought to be abolished a majority of the
17electors in each such district voting at the consolidated
18election on the proposition to abolish the offices of township
19treasurer and trustee of schools of that township votes in
20favor of the proposition as submitted to them, the proposition
21shall be deemed to have passed; but if in any such elementary
22or unit school district a majority of the electors voting on
23that proposition in that district fails to vote in favor of the
24proposition as submitted to them, then notwithstanding the vote
25of the electors in any other such elementary or unit school
26district on that proposition the proposition shall not be

 

 

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1deemed to have passed in any of those elementary or unit school
2districts, and the offices of township treasurer and trustee of
3schools of the township in which those offices were sought to
4be abolished shall not be abolished, unless in each of those
5elementary and unit school districts remaining subject to the
6jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and
7trustees of schools of that township proceedings are again
8initiated to abolish those offices and all of the proceedings
9and conditions prescribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this
10subsection are repeated and met in each of those elementary and
11unit school districts.
12    Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section
13or any other provision of the School Code, the offices of
14township treasurer and trustee of schools of a township that
15has a population of less than 200,000 and that contains a unit
16school district and is located in a Class II county school unit
17shall also be abolished as provided in this subsection if all
18of the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of
19this subsection are met and if the following additional
20condition is met:
21        The electors in all of the school districts subject to
22    the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer
23    and trustees of schools of the township in which those
24    offices are sought to be abolished shall vote at the
25    consolidated election on the proposition to abolish the
26    offices of township treasurer and trustee of schools of

 

 

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1    that township. If a majority of the electors in all of the
2    school districts combined voting on the proposition vote in
3    favor of the proposition, then the proposition shall be
4    deemed to have passed; but if a majority of the electors
5    voting on the proposition in all of the school district
6    fails to vote in favor of the proposition as submitted to
7    them, then the proposition shall not be deemed to have
8    passed and the offices of township treasurer and trustee of
9    schools of the township in which those offices were sought
10    to be abolished shall not be abolished, unless and until
11    the proceedings detailed in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
12    this subsection and the conditions set forth in this
13    paragraph are met.
14    If the proposition to abolish the offices of township
15treasurer and trustee of schools of a township is deemed to
16have passed at the consolidated election as provided in this
17subsection, those offices shall be deemed abolished by
18operation of law effective on January 1 of the calendar year
19immediately following the calendar year in which that
20consolidated election is held, provided that if after the
21election, the trustees of schools by resolution elect to
22abolish the offices of township treasurer and trustee of
23schools effective on July 1 immediately following the election,
24then the offices shall be abolished on July 1 immediately
25following the election. On the date that the offices of
26township treasurer and trustee of schools of a township are

 

 

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1deemed abolished by operation of law, the school board of each
2elementary and unit school district and the school board of
3each high school district that is subject to the jurisdiction
4and authority of the township treasurer and trustees of schools
5of that township at the time those offices are abolished: (i)
6shall appoint its own school treasurer as provided in Section
78-1; and (ii) unless the term of the contract of a township
8treasurer expires on the date that the office of township
9treasurer is abolished, shall pay to the former township
10treasurer its proportionate share of any aggregate
11compensation that, were the office of township treasurer not
12abolished at that time, would have been payable to the former
13township treasurer after that date over the remainder of the
14term of the contract of the former township treasurer that
15began prior to but ends after that date. In addition, on the
16date that the offices of township treasurer and trustee of
17schools of a township are deemed abolished as provided in this
18subsection, the school board of each elementary school, high
19school and unit school district that until that date is subject
20to the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and
21trustees of schools of that township shall be deemed by
22operation of law to have agreed and assumed to pay and, when
23determined, shall pay to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
24a proportionate share of the unfunded liability existing in
25that Fund at the time these offices are abolished in that
26calendar year for all annuities or other benefits then or

 

 

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1thereafter to become payable from that Fund with respect to all
2periods of service performed prior to that date as a
3participating employee in that Fund by persons serving during
4those periods of service as a trustee of schools, township
5treasurer or regular employee in the office of the township
6treasurer of that township. That unfunded liability shall be
7actuarially determined by the board of trustees of the Illinois
8Municipal Retirement Fund, and the board of trustees shall
9thereupon notify each school board required to pay a
10proportionate share of that unfunded liability of the aggregate
11amount of the unfunded liability so determined. The amount so
12paid to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund by each of those
13school districts shall be credited to the account of the
14township in that Fund. For each elementary school, high school
15and unit school district under the jurisdiction and authority
16of a township treasurer and trustees of schools of a township
17in which those offices are abolished as provided in this
18subsection, each such district's proportionate share of the
19aggregate compensation payable to the former township
20treasurer as provided in this paragraph and each such
21district's proportionate share of the aggregate amount of the
22unfunded liability payable to the Illinois Municipal
23Retirement Fund as provided in this paragraph shall be computed
24in accordance with the ratio that the number of pupils in
25average daily attendance in each such district for the school
26year last ending prior to the date on which the offices of

 

 

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1township treasurer and trustee of schools of that township are
2abolished bears to the aggregate number of pupils in average
3daily attendance in all of those districts as so reported for
4that school year.
5    Upon abolition of the offices of township treasurer and
6trustee of schools of a township as provided in this
7subsection: (i) the regional board of school trustees, in its
8corporate capacity, shall be deemed the successor in interest
9to the former trustees of schools of that township with respect
10to the common school lands and township loanable funds of the
11township; (ii) all right, title and interest existing or vested
12in the former trustees of schools of that township in the
13common school lands and township loanable funds of the
14township, and all records, moneys, securities and other assets,
15rights of property and causes of action pertaining to or
16constituting a part of those common school lands or township
17loanable funds, shall be transferred to and deemed vested by
18operation of law in the regional board of school trustees,
19which shall hold legal title to, manage and operate all common
20school lands and township loanable funds of the township,
21receive the rents, issues and profits therefrom, and have and
22exercise with respect thereto the same powers and duties as are
23provided by this Code to be exercised by regional boards of
24school trustees when acting as township land commissioners in
25counties having at least 220,000 but fewer than 2,000,000
26inhabitants; (iii) the regional board of school trustees shall

 

 

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1select to serve as its treasurer with respect to the common
2school lands and township loanable funds of the township a
3person from time to time also serving as the appointed school
4treasurer of any school district that was subject to the
5jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and
6trustees of schools of that township at the time those offices
7were abolished, and the person selected to also serve as
8treasurer of the regional board of school trustees shall have
9his compensation for services in that capacity fixed by the
10regional board of school trustees, to be paid from the township
11loanable funds, and shall make to the regional board of school
12trustees the reports required to be made by treasurers of
13township land commissioners, give bond as required by
14treasurers of township land commissioners, and perform the
15duties and exercise the powers of treasurers of township land
16commissioners; (iv) the regional board of school trustees shall
17designate in the manner provided by Section 8-7, insofar as
18applicable, a depositary for its treasurer, and the proceeds of
19all rents, issues and profits from the common school lands and
20township loanable funds of that township shall be deposited and
21held in the account maintained for those purposes with that
22depositary and shall be expended and distributed therefrom as
23provided in Section 15-24 and other applicable provisions of
24this Code; and (v) whenever there is vested in the trustees of
25schools of a township at the time that office is abolished
26under this subsection the legal title to any school buildings

 

 

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1or school sites used or occupied for school purposes by any
2elementary school, high school or unit school district subject
3to the jurisdiction and authority of those trustees of school
4at the time that office is abolished, the legal title to those
5school buildings and school sites shall be deemed transferred
6by operation of law to and invested in the school board of that
7school district, in its corporate capacity under Section
810-22.35B of this Code 7-28, the same to be held, sold,
9exchanged leased or otherwise transferred in accordance with
10applicable provisions of this Code.
11    Notwithstanding Section 2-3.25g of this Code, a waiver of a
12mandate established under this Section may not be requested.
13(Source: P.A. 94-1078, eff. 1-9-07; 94-1105, eff. 6-1-07; 95-4,
14eff. 5-31-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/7-01a new)
16    Sec. 7-01a. Purpose and applicability. The purpose of this
17Article is to permit greater flexibility and efficiency in the
18detachment and dissolution of school districts for the
19improvement of the administration and quality of educational
20services and for the best interests of pupils. This Article
21applies only to school districts with under 500,000
22inhabitants, but includes special charter districts (except
23those districts organized under Article 34 of this Code) and
24non-high school districts.
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/7-01b new)
2    Sec. 7-01b. Definition. In this Article, "legal resident
3voter" means a person who is registered to vote at the time a
4circulated petition is filed and when the regional board of
5school trustees renders a decision, at the address shown
6opposite his or her signature on the petition, and resides in
7the detaching territory or dissolving school district.
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/7-04)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-04)
9    Sec. 7-04. Districts in educational service regions of
102,000,000 or more inhabitants.
11    (a) In all proceedings under this Article to change by
12detachment, annexation, division, dissolution, or any
13combination of those methods the boundaries of any school
14district (other than a school district organized under Article
1534) located in an educational service region of 2,000,000 or
16more inhabitants in which the regional board of school trustees
17is abolished as provided in subsection (a) of Section 6-2, the
18trustees of schools of the township that has jurisdiction and
19authority over the detaching or dissolving in which that school
20district is located, as the successor under subsection (b) of
21Section 6-2 to the former regional board of school trustees
22with respect to all territory located in that school township,
23shall have, exercise, and perform all powers, duties, and
24responsibilities required under this Article to be exercised
25and performed in those proceedings by a regional board of

 

 

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1school trustees; provided that if any detaching or dissolving
2school district involved in affected by those proceedings is
3not under the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of
4schools of a township located in a school township referred to
5in subsection (b) of Section 5-1 and there are no trustees of
6schools acting in that township then the school board of any
7such district, as the successor under subsection (b) of Section
86-2 to the former regional board of school trustees with
9respect to the territory comprising that school district, a
10hearing panel as established in this Section shall have,
11exercise, and perform all powers, duties, and responsibilities
12required under this Article to be exercised and performed in
13those proceedings with respect to the detaching or dissolving
14the territory of that school district by a regional board of
15school trustees. ; and provided further that: (i) when any
16school district affected by those proceedings is located not
17only in an educational service region of 2,000,000 or more
18inhabitants but also in 2 or more school townships in that
19region that each have trustees of schools of the township, then
20the boundaries of that school district may be changed under
21this Article by detachment, annexation, division, dissolution,
22or any combination of those methods only by the concurrent
23action of, taken following a joint hearing before the trustees
24of schools of those townships (in that educational service
25region) in which that school district is located; and (ii) if
26any part of the school district referred to in item (i) of this

 

 

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1subsection also lies within an educational service region that
2has a regional board of school trustees, the boundaries of that
3district may be changed under this Article only by the
4concurrent action of, taken following a joint hearing before
5the trustees of schools of the townships referred to in item
6(i) of this subsection and the regional board of school
7trustees of the educational service region referred to in this
8item (ii) of this subsection. Whenever concurrent action and
9joint hearings are required under this subsection, the original
10petition shall be filed with the trustees of schools of the
11township in which the territory or greatest portion of the
12territory being detached is located, or if the territory is
13being detached from more than one educational service region
14then with the regional board of school trustees of the region
15or the trustees of schools of the township in which the
16territory or greatest portion of the territory being detached
17is located.
18    (a-5) As applicable, the hearing panel shall be made up of
193 persons who have a demonstrated interest and background in
20education. Each hearing panel member must reside within an
21educational service region of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants but
22not within the boundaries of a school district organized under
23Article 34 of this Code and may not be a current school board
24member of the detaching or dissolving or annexing school
25district or a current employee of the detaching or dissolving
26or annexing school district or hold any county office. None of

 

 

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1the hearing panel members may reside within the same school
2district. All 3 persons must be selected by the chief
3administrative officer of the educational service center in
4which the chief administrative officer has supervision and
5control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
6detaching or dissolving school district. The members of a
7hearing panel as established in this Section shall serve
8without remuneration; however, the necessary expenses,
9including travel, attendant upon any meeting or hearing in
10relation to a proceeding under this Article must be paid.
11    (a-10) The petition must be filed with the trustees of
12schools of the township with jurisdiction and authority over
13the detaching or dissolving school district or with the chief
14administrative officer of the educational service center in
15which the chief administrative officer has supervision and
16control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
17detaching or dissolving school district, as applicable. The
18chief administrative officer of the educational service center
19or a person designated by the trustees of schools of the
20township, as applicable, shall have, exercise, and perform all
21powers, duties, and responsibilities required under this
22Article that are otherwise assigned to regional
23superintendents of schools.
24    (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all other
25provisions of this Article shall apply to any proceedings under
26this Article to change the boundaries of any school district

 

 

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1located in an educational service region having 2,000,000 or
2more inhabitants in the same manner that those provisions apply
3to any proceedings to change the boundaries of any school
4district located in any other educational service region;
5provided, that any reference in those other provisions to the
6regional board of school trustees shall mean, with respect to
7all territory within an educational service region containing
82,000,000 or more inhabitants that formerly was served by a
9regional board of school trustees abolished under subsection
10(a) of Section 6-2, the trustees of schools of the township or
11the school board of the school district that is the successor
12under subsection (b) of Section 6-2 to the former regional
13board of school trustees with respect to the territory included
14within that school township or school district or the hearing
15panel as established by this Section.
16(Source: P.A. 87-969.)
 
17    (105 ILCS 5/7-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-1)
18    Sec. 7-1. Changing Districts in one educational service
19region - changing boundaries by detachment or dissolution.
20    (a) School district boundaries lying entirely within any
21educational service region may be changed by detachment,
22annexation, division or dissolution or any combination thereof
23by the regional board of school trustees of such region, or by
24the State Superintendent of Education as provided in subsection
25(l) of Section 7-6, when petitioned by the boards of each

 

 

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1district affected or by a majority of the registered voters in
2each district affected or by two-thirds of the registered
3voters in any territory proposed to be detached from one or
4more districts or in each of one or more districts proposed to
5be annexed to another district.
6    The petition must be filed with and decided solely by the
7regional board of school trustees of the region in which the
8regional superintendent of schools has supervision and
9control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
10detaching or dissolving school district. The petition may be
11filed in any office operated by the regional superintendent
12with supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of
13this Code, of the detaching or dissolving school district.
14    A petition for boundary change must be filed by the school
15board of the detaching or dissolving district, by a majority of
16the legal resident voters in the dissolving district, or by
17two-thirds of a combination of the legal resident voters and
18the owners of record of any real estate with no legal resident
19voters in any territory proposed to be detached. If any of the
20territory proposed to be detached contains real estate with no
21legal resident voters, petitioners shall deliver the petition
22by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all owners of
23record of any real estate with no legal resident voters. Proof
24of such delivery must be presented as evidence at the hearing
25required under Section 7-6 of this Code. Any owner of record of
26real estate with no legal resident voters in any territory

 

 

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1proposed to be detached may either sign the petition in person
2and before the circulator as described in this Section or
3return the petition with his or her notarized signature to be
4included as a petitioner. No person may sign a petition in the
5capacity of both a legal resident voter and owner of record. If
6there are no legal resident voters within the territory
7proposed to be detached, then the petition must be signed by
8all of the owners of record of the real estate of the
9territory. Legal resident Registered voters shall be
10determined by the official voter registration lists as of the
11date the petition is filed. No signatures shall be added or
12withdrawn after the date the petition is filed. The length of
13time for signatures to be valid, before filing of the petition,
14shall not exceed 6 months. Notwithstanding any provision to the
15contrary contained in the Election Code, the regional
16superintendent of schools shall make all determinations
17regarding the validity of the petition, including, without
18limitation, signatures on the petition. If the regional
19superintendent determines that the petition is not in proper
20order or not in compliance with any applicable petition
21requirements, the regional superintendent may not accept the
22petition for filing and may return the petition to the
23petitioners. Any party who is dissatisfied with the
24determination of the regional superintendent regarding the
25validity of the petition may appeal the regional
26superintendent's decision to the regional board of school

 

 

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1trustees by motion, and the motion must be heard by the
2regional board of school trustees prior to any hearing on the
3merits of the petition. If there are no registered voters
4within the territory proposed to be detached from one or more
5districts, then the petition may be signed by all of the owners
6of record of the real estate of the territory. Notwithstanding
7any other provisions of this Article, if pursuant to a petition
8filed under this subsection all of the territory of a school
9district is to be annexed to another school district, any
10action by the regional board of school trustees or State
11Superintendent of Education in granting or approving the
12petition and any change in school district boundaries pursuant
13to that action is subject to and the change in school district
14boundaries shall not be made except upon approval at a regular
15scheduled election, in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7, of
16a proposition for the annexation of all of the territory of
17that school district to the other school district.
18    Petitions for detachment and dissolution Each page of the
19circulated petition shall include the full prayer of the
20petition with a general description of the territory at the top
21of each page. Each , and each signature contained therein shall
22match the official signature and address of the legal resident
23registered voters as recorded in the office of the county clerk
24or board of election commissioners, and each election authority
25having jurisdiction over the county. Each petitioner shall also
26record the date of his or her signing. Except in instances of a

 

 

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1notarized signature of an owner of record of real estate with
2no legal resident voters in any territory proposed to be
3detached, each Each page of the circulated petition shall be
4signed by a circulator stating that he or she has who has
5witnessed the signature of each petitioner on that page.
6Detachment petitions containing 10 or fewer signatures may be
7notarized in lieu of a circulator statement. Each petition
8shall include an accurate legal description and map of the
9territory proposed to be detached. If a petition proposes to
10dissolve an entire district, then the full name and number of
11the district and a map are sufficient. Each petition shall
12include the names of petitioners; the district to be dissolved
13or the district from which the territory is proposed to be
14detached; the district or districts to which the territory is
15proposed to be annexed; evidence that the detaching or
16dissolving territory is compact and contiguous with the
17annexing district or districts or otherwise meets the
18requirements set forth in Section 7-4 of this Code; the
19referendum date, if applicable; and facts that support
20favorable findings for the factors to be considered by the
21regional board of school trustees pursuant to Section 7-6 of
22this Code. The length of time for signatures to be valid,
23before filing of the petition, shall not exceed 6 months.
24    Where there is only one school building in an approved
25operating district, the building and building site may not be
26included in any detachment proceeding unless petitioned by

 

 

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1two-thirds of the registered voters within the entire district
2wherein the school is located.
3    Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, if,
4pursuant to a petition filed under this subsection (a), all of
5the territory of a school district is to be annexed to another
6school district, then any action by the regional board of
7school trustees in granting or approving the petition and any
8change in school district boundaries pursuant to that action is
9subject to and the change in school district boundaries may not
10be made except upon approval, at a regular scheduled election,
11in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7 of this Code, of a
12proposition for the annexation of all of the territory of that
13school district to the other school district.
14    No petition may be filed under this Section to form a new
15school district under this Article; however, such a petition
16may be filed under this Section to form a new school district
17if the boundaries of such new school district lie entirely
18within the boundaries of a military base or installation
19operated and maintained by the government of the United States.
20    (b) Any elementary or high school district with 100 or more
21of its students residing upon territory located entirely within
22a military base or installation operated and maintained by the
23government of the United States, or any unit school district or
24any combination of the above mentioned districts with 300 or
25more of its students residing upon territory located entirely
26within a military base or installation operated and maintained

 

 

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1by the government of the United States, shall, upon the filing
2with the regional board of school trustees of a petition
3adopted by resolution of the board of education or a petition
4signed by a majority of the registered voters residing upon
5such military base or installation, have all of the territory
6lying entirely within such military base or installation
7detached from such school district, and a new school district
8comprised of such territory shall be created. The petition
9shall be filed with and decided solely by the regional board of
10school trustees of the region in which the regional
11superintendent of schools has supervision and control, as
12defined by Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the school district
13affected. The regional board of school trustees shall have no
14authority to deny the detachment and creation of a new school
15district requested in a proper petition filed under this
16subsection. This subsection shall apply only to those school
17districts having a population of not fewer than 1,000 and not
18more than 500,000 residents, as ascertained by any special or
19general census.
20    The new school district shall tuition its students to the
21same districts that its students were previously attending and
22the districts from which the new district was detached shall
23continue to educate the students from the new district, until
24the federal government provides other arrangements. The
25federal government shall pay for the education of such children
26as required by Section 6 of Public Law 81-874.

 

 

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1    If a school district created under this subsection (b) has
2not elected a school board and has not become operational
3within 2 years after the date of detachment, then this district
4is automatically dissolved and the territory of this district
5reverts to the school district from which the territory was
6detached or any successor district thereto. Any school district
7created under this subsection (b) on or before September 1,
81996 that has not elected a school board and has not been
9operational since September 1, 1996 is automatically dissolved
10on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1999, and on
11this date the territory of this district reverts to the school
12district from which the territory was detached. For the
13automatic dissolution of a school district created under this
14subsection (b), the regional superintendent of schools who has
15supervision and control, as defined by Section 3-14.2 of this
16Code, of the school district from which the territory was
17detached shall certify to the regional board of school trustees
18that the school district created under this subsection (b) has
19been automatically dissolved.
20(Source: P.A. 90-459, eff. 8-17-97; 91-460, eff. 8-6-99.)
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/7-2a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-2a)
22    Sec. 7-2a. (a) (Blank). Except as provided in subsection
23(b) of this Section, any petition for dissolution filed under
24this Article must specify the school district or districts to
25which all of the territory of the district proposed to be

 

 

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1dissolved will be annexed. Any petition for dissolution may be
2made by the board of education of the district or a majority of
3the legal voters residing in the district proposed to be
4dissolved. No petition from any other district affected by the
5proposed dissolution shall be required.
6    (b) Any school district with a population of less than
75,000 residents or an enrollment of less than 750 students, as
8determined by the district's most recent fall enrollment counts
9as posted on the State Board of Education's website current
10fall housing report filed with the State Board of Education,
11shall be dissolved and its territory annexed as provided in
12Section 7-11 of this Code by the regional board of school
13trustees upon the filing with the regional board of school
14trustees of a petition adopted by resolution of the board of
15education or a petition signed by a majority of the legal
16resident registered voters of the district seeking such
17dissolution. No petition shall be adopted or signed under this
18subsection until the board of education or the petitioners, as
19the case may be, shall have given at least 10 days' notice to
20be published once in a newspaper having general circulation in
21the district and shall have conducted a public informational
22meeting to inform the residents of the district of the proposed
23dissolution and to answer questions concerning the proposed
24dissolution. The petition shall be filed with and decided
25solely by the regional board of school trustees of the region
26in which the regional superintendent of schools has supervision

 

 

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1and control, as defined by Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
2school district being dissolved.
3    The regional board of school trustees shall not act on a
4petition filed by a board of education if within 45 days after
5giving the first notice of the hearing required under Section
67-11 of this Code a petition in opposition to the petition of
7the board to dissolve, signed by a majority of the legal
8resident registered voters of the district, is filed with the
9regional board of school trustees. In such an event, the
10dissolution petition is dismissed on procedural grounds by
11operation of law and the regional board of school trustees
12shall have no further authority to consider the petition. A
13dissolution petition dismissed as the result of a valid
14opposition petition is not subject to the limitation on
15successive petitions as provided in Section 7-8 of this Code,
16and a new petition may be filed upon receipt of the regional
17board of school trustees' notice stating that the original
18petition was dismissed by operation of law.
19    For all petitions under this Section, the legal resident
20voters must be determined by the official voter registration
21lists as of the date the petition is filed. No signatures may
22be added or withdrawn after the date the petition is filed. The
23length of time for signatures to be valid, before filing of the
24petition, may not exceed 6 months. Notwithstanding any
25provision to the contrary contained in the Election Code, the
26regional superintendent of schools shall make all

 

 

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1determinations regarding the validity of the petition,
2including, without limitation, signatures on the petition. Any
3party who is dissatisfied with the determination of the
4regional superintendent regarding the validity of the petition
5may appeal the regional superintendent's decision to the
6regional board of school trustees by motion, and the motion
7must be heard by the regional board of school trustees prior to
8any hearing on annexing the territory of a district being
9dissolved. If no opposition petition is timely filed, the The
10regional board of school trustees shall have no authority to
11deny dissolution requested in a proper petition for dissolution
12filed under this Section subsection (b), but shall exercise its
13discretion in accordance with Section 7-11 of this Code on the
14issue of annexing the territory of a district being dissolved,
15giving consideration to but not being bound by the wishes
16expressed by the residents of the various school districts that
17may be affected by such annexation.
18    When dissolution and annexation become effective for
19purposes of administration and attendance as determined
20pursuant to Section 7-11, the positions of teachers in
21contractual continued service in the district being dissolved
22are transferred to an annexing district or to annexing
23districts pursuant to the provisions of subsection (h) of
24Section 24-11 of this Code relative to teachers having
25contractual continued service status whose positions are
26transferred from one board to the control of a different board,

 

 

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1and those said provisions of subsection (h) of Section 24-11 of
2this Code shall apply to said transferred teachers. In the
3event that the territory is added to 2 or more districts, the
4decision on which positions shall be transferred to which
5annexing districts shall be made giving consideration to the
6proportionate percent of pupils transferred and the annexing
7districts' staffing needs, and the transfer of specific
8individuals into such positions shall be based upon the request
9of those teachers in order of seniority in the dissolving
10district. The contractual continued service status of any
11teacher thereby transferred to an annexing district is not lost
12and the different board is subject to this Act with respect to
13such transferred teacher in the same manner as if such teacher
14was that district's employee and had been its employee during
15the time such teacher was actually employed by the board of the
16dissolving district from which the position was transferred.
17(Source: P.A. 98-125, eff. 8-2-13; 99-657, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/7-2.4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-2.4)
19    Sec. 7-2.4. A petition for detachment of territory from a
20special charter district with annexation to another school
21district, for detachment of territory from a school district
22with annexation to a special charter district, or for
23dissolution of a school district with annexation to a special
24charter district for annexation to or detachment of territory
25from a special charter school district must be filed with the

 

 

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1governing body of the special charter district, and a certified
2copy thereof must be sent to each other detaching, dissolving,
3or annexing school district affected and to the regional county
4board of school trustees of the region county in which the
5regional county superintendent has supervision and control, as
6defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the detaching or
7dissolving district from which the petition seeks to have
8territory detached, or if territory is being detached from more
9than one county, to the county board of school trustees of the
10county in which the county superintendent has supervision over
11the greatest portion of such territory. A petition request for
12such annexation or detachment of territory must be filed by the
13school board of the detaching or dissolving district, by a
14majority of the legal resident voters in the dissolving
15district, or by two-thirds of a combination of the legal
16resident voters and the owners of record of any real estate
17with no legal resident voters in any territory proposed to be
18may be initiated by any district affected by such proposed
19annexation or detachment of territory by a petition signed by
20the board of education and by 25% or 1,000 of the legal voters
21of the district, whichever is less, or by 50% of the legal
22voters residing in any territory requesting to be annexed or
23detached. If any of the territory proposed to be detached
24contains real estate with no legal resident voters, petitioners
25shall deliver the petition by certified mail, return receipt
26requested, to all owners of record of any real estate with no

 

 

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1legal resident voters. Proof of the delivery must be presented
2as evidence at any hearing required by Section 7-2.6 of this
3Code. Any owner of record of real estate with no legal resident
4voters in any territory proposed to be detached may either sign
5the petition in person and before the circulator as described
6in Section 7-1 of this Code or return the petition with his or
7her notarized signature to be included as a petitioner. No
8person may sign a petition in the capacity of both a legal
9resident voter and owner of record. If there are no legal
10resident voters residing within the territory proposed to be
11detached or annexed, then the petition must may be signed by
12all 50% of the owners of record of the real estate of the
13territory. Petitions must contain all of the elements set forth
14in subsection (a) of Section 7-1 of this Code.
15    Where there is only one school building in an approved
16operating school district, the building and building site may
17not be included in any detachment proceeding unless the
18petition is signed by 2/3 of the eligible voters within the
19entire district wherein the school is located.
20(Source: Laws 1967, p. 2540.)
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/7-2.5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-2.5)
22    Sec. 7-2.5. If no objection to the dissolution annexation
23or detachment of territory, prayed for in a petition under
24Section 7-2.4 of this Code , is filed with the special charter
25school district or with the regional board of school trustees

 

 

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1within 30 days after notice of the filing of such petition for
2annexation or detachment is given to each district affected,
3the dissolution annexation or detachment of territory takes
4effect, subject to Section 7-9 of this Code Act. However, if an
5objection to the proposed dissolution annexation or detachment
6of territory is filed with either the special charter district
7or the regional board of school trustees, the regional board of
8school trustees, within 15 days after receiving the objection,
9shall appoint 2 legal resident voters from the district or
10districts under its their jurisdiction and involved in the
11proposed dissolution annexation or detachment of territory,
12subject to the approval of the boards of education of the
13districts involved in the proposed dissolution or detachment of
14territory affected, and the board or governing body of the
15special charter district shall appoint 2 legal resident voters
16from the special charter district. Those 4 appointees shall
17meet within 20 days of their appointment and by a majority vote
18select 3 persons who reside outside the jurisdiction of the
19districts involved in affected by the proposed dissolution
20annexation or detachment of territory and who have a
21demonstrated interest and background in education. If a
22majority of the original 4 appointees cannot agree on the
23selection of the 3 additional members within 20 days of their
24appointment, the State Board of Education shall select the 3
25additional persons, subject to the same criteria as required
26when selection is by the 4 appointees. The 4 appointees and the

 

 

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13 additional persons selected under this Section constitute the
2Hearing Board and 4 members shall constitute a quorum.
3    Within 10 days after the Hearing Board has been selected
4the regional superintendent of schools of the region in which
5the special charter district is located shall call an
6organization meeting of said Hearing Board.
7(Source: P.A. 81-1508.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/7-2.6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-2.6)
9    Sec. 7-2.6. At its organization meeting, the Hearing Board
10shall choose from its membership a chairman and a secretary.
11The secretary shall cause a copy of such petition to be sent to
12the president of the school each board of each detaching or
13dissolving and annexing school district any district involved
14in the proposed boundary change, and shall cause a notice
15thereof to be published once in a newspaper having general
16circulation within the area of the detaching or dissolving and
17annexing territory described in the petition for the proposed
18change of boundaries. The petitioners shall pay the expenses of
19publishing the notice and of any transcript taken at the
20hearing and mailing the final order. In case of an appeal from
21the decision of the Hearing Board, the appellants shall pay the
22cost of preparing the record for appeal. The notice must state
23when the petition was filed, the description of the detaching
24territory or name of the dissolving district, the name of the
25annexing district, the prayer of the petition, and the day and

 

 

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1time on and location in which the hearing upon the petition
2will be held, which day may not be more than 30 15 nor less than
315 calendar 10 days after the publication of notice. Any
4additional expense not enumerated above shall be borne equally
5by the school districts involved.
6    The Hearing Board shall hear the petition and determine the
7sufficiency thereof and may adjourn the hearing from time to
8time or continue the matter for want of sufficient notice or
9for other good cause. The Hearing Board (a) shall hear evidence
10as to the school needs and conditions of the territory in the
11area within and adjacent thereto, and as to the ability of the
12districts affected to meet the standards of recognition as
13prescribed by the State Board of Education, (b) shall take into
14consideration the division of funds and assets which will
15result from any change of boundaries, and the will of the
16people of the area affected, and (c) shall determine whether it
17is to the best interests of the schools of the area and the
18educational welfare of the pupils should such change in
19boundaries be granted.
20    The Hearing Board may administer oaths, determine the
21admissibility of evidence, and issue subpoenas for the
22attendance of witnesses and subpoena duces tecum for the
23production of documents. At the hearing, any resident in the
24territory prescribed in the petition, or any resident in any
25detaching, dissolving, or annexing school district or any
26representative of a detaching, dissolving, or annexing school

 

 

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1district affected by the proposed change of boundaries, may
2appear in person or by attorney in support of the petition or
3to object to the granting of the petition and may present give
4evidence in support of his or her position through either oral
5or written testimony. At the conclusion of the hearing, the
6Hearing Board shall, within 30 days, enter an order either
7granting or denying the petition. The Hearing Board shall
8deliver a certified copy of the order by certified mail, return
9receipt requested, and shall deliver to the petitioners; the
10president of the school board of each detaching or dissolving
11and annexing district; any person providing testimony in
12support of or opposition to the petition at the hearing; , to
13all affected districts, to any person who has filed his or her
14appearance in writing at the hearing or to any attorney who
15appears for any person; , to any objector who testified at such
16hearing, and to the regional superintendent of schools who has
17supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this
18Code, of each detaching or dissolving and annexing district of
19each region in which the territory or any district affected
20lies, a certified copy of its order by registered mail. The
21Hearing Board is not required to send a copy of the Hearing
22Board's order to those attending the hearing but not
23participating. The final order shall be in writing and include
24findings of fact, conclusions of law, and the decision to grant
25or deny the petition.
26    Within 10 days after service of the certified copy of the

 

 

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1order granting or denying the petition, any person so served
2may petition for rehearing and upon sufficient cause being
3shown, the Hearing Board may grant a rehearing. The petition
4for rehearing shall specify the reason for the request. The
5Hearing Board shall first determine whether there is sufficient
6cause for a rehearing. If so determined, then the Hearing Board
7shall allow the petition to be heard anew in its entirety in
8accordance with all procedures in this Section. The party
9requesting a rehearing shall pay the expenses of publishing the
10notice and of any transcript taken at the hearing. The filing
11of a petition for rehearing operates as a stay of enforcement
12until the Hearing Board board enters its final order on that
13petition for rehearing.
14(Source: P.A. 84-551.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/7-2.7)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-2.7)
16    Sec. 7-2.7. The decision of the Hearing Board under Section
177-2.6 is an "administrative decision" as defined in Section
183-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and any resident, who
19appears at the hearings, or any petitioner, or board of
20education entitled to receive a certified copy of the Hearing
21Board's order of any district affected, may, within 35 days
22after a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served
23by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon the resident,
24petitioner, or board of education, registered mail upon the
25party affected thereby, file a complaint for a judicial review

 

 

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1of that decision in accordance with the Administrative Review
2Law and the rules adopted pursuant thereto. The commencement of
3any action for judicial review operates as a stay of
4enforcement, and no further proceedings must not may be had
5until final disposition of such review. Any change in
6boundaries resulting from the proceedings under Sections 7-2.4
7through 7-2.7 takes effect on the date determined pursuant to
8Section 7-9 of this Code Act.
9(Source: P.A. 84-551.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/7-4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-4)
11    Sec. 7-4. Requirements for granting petitions. No petition
12shall be granted under Section 7-1 or 7-2 of this Code:
13    (a) If there will be any non-high school territory
14resulting from the granting of the petition.
15    (b) (Blank). Unless after granting the petition any
16community unit district, community consolidated district,
17elementary district or high school district created shall have
18a population of at least 2,000 and an equalized assessed
19valuation of at least $6,000,000 based upon the last value as
20equalized by the Department of Revenue as of the date of filing
21of the petition.
22    (c) Unless the territory within any district so created or
23any district whose boundaries are affected by the granting of a
24petition shall after the granting thereof be compact and
25contiguous, except as provided in Section 7-6 of this Code or

 

 

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1as otherwise provided in this subdivision (c). The fact that a
2district is divided by territory lying within the corporate
3limits of the city of Chicago shall not render it non-compact
4or non-contiguous. If, pursuant to a petition filed under
5Section 7-1 or 7-2 of this Code, all of the territory of a
6district is to be annexed to another district, then the
7annexing district and the annexed district need not be
8contiguous if the following requirements are met and documented
9within 2 calendar years prior to the petition filing date:
10        (1) the distance between each district administrative
11    office is documented as no more than 30 miles;
12        (2) every district contiguous to the district wishing
13    to be annexed determines that it is not interested in
14    participating in a petition filed under Section 7-1 or 7-2
15    of this Code, through a vote of its school board, and
16    documents that non-interest in a letter to the regional
17    board of school trustees containing approved minutes that
18    record the school board vote; and
19        (3) documentation of meeting these requirements are
20    presented as evidence at the hearing required under Section
21    7-6 of this Code.
22    (d) (Blank). To create any school district with a
23population of less than 2,000 unless the State Board of
24Education and the regional superintendent of schools for the
25region in which the proposed district will lie shall certify to
26the regional board or boards of school trustees that the

 

 

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1creation of such new district will not interfere with the
2ultimate reorganization of the territory of such proposed
3district as a part of a district having a population of 2,000
4or more. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article,
5the granting or approval by a regional board or regional boards
6of school trustees or by the State Superintendent of Education
7of a petition that under subsection (b-5) of Section 7-6 is
8required to request the submission of a proposition at a
9regular scheduled election for the purpose of voting for or
10against the annexation of the territory described in the
11petition to the school district proposing to annex that
12territory is subject to, and any change in school district
13boundaries pursuant to the granting of the petition shall not
14be made except upon, approval of the proposition at the
15election in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7.
16(Source: P.A. 98-125, eff. 8-2-13.)
 
17    (105 ILCS 5/7-4.1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-4.1)
18    Sec. 7-4.1. Copies of petition. Each petition submitted
19under the provisions of Section 7-1 of this Code or 7-2 shall
20include proof of notice to owners of record of real estate with
21no legal resident voters in any territory proposed to be
22detached, if applicable, and be accompanied by sufficient
23copies thereof for distribution to the president of the school
24board of each detaching or dissolving and annexing school
25district involved. The copies need not contain original

 

 

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1signatures be signed by the petitioners as is required of the
2original petition.
3(Source: Laws 1963, p. 3037.)
 
4    (105 ILCS 5/7-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-5)
5    Sec. 7-5. Detachment set aside upon petition. If there is a
6recognized school district which as a result of detachment is
7without a school building, the detachment may be set aside by
8the regional county board of school trustees of the region in
9county over which the regional county superintendent of schools
10had supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of
11this Code, prior to the detachment upon petition by two-thirds
12of the eligible voters in the school district after such
13detachment and the detached area. The regional county board of
14school trustees shall conduct a hearing upon the petition as
15prescribed and in the manner provided in Section 7-6 of this
16Code.
17(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/7-6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-6)
19    Sec. 7-6. Petition filing; notice; hearing; decision.
20    (a) The secretary of the regional board of school trustees
21or his or her designee, the chief administrative officer of an
22educational service center under Section 7-04 of this Code or
23his or her designee, or the person designated by the trustees
24of schools of the township in accordance with subsection (a-10)

 

 

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1of Section 7-04 of this Code, as appropriate, shall receive the
2filing of the petition, make the determination of validity in
3accordance with subsection (a) of Section 7-1 of this Section,
4publish the notice, conduct the hearing, and issue the final
5order. Upon the filing of a petition with the secretary of the
6regional board of school trustees under the provisions of
7Section 7-1 or 7-2 of this Code, Act the secretary shall cause
8a copy of such petition to be given to the president of the
9school each board of each detaching or dissolving and annexing
10school any district involved in the proposed boundary change
11and shall cause a notice thereof to be published once in a
12newspaper having general circulation within the area of the
13detaching or dissolving and annexing territory described in the
14petition for the proposed change of boundaries.
15    (b) (Blank). When a joint hearing is required under the
16provisions of Section 7-2, the secretary also shall cause a
17copy of the notice to be sent to the regional board of school
18trustees of each region affected. Notwithstanding the
19foregoing provisions of this Section, if the secretary of the
20regional board of school trustees with whom a petition is filed
21under Section 7-2 fails, within 30 days after the filing of
22such petition, to cause notice thereof to be published and sent
23as required by this Section, then the secretary of the regional
24board of school trustees of any other region affected may cause
25the required notice to be published and sent, and the joint
26hearing may be held in any region affected as provided in the

 

 

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1notice so published.
2    (b-5) If a petition filed under subsection (a) of Section
37-1 of this Code or under Section 7-2 proposes to annex all the
4territory of a school district to another school district, the
5petition shall request the submission of a proposition at a
6regular scheduled election for the purpose of voting for or
7against the annexation of the territory described in the
8petition to the school district proposing to annex that
9territory. No petition filed or election held under this
10Article shall be null and void, invalidated, or deemed in
11noncompliance with the Election Code because of a failure to
12publish a notice with respect to the petition or referendum as
13required under subsection (g) of Section 28-2 of that Code for
14petitions that are not filed under this Article or Article 11E
15of this Code.
16    (c) When a petition contains more than 10 signatures the
17petition shall designate a committee of 10 of the petitioners
18as attorney in fact for all petitioners, any 7 of whom may make
19binding stipulations on behalf of all petitioners as to any
20question with respect to the petition or hearing or joint
21hearing, and the regional board of school trustees, or regional
22boards of school trustees in cases of a joint hearing may
23accept such stipulation in lieu of evidence or proof of the
24matter stipulated. The committee of petitioners shall have the
25same power to stipulate to accountings or waiver thereof
26between school districts; however, the regional board of school

 

 

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1trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases of a
2joint hearing may refuse to accept such stipulation. Those
3designated as the committee of 10 shall serve in that capacity
4until such time as the regional superintendent of schools or
5the committee of 10 determines that, because of death,
6resignation, transfer of residency from the territory, or
7failure to qualify, the office of a particular member of the
8committee of 10 is vacant. Upon determination that a vacancy
9exists, the remaining members shall appoint a petitioner to
10fill the designated vacancy on the committee of 10. The
11appointment of any new members by the committee of 10 shall be
12made by a simple majority vote of the remaining designated
13members.
14    (d) The petition may be amended to withdraw not to exceed a
15total of 10% of the territory in the petition at any time prior
16to the hearing or joint hearing; provided that the petition
17shall after amendment comply with the requirements as to the
18number of signatures required on an original petition.
19    (e) The petitioners shall pay the expenses of publishing
20the notice and of any transcript taken at the hearing and
21mailing the final order or joint hearing; and, in case of an
22appeal from the decision of the regional board of school
23trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases of a
24joint hearing, or State Superintendent of Education in cases
25determined under subsection (l) of this Section, the appellants
26shall pay the cost of preparing the record for appeal. The

 

 

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1regional superintendent of schools with whom the petition is
2filed may request a deposit at the time of filing to cover
3expenses as provided in this subsection (e).
4    (f) The notice shall state when the petition was filed, the
5description of the detaching territory or name of the
6dissolving district, the name of the annexing district, the
7prayer of the petition, and the return day and time on and
8location in which the hearing or joint hearing upon the
9petition will be held, which shall not be more than 30 15 nor
10less than 15 calendar 10 days after the publication of notice.
11    (g) Prior to the hearing, the secretary of the regional
12board of school trustees shall submit to the regional board of
13school trustees maps showing the districts involved and a
14written report of the financial and educational conditions of
15the districts involved and the probable effect of the proposed
16changes. The reports and maps submitted must be made a part of
17the record of the proceedings of the regional board of school
18trustees. A copy of the report and maps submitted must be sent
19by the secretary of the regional board of school trustees to
20the president of the school board of each detaching or
21dissolving and annexing school district not less than 5 days
22prior to the day upon which the hearing is to be held. On such
23return day or on a day to which the regional board of school
24trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases of a
25joint hearing shall continue the hearing or joint hearing the
26regional board of school trustees, or regional boards of school

 

 

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1trustees in cases of a joint hearing shall hear the petition
2but may adjourn the hearing or joint hearing from time to time
3or may continue the matter for want of sufficient notice or
4other good cause.
5    (h) On the hearing day or on a day to which the regional
6board of school trustees shall continue the hearing, the
7regional board of school trustees shall hear the petition but
8may adjourn the hearing from time to time or may continue the
9matter for want of sufficient notice or other good cause. Prior
10to the hearing or joint hearing the secretary of the regional
11board of school trustees shall submit to the regional board of
12school trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases
13of a joint hearing maps showing the districts involved, a
14written report of financial and educational conditions of
15districts involved and the probable effect of the proposed
16changes. The reports and maps submitted shall be made a part of
17the record of the proceedings of the regional board of school
18trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases of a
19joint hearing. A copy of the report and maps submitted shall be
20sent by the secretary of the regional board of school trustees
21to each board of the districts involved, not less than 5 days
22prior to the day upon which the hearing or joint hearing is to
23be held.
24    (h-5) Except for motions and briefs challenging the
25validity of a petition or otherwise challenging the
26jurisdiction of the regional board of school trustees to

 

 

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1conduct a hearing on a petition and except for motions and
2briefs related to the type of evidence the regional board of
3school trustees may consider under subsection (i) of this
4Section, no other motions, pleadings, briefs, discovery
5requests, or other like documents may be filed with the
6regional board of school trustees or served on other parties,
7and the regional board of school trustees shall have no
8authority to consider such documents, except that if a legal
9issue arises during a hearing, then the regional board of
10school trustees may, at its discretion, request briefs to be
11submitted to it on that issue.
12    (i) The regional board of school trustees shall hear
13evidence as to the school needs and conditions of the territory
14in the area within and adjacent thereto and the effect
15detachment will have on those needs and conditions and as to
16the ability of the detaching or dissolving and annexing school
17districts to meet the standards of recognition as prescribed by
18the State Board of Education, shall take into consideration the
19division of funds and assets that will result from the change
20of boundaries, and shall determine whether it is in the best
21interests of the schools of the area and the direct educational
22welfare of the pupils that such change in boundaries be
23granted. If non-high school territory is contained in the
24petition, the normal high school attendance pattern of the
25pupils must be taken into consideration. However, upon
26resolution by the regional board of school trustees, the

 

 

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1secretary thereof shall conduct the hearing upon any boundary
2petition and present a transcript of such hearing to the
3trustees, who shall base their decision upon the transcript,
4maps, and information and any presentation of counsel. The
5regional board of school trustees or regional boards of school
6trustees in cases of a joint hearing shall hear evidence as to
7the school needs and conditions of the territory in the area
8within and adjacent thereto and the effect detachment will have
9on those needs and conditions and as to the ability of the
10districts affected to meet the standards of recognition as
11prescribed by the State Board of Education, and shall take into
12consideration the division of funds and assets which will
13result from the change of boundaries and shall determine
14whether it is to the best interests of the schools of the area
15and the direct educational welfare of the pupils that such
16change in boundaries be granted, and in case non-high school
17territory is contained in the petition the normal high school
18attendance pattern of the children shall be taken into
19consideration. If the non-high school territory overlies an
20elementary district, a part of which is in a high school
21district, such territory may be annexed to such high school
22district even though not contiguous to the high school
23district. However, upon resolution by the regional board of
24school trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases
25of a joint hearing the secretary or secretaries thereof shall
26conduct the hearing or joint hearing upon any boundary petition

 

 

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1and present a transcript of such hearing to the trustees who
2shall base their decision upon the transcript, maps and
3information and any presentation of counsel. In the instance of
4a change of boundaries through detachment:
5        (1) When considering the effect the detachment will
6    have on the direct educational welfare of the pupils, the
7    regional board of school trustees or the regional boards of
8    school trustees shall consider a comparison of the school
9    report cards for the schools of the detaching and annexing
10    affected districts and the school district report cards for
11    the detaching and annexing affected districts only if there
12    is no more than a 3% difference in the minority,
13    low-income, and English learner student populations of the
14    relevant schools of the districts.
15        (2) The community of interest of the petitioners and
16    their children and the effect detachment will have on the
17    whole child may be considered only if the regional board of
18    school trustees or the regional boards of school trustees
19    first determines determine that there would be a
20    significant direct educational benefit to the petitioners'
21    children if the change in boundaries were allowed.
22        (3) When petitioners cite an annexing district
23    attendance center or centers in the petition or during
24    testimony, the regional board of school trustees or the
25    regional boards of school trustees may consider the
26    difference in the distances from the detaching area to the

 

 

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1    current attendance centers and the cited annexing district
2    attendance centers only if the difference is no less than
3    10 miles shorter to one of the cited annexing district
4    attendance centers than it is to the corresponding current
5    attendance center.
6        (4) The regional board of school trustees or the
7    regional boards of school trustees may not grant a petition
8    if doing so will increase the percentage of minority or
9    low-income students or English learners by more than 3% at
10    the attendance center where students in the detaching
11    territory currently attend, provided that if the
12    percentage of any one of those groups also decreases at
13    that attendance center, the regional board or boards may
14    grant the petition upon consideration of other factors
15    under this Section and this Article.
16        (5) The regional board of school trustees or the
17    regional boards of school trustees may not consider whether
18    changing the boundaries will increase the property values
19    of the petitioners' property.
20    The factors in subdivisions (1) through (5) of this
21subsection (i) are applicable whether or not there are children
22residing in the petitioning area at the time the hearing is
23conducted.
24    If the regional board of school trustees or the regional
25boards of school trustees grants a petition to change school
26district boundaries, then the annexing school district shall

 

 

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1determine the attendance center or centers that children from
2the petitioning area shall attend.
3    (j) At the hearing, or joint hearing any resident of the
4territory described in the petition or any resident in any
5detaching, dissolving, or annexing school district or any
6representative of a detaching, dissolving, or annexing school
7district affected by the proposed change of boundaries may
8appear in person or by an attorney in support of the petition
9or to object to the granting of the petition and may present
10evidence in support of his or her position through either oral
11or written testimony.
12    (k) At the conclusion of the hearing, the regional
13superintendent of schools as secretary to the regional board of
14school trustees shall, within 30 days, enter an order either
15granting or denying the petition. The regional superintendent
16of schools shall deliver a certified copy of the order by
17certified mail, return receipt requested, to the petitioners or
18committee of petitioners, as applicable; the president of the
19school board of each detaching or dissolving and annexing
20district; any person providing testimony in support of or
21opposition to the petition at the hearing; and any attorney who
22appears for a person. The regional superintendent of schools
23shall also deliver a copy of the order to the regional
24superintendent of schools who has supervision and control, as
25defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the annexing
26district if different from the regional superintendent of

 

 

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1schools with whom the petition was filed. The regional
2superintendent of schools is not required to send a copy of the
3regional board of school trustees' order to those attending the
4hearing but not participating. The final order shall be in
5writing and include findings of fact, conclusions of law, and
6the decision to grant or deny the petition. At the conclusion
7of the hearing, other than a joint hearing, the regional
8superintendent of schools as ex officio member of the regional
9board of school trustees shall within 30 days enter an order
10either granting or denying the petition and shall deliver to
11the committee of petitioners, if any, and any person who has
12filed his appearance in writing at the hearing and any attorney
13who appears for any person and any objector who testifies at
14the hearing and the regional superintendent of schools a
15certified copy of its order.
16    (l) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
17Section, if within 12 9 months after a petition is submitted
18under the provisions of Section 7-1 of this Code the petition
19is not approved or denied by the regional board of school
20trustees and the order approving or denying that petition
21entered and a copy thereof served as provided in this Section,
22petitioners the school boards or registered voters of the
23districts affected that submitted the petition (or the
24committee of 10, or an attorney acting on its behalf, if
25designated in the petition) may submit a copy of the petition
26directly to the State Superintendent of Education for approval

 

 

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1or denial. The copy of the petition as so submitted shall be
2accompanied by a record of all proceedings had with respect to
3the petition up to the time the copy of the petition is
4submitted to the State Superintendent of Education (including a
5copy of any notice given or published, any certificate or other
6proof of publication, copies of any maps or written report of
7the financial and educational conditions of the school
8districts affected if furnished by the secretary of the
9regional board of school trustees, copies of any amendments to
10the petition and stipulations made, accepted or refused, a
11transcript of any hearing or part of a hearing held, continued
12or adjourned on the petition, and any orders entered with
13respect to the petition or any hearing held thereon). The
14petitioners school boards, registered voters or committee of 10
15submitting the petition and record of proceedings to the State
16Superintendent of Education shall give written notice by
17certified mail, return receipt requested, to the regional board
18of school trustees and to the secretary of that board and to
19the detaching or dissolving and annexing school districts that
20the petition has been submitted to the State Superintendent of
21Education for approval or denial, and shall furnish a copy of
22the notice so given to the State Superintendent of Education.
23The cost of assembling the record of proceedings for submission
24to the State Superintendent of Education shall be the
25responsibility of the petitioners that submit school boards,
26registered voters or committee of 10 that submits the petition

 

 

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1and record of proceedings to the State Superintendent of
2Education. When a petition is submitted to the State
3Superintendent of Education in accordance with the provisions
4of this paragraph:
5        (1) The regional board of school trustees loses all
6    jurisdiction over the petition and shall have no further
7    authority to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
8    respect to the petition.
9        (2) All jurisdiction over the petition and the right
10    and duty to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
11    respect to the petition is transferred to and shall be
12    assumed and exercised by the State Superintendent of
13    Education.
14        (3) The State Superintendent of Education shall not be
15    required to repeat any proceedings that were conducted in
16    accordance with the provisions of this Section prior to the
17    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to him,
18    but the State Superintendent of Education shall be required
19    to give and publish any notices and hold or complete any
20    hearings that were not given, held or completed by the
21    regional board of school trustees or its secretary as
22    required by this Section prior to the time jurisdiction
23    over the petition is transferred to the State
24    Superintendent of Education.
25        (4) If so directed by the State Superintendent of
26    Education, the regional superintendent of schools shall

 

 

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1    submit to the State Superintendent of Education and to such
2    school boards as the State Superintendent of Education
3    shall prescribe accurate maps and a written report of the
4    financial and educational conditions of the districts
5    affected and the probable effect of the proposed boundary
6    changes.
7        (5) The State Superintendent is authorized to conduct
8    further hearings, or appoint a hearing officer to conduct
9    further hearings, on the petition even though a hearing
10    thereon was held as provided in this Section prior to the
11    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to the
12    State Superintendent of Education.
13        (6) The State Superintendent of Education or the
14    hearing officer shall hear evidence and approve or deny the
15    petition and shall enter an order to that effect and
16    deliver and serve the same as required in other cases to be
17    done by the regional board of school trustees and the
18    regional superintendent of schools as secretary an ex
19    officio member of that board.
20    (m) (Blank). Within 10 days after the conclusion of a joint
21hearing required under the provisions of Section 7-2, each
22regional board of school trustees shall meet together and
23render a decision with regard to the joint hearing on the
24petition. If the regional boards of school trustees fail to
25enter a joint order either granting or denying the petition,
26the regional superintendent of schools for the educational

 

 

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1service region in which the joint hearing is held shall enter
2an order denying the petition, and within 30 days after the
3conclusion of the joint hearing shall deliver a copy of the
4order denying the petition to the regional boards of school
5trustees of each region affected, to the committee of
6petitioners, if any, to any person who has filed his appearance
7in writing at the hearing and to any attorney who appears for
8any person at the joint hearing. If the regional boards of
9school trustees enter a joint order either granting or denying
10the petition, the regional superintendent of schools for the
11educational service region in which the joint hearing is held
12shall, within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing, deliver
13a copy of the joint order to those same committees and persons
14as are entitled to receive copies of the regional
15superintendent's order in cases where the regional boards of
16school trustees have failed to enter a joint order.
17    (n) Within 10 days after service of a copy of the order
18granting or denying the petition, any person so served may
19petition for a rehearing and, upon sufficient cause being
20shown, a rehearing may be granted. The petition for rehearing
21shall specify the reason for the request. The regional board of
22school trustees shall first determine whether there is
23sufficient cause for a rehearing. If so determined, then the
24regional board of school trustees shall allow the petition to
25be heard anew in its entirety in accordance with all procedures
26in this Article. The party requesting a rehearing shall pay the

 

 

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1expenses of publishing the notice and of any transcript taken
2at the hearing. The filing of a petition for rehearing shall
3operate as a stay of enforcement until the regional board of
4school trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases
5of a joint hearing, or State Superintendent of Education in
6cases determined under subsection (l) of this Section enters
7enter the final order on such petition for rehearing.
8    (o) If a petition filed under subsection (a) of Section 7-1
9or under Section 7-2 is required under the provisions of
10subsection (b-5) of this Section 7-6 to request submission of a
11proposition at a regular scheduled election for the purpose of
12voting for or against the annexation of the territory described
13in the petition to the school district proposing to annex that
14territory, and if the petition is granted or approved by the
15regional board or regional boards of school trustees or by the
16State Superintendent of Education, the proposition shall be
17placed on the ballot at the next regular scheduled election.
18(Source: P.A. 99-475, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
19    (105 ILCS 5/7-7)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-7)
20    Sec. 7-7. Administrative Review Law. The decision of the
21regional board of school trustees, or the decision of the
22regional boards of school trustees following a joint hearing,
23or the decision of the State Superintendent of Education in
24cases determined pursuant to subsection (l) of Section 7-6 of
25this Code , shall be deemed an "administrative decision" as

 

 

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1defined in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure; and
2any resident, who appears at the hearing or any petitioner, or
3board of education entitled to receive a certified copy of the
4regional board of school trustees' order of any district
5affected may, within 35 days after a copy of the decision
6sought to be reviewed was served by certified mail, return
7receipt requested, registered mail upon the resident,
8petitioner, or board of education, the party affected thereby
9file a complaint for a judicial review of such decision in
10accordance with the Administrative Review Law and the rules
11adopted pursuant thereto. The commencement of any action for
12judicial review shall operate as a stay of enforcement, and no
13further proceedings shall be had until final disposition of
14such review. If the transcript of the hearing is required to be
15presented to another county board of school trustees the time
16within which a complaint for review must be filed shall not
17begin to run until the decision of the regional board of school
18trustees hearing the petition has been granted or denied by the
19regional board of school trustees conducting a hearing on the
20transcript. The circuit court of the county in which the
21dissolving district or detaching territory is located petition
22is filed with the regional board of school trustees shall have
23sole jurisdiction to entertain a complaint for such review when
24only one regional board of school trustees must act; however,
25when the regional boards of school trustees act following a
26joint hearing, the circuit court of the county in which the

 

 

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1joint hearing on the original petition is conducted shall have
2sole jurisdiction of the complaint for such review. In
3instances in which the dissolving district or detaching
4territory overlies more than one county, the circuit court of
5the county where a majority of the territory of the dissolving
6district or a majority of the territory of the detaching
7territory is located shall have sole jurisdiction to entertain
8a complaint for such review.
9(Source: P.A. 87-210.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/7-8)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-8)
11    Sec. 7-8. Limitation on successive petitions. No
12territory, nor any part thereof, which is involved in any
13proceeding to change the boundaries of a school district by
14detachment or dissolution from or annexation to such school
15district of such territory, and which, after a hearing on the
16merits of the petition or referendum vote, is not so detached
17or dissolved nor annexed, shall be again involved in
18proceedings to change the boundaries of such school district
19for at least 2 years after final determination of such first
20proceeding, unless during that 2-year period a petition filed
21is substantially different than any other previously filed
22petition during the previous 2 years or if a school district
23involved is identified as a priority district under Section
242-3.25d-5 of this Code, is placed on the financial watch list
25by the State Board of Education, or is certified as being in

 

 

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1financial difficulty during that 2-year period or if such first
2proceeding involved a petition brought under Section 7-2b of
3this Article 7. The 2-year period is counted beginning from the
4date of a final administrative decision after all appeal
5timelines have run, upon final court order after all appeal
6timelines have run, or upon the certification of the election
7results in the event of a dissolution. The 2-year period is 2
8calendar years.
9(Source: P.A. 99-193, eff. 7-30-15.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/7-9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-9)
11    Sec. 7-9. Effective date of change. In case a petition is
12filed for the creation of or the change of boundaries of or for
13an election to vote upon a proposition of creating or annexing
14territory to a school district after August 1, as provided in
15this Article, and the change is granted or the election
16carries, and no appeal is taken such change shall become
17effective after the time for appeal has run for the purpose of
18all elections; however, the change shall not affect the
19administration of the schools until July 1 following the date
20the petition is granted or upon which the election is held and
21the school boards of the districts as they existed prior to the
22change shall exercise the same power and authority over such
23territory until such date; however, new districts shall be
24permitted to organize and elect officers within the time
25prescribed by the general election law. In the event that the

 

 

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1granting of a petition has become final, either through failure
2to seek Administrative Review, or by the final decision of a
3court on review if no further appeal is taken, or upon
4certification of election results in the event of a
5dissolution, the change in boundaries shall become effective
6the following July 1 forthwith. The school boards of the
7districts as they existed prior to the change shall exercise
8the same power and authority over such territory until such
9date, unless However, if the granting of the petition becomes
10final between September 1 and June 30 of any year, the
11administration of and attendance at the schools shall not be
12affected until the following July 1, when the change in
13boundaries shall become effective for all purposes. After the
14granting of a petition has become final, the date when the
15change shall become effective for purposes of administration
16and attendance may be accelerated or postponed by stipulation
17of each of the school boards of each detaching or dissolving
18and annexing school district and approval affected and approved
19by the regional board of school trustees or by the board of a
20special charter district with which the original petition is
21required to be filed.
22(Source: P.A. 90-459, eff. 8-17-97.)
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/7-10)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-10)
24    Sec. 7-10. Map showing change; filed change-Filed. Within
2530 thirty days after the boundaries of any school district have

 

 

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1been changed, or a new district created under any of the
2provisions of this Article the regional county superintendent
3of schools of any county involved shall make and file with the
4county clerk or clerks of his county a map of any detaching,
5dissolving, or annexing school districts, involved in any
6change of boundaries or creation of a new district whereupon
7the county clerks shall extend taxes against the territory in
8accordance therewith; provided : Provided that if an action to
9review such decision under Section 7-7 of this Code is taken,
10the regional superintendent of schools County Superintendent
11of Schools shall not file the map with the county clerk until
12after he or she is served with a certified copy of the order of
13the final disposition of such review.
14(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/7-10.5 new)
16    Sec. 7-10.5. Teacher transfer. When dissolution and
17annexation become effective for purposes of administration and
18attendance as determined pursuant to Section 7-9 or 7-11 of
19this Code, as applicable, the positions of teachers in
20contractual continued service in the district being dissolved
21are transferred to an annexing district or to annexing
22districts pursuant to the provisions of subsection (h) of
23Section 24-11 of this Code relative to teachers having
24contractual continued service status whose positions are
25transferred from one school board to the control of a different

 

 

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1school board, and those said provisions of subsection (h) of
2Section 24-11 of this Code shall apply to the transferred
3teachers. In the event that the territory is added to 2 or more
4districts, the decision on which positions are to be
5transferred to which annexing districts must be made giving
6consideration to the proportionate percentage of pupils
7transferred and the annexing districts' staffing needs, and the
8transfer of specific individuals into such positions must be
9based upon the request of those teachers in order of seniority
10in the dissolving district. The contractual continued service
11status of any teacher thereby transferred to an annexing
12district is not lost and the different school board is subject
13to this Code with respect to the transferred teacher in the
14same manner as if the teacher was that district's employee and
15had been its employee during the time the teacher was actually
16employed by the school board of the dissolving district from
17which the position was transferred.
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/7-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-11)
19    Sec. 7-11. Annexation of dissolved non-operating
20districts. If any school district has become dissolved as
21provided in Section 5-32 of this Code, or if a petition for
22dissolution is filed under subsection (b) of Section 7-2a of
23this Code, the regional board of school trustees shall attach
24the territory of such dissolved district to one or more
25districts and, if the territory is added to 2 or more

 

 

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1districts, shall divide the property of the dissolved district
2among the districts to which its territory is added, in the
3manner provided for the division of property in case of the
4organization of a new district from a part of another district.
5The regional board of school trustees of the region in which
6the regional superintendent has supervision and control, as
7defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, over the school
8district that is dissolved shall have all power necessary to
9annex the territory of the dissolved district as provided in
10this Section, including the power to attach the territory to a
11school district under the supervision and control of the
12regional superintendent of another educational service region
13and, in the case of Leepertown CCSD 175, the power to attach
14the territory to a non-contiguous school district if deemed in
15the best interests of the schools of the area and the
16educational welfare of the pupils involved. The annexation of
17the territory of a dissolved school district under this Section
18shall entitle the school districts involved in the annexation
19to payments from the State Board of Education in the same
20manner and to the same extent authorized in the case of other
21annexations under this Article. Other provisions of this
22Article 7 of this The School Code shall apply to and govern
23dissolutions and annexations under this Section and Section
247-2a of this Code, except that it is the intent of the General
25Assembly that in the case of conflict the provisions of this
26Section and Section 7-2a of this Code shall control over the

 

 

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1other provisions of this Article.
2    The regional board of school trustees shall give notice of
3a hearing, to be held not less than 50 days nor more than 70
4days after a school district is dissolved under Section 5-32 of
5this Code or a petition is filed under subsection (b) of
6Section 7-2a of this Code, on the disposition of the territory
7of such school district by publishing a notice thereof at least
8once each week for 2 successive weeks in at least one newspaper
9having a general circulation within the area of the territory
10involved. At such hearing, the regional board of school
11trustees shall hear evidence as to the school needs and
12conditions of the territory and of the area within and adjacent
13thereto, and shall take into consideration the educational
14welfare of the pupils of the territory and the normal high
15school attendance pattern of the children. In the case of an
16elementary school district, except for Leepertown CCSD 175, if
17all the eighth grade graduates of such district customarily
18attend high school in the same high school district, the
19regional board of school trustees shall, unless it be
20impossible because of the restrictions of a special charter
21district, annex the territory of the district to a contiguous
22elementary school district whose eighth grade graduates
23customarily attend that high school, and that has an elementary
24school building nearest to the center of the territory to be
25annexed, but if such eighth grade graduates customarily attend
26more than one high school the regional board of school trustees

 

 

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1shall determine the attendance pattern of such graduates and
2divide the territory of the district among the contiguous
3elementary districts whose graduates attend the same
4respective high schools.
5    At the conclusion of the hearing, the regional
6superintendent of schools, as secretary to the regional board
7of school trustees, shall, within 10 days, enter an order
8detailing the annexation of the dissolved district. The
9regional superintendent of schools shall deliver a certified
10copy of the order by certified mail, return receipt requested,
11to the petitioners or committee of petitioners, as applicable;
12the president of the school board of each dissolving and
13annexing district; any person providing testimony in support of
14or opposition to the petition at the hearing; and any attorney
15who appears for any person. The regional superintendent of
16schools shall also deliver a copy of the order to the regional
17superintendent of schools who has supervision and control, as
18defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the annexing
19district, if different from the regional superintendent of
20schools with whom the petition was filed. The regional
21superintendent of schools is not required to send a copy of the
22regional board of school trustees' order to those attending the
23hearing but not participating. The final order shall be in
24writing and include findings of fact, conclusions of law, and
25the annexation decision. The decision of the regional board of
26school trustees shall be The decision of the regional board of

 

 

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1school trustees in such matter shall be issued within 10 days
2after the conclusion of the hearing and deemed an
3"administrative decision" as defined in Section 3-101 of the
4Code of Civil Procedure, and any resident, who appears at the
5hearing or any petitioner, or school board entitled to receive
6a certified copy of the regional board of school trustees'
7order may, within 10 days after a copy of the decision sought
8to be reviewed was served by certified mail, return receipt
9requested, registered mail upon the resident, petitioner, or
10school board, the party affected thereby file a complaint for
11the judicial review of such decision in accordance with the
12"Administrative Review Law", and all amendments and
13modifications thereof and the rules adopted pursuant thereto.
14The commencement of any action for review shall operate as a
15stay of enforcement, and no further proceedings shall be had
16until final disposition of such review. The final decision of
17the regional board of school trustees or of any court upon
18judicial review shall become effective under Section 7-9 of
19this Code in the case of a petition for dissolution filed under
20subsection (b) of Section 7-2a of this Code, and a final
21decision shall become effective immediately following the date
22no further appeal is allowable in the case of a district
23dissolved under Section 5-32 of this Code.
24    Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section
25or any other provision of law to the contrary, the school board
26of the Mt. Morris School District is authorized to donate to

 

 

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1the City of Mount Morris, Illinois the school building and
2other real property used as a school site by the Mt. Morris
3School District at the time of its dissolution, by appropriate
4resolution adopted by the school board of the district prior to
5the dissolution of the district; and upon the adoption of a
6resolution by the school board donating the school building and
7school site to the City of Mount Morris, Illinois as authorized
8by this Section, the regional board of school trustees or other
9school officials holding legal title to the school building and
10school site so donated shall immediately convey the same to the
11City of Mt. Morris, Illinois.
12(Source: P.A. 97-656, eff. 1-13-12.)
 
13    (105 ILCS 5/7-12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-12)
14    Sec. 7-12. Termination of office. Upon the close of the
15then current school year during which any school district is
16annexed to another school district under any of the provisions
17of this Article, the terms of office of the school directors or
18board of education members of the annexed school district shall
19be terminated and the school board of the annexing district
20shall perform all the duties and have all the powers of the
21school board of the annexed district. The annexing district as
22it is constituted on and after the time of such annexation
23shall receive all the assets and assume all the obligations and
24liabilities including the bonded indebtedness of the original
25annexing district and of the district annexed. The tax rate for

 

 

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1such assumed bonded indebtedness shall be determined in the
2manner provided in Article 19 of this Code Act.
3(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
 
4    (105 ILCS 5/7-29)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-29)
5    Sec. 7-29. Limitation on contesting boundary change. No
6Neither the People of the State of Illinois nor any person,
7corporation, private or public, nor any association of persons
8shall commence an action contesting either directly or
9indirectly the annexation of any territory to a school district
10shall commence or the creation of any new school district
11unless brought within 2 calendar years after (i) the order
12annexing the territory or creating the new district shall have
13become final in the event of a detachment or (ii) the election
14results shall have been certified in the event of a
15dissolution. Where or within 2 years after the date of the
16election creating the new school district if no proceedings to
17contest such election are duly instituted within the time
18permitted by law, or within two years after the final
19disposition of any proceedings which may be so instituted to
20contest such election; however where a limitation of a shorter
21period is prescribed by statute, such shorter limitation shall
22apply. The , and the limitation set forth in this Section
23section shall not apply to jurisdictional challenges any order
24where the judge, body or officer entering the order annexing
25the territory or creating the new district did not at the time

 

 

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1of the entry of such order have jurisdiction of the subject
2matter.
3(Source: P.A. 86-1334.)
 
4    (105 ILCS 5/7-31 new)
5    Sec. 7-31. Applicability of amendatory Act. For any
6petition filed with the regional superintendent of schools
7under this Article prior to the effective date of this
8amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, including a
9petition for a rehearing pursuant to subsection (n) of Section
107-6 of this Code, the proposed action described in the
11petition, including all notices, hearings, administrative
12decisions, ballots, elections, and passage requirements
13relating thereto, shall proceed and be in accordance with the
14law in effect prior to the effective date of this amendatory
15Act of the 100th General Assembly.
 
16    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.35B new)
17    Sec. 10-22.35B. Title to school sites and buildings.
18    (a) On January 1, 1994 (the effective date of Public Act
1988-155): (i) the legal title to all school buildings and school
20sites used or occupied for school purposes by a school district
21located in a Class I county school unit or held for the use of
22any such school district by and in the name of the regional
23board of school trustees shall vest in the school board of the
24school district, and the legal title to those school buildings

 

 

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1and school sites shall be deemed transferred by operation of
2law to the school board of the school district, to be used for
3school purposes and held, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise
4transferred in accordance with law; and (ii) the legal title to
5all school buildings and school sites used or occupied for
6school purposes by a school district that is located in a Class
7II county school unit and that has withdrawn from the
8jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of a
9township and the township treasurer under subsection (b) of
10Section 5-1 of this Code or held for the use of any such school
11district by and in the name of the regional board of school
12trustees at the time that regional board of school trustees was
13abolished by Public Act 87-969 shall vest in the school board
14of the school district, and the legal title to those school
15buildings and school sites shall be deemed transferred by
16operation of law to the school district, to be used for school
17purposes and held, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise
18transferred in accordance with law.
19    (b) The school board of each school district to which
20subsection (a) of this Section is applicable may receive any
21gift, grant, donation, or legacy made for the use of any school
22or for any school purpose within its jurisdiction and shall
23succeed to any gift, grant, donation, or legacy heretofore
24received by the regional board of school trustees, either from
25the township school trustees within their jurisdiction or from
26any other source, for the use of any school of the district

 

 

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1served by the school board or for any other school purpose of
2that school district. All conveyances of real estate made to
3the school board of a school district under this Section shall
4be made to the school board in its corporate name and to its
5successors in office.
6    (c) All school districts and high school districts may take
7and convey title to real estate to be improved by buildings or
8other structures for vocational or other educational training
9as provided in Section 10-23.3 of this Code.
10    (d) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to apply to any
11common school lands or lands granted or exchanged therefor or
12to the manner in which such lands are managed and controlled
13for the use and benefit of the school township and the schools
14of the township by the township land commissioners, the
15regional board of school trustees (acting as the township land
16commissioners), or the trustees of schools of the township,
17which hold legal title to those lands; and they may continue to
18receive gifts, grants, donations, or legacies made for the use
19of the school township and for the schools of the township
20generally in the same manner as such gifts, grants, donations,
21or legacies were made prior to January 1, 1994.
 
22    (105 ILCS 5/12-24)  (from Ch. 122, par. 12-24)
23    Sec. 12-24. Elimination of non-high school district. The
24territory of the non-high school district or unit district not
25maintaining a high school in existence on January 1, 1950 of

 

 

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1any county having a population of 500,000 or less shall be
2automatically eliminated from the non-high school district or
3unit district, unless (1) the non-high school territory is
4adjacent to a district created by a special Act whose
5boundaries are required by such Act to be coterminous with some
6city or village or to a district maintaining grades 1 through
712 and (2) has children in such territory who customarily
8attend the high school of such district and (3) has no school
9district operating grades 9 through 12 to which such territory
10could be annexed without impairing the educational
11opportunities of the children of such territory and in such
12case the territory shall remain non-high school territory.
13    Any such non-high school district including any unit
14district not maintaining a high school pursuant to the
15provisions of this Section shall pay tuition for high school
16students at a rate to be mutually agreed by the boards of
17education of each district affected.
18    When territory is eliminated from a non-high school
19district or unit district not maintaining a high school it
20shall be annexed by the county board of school trustees as
21provided in Section 7-27 of this Code (now repealed) Act.
22    Any non-high school district affected by such elimination
23and annexation may continue to exercise all previously
24conferred and existing powers pending final administrative or
25judicial affirmance thereof.
26(Source: P.A. 81-950.)
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/16-2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 16-2)
2    Sec. 16-2. Joint use of site and building. Whenever the
3school boards of two or more school districts have agreed upon
4the joint use of any school site and compensation to be paid
5therefor, and any such site has been selected in the manner
6required by law, it is lawful for such districts to use the
7same school site and after payment of the compensation, the
8trustees of schools of the township or regional board of school
9trustees, as the case may be, by proper instrument in writing
10shall declare that title to such site is held for the joint use
11of such districts according to the terms of such agreement, and
12such districts shall be further authorized to construct,
13maintain and use a building jointly for the benefit of the
14inhabitants thereof. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
15this Section:
16    (1) If legal title to the selected site is held in the name
17of the school board of a school district that has agreed to the
18joint use of the site with any other school districts, and if
19those other school districts are also districts whose school
20boards, under subsection (a) of Section 10-22.35B of this Code
217-28, are to hold legal title to school buildings and school
22sites of the district, then upon the execution of the agreement
23and payment of the compensation in accordance with the terms of
24the agreement the school boards of the districts shall be
25deemed to hold legal title to the site as tenants in common,

 

 

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1and the required deed or deeds of conveyance shall be executed
2and delivered by the president and secretary or clerk of the
3school boards to reflect that legal title to the selected site
4is held in that manner.
5    (2) If one more but not all of the school boards that are
6party to the agreement are school boards that, under subsection
7(a) of Section 10-22.35B of this Code 7-28, are to hold legal
8title to the school buildings and school sites of the district,
9the interest in the selected site of each school board that is
10to hold legal title to the school buildings and school sites of
11the district shall be that of a tenant in common; and the
12required deed or deeds of conveyance shall be executed and
13delivered by the president and secretary or clerk of the
14trustees of schools of the township, regional board of school
15trustees, township land commissioners, or school boards, as the
16case may be, to reflect that tenancy in common interest of the
17appropriate school board or school boards with the trustees of
18schools of the township, regional board of school trustees or
19township land commissioners, as the case may be, in the legal
20title to the selected site.
21(Source: P.A. 88-155.)
 
22    (105 ILCS 5/32-4.6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 32-4.6)
23    Sec. 32-4.6. Title, care and custody of property;
24supervision and control.
25    The title, care and custody of all schoolhouses and school

 

 

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1sites belonging to districts that are described in Section
232-2.11 and that are not districts whose school boards under
3subsection (a) of Section 10-22.35B of this Code 7-28 are to
4hold legal title to school buildings and school sites of the
5district shall be vested in the trustees of schools of the
6townships in which the districts are situated, but the
7supervision and control of such schoolhouses and sites shall be
8vested in the board of inspectors of the districts. In all
9other cases, the legal title, care, custody and control of
10school houses and school sites belonging to districts that are
11described in Section 32-2.11, together with the supervision and
12control of those school houses and sites, shall be vested in
13the board of inspectors of the districts.
14(Source: P.A. 88-155.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/7-01 rep.)
16    (105 ILCS 5/7-2 rep.)
17    (105 ILCS 5/7-13 rep.)
18    (105 ILCS 5/7-27 rep.)
19    (105 ILCS 5/7-28 rep.)
20    (105 ILCS 5/7-30 rep.)
21    Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing
22Sections 7-01, 7-2, 7-13, 7-27, 7-28, and 7-30.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
242017.