Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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70 ILCS 605/4-6

(70 ILCS 605/4-6) (from Ch. 42, par. 4-6)

Sec. 4-6.

Change
from election to appointment of Commissioners in certain districts.

In all districts which were operating and existing under the provisions
of the Farm Drainage Act at the time this Act became effective and in
districts which have changed from the appointment to the election of
commissioners as provided in Section 4-8, 10 per cent or more of the adult
landowners may petition the court to dispense with the annual election of
commissioners and to appoint commissioners in the same manner as though the
district had been originally organized under this Act. Upon the filing of
any such petition the same shall be presented to the court which shall fix
the date and hour for hearing and direct the time and manner of giving
notice. Upon such hearing the court shall determine whether the petition is
signed by at least 10 per cent of the adult owners of land in the district.
The affidavit of one or more credible persons may be taken as prima facie
evidence as to the proportion of the owners signing the petition. If the
petition is not so signed the petition shall be dismissed at the
petitioners' cost.

If at such hearing, the court determines that the petition is signed by
at least 10 per cent of such owners but is not signed by a majority of such
owners then the court shall order the question of whether the commissioners
of the district shall be appointed in the manner provided or elected by the
adult landowners of the district submitted to the adult landowners at the
next annual election in the district and shall direct the clerk of the
district to prepare separate ballots on that question for use in that
election. The ballots shall be canvassed by the judges of the election and
the ballots and the results of the election returned to the clerk at the
same time and in the same manner as is provided in Section 4-5 with
reference to the election of commissioners.

Within five days after the results of the election are returned to the
clerk he shall report the results to the court. If a majority of the owners
voting on the question do not favor the appointment of commissioners the
petition shall be dismissed and the question may not again be put to the
landowners until the second succeeding annual election. If a majority of
the owners voting on the question favor the appointment of commissioners in
the manner provided and the dispensing with the annual election of
commissioners the court shall order that thenceforth the annual elections
of the district shall be dispensed with and thereafter the commissioners
shall be appointed in the manner provided in this Act.

If at the hearing on the petition the court determines that the petition
is signed by a majority of the adult owners of land in the district then no
referendum on the question shall be necessary and the court shall thereupon
order that thenceforth the annual elections of the district shall be
dispensed with and thereafter the commissioners shall be appointed in the
manner provided by this Act.

The commissioners in office at the time an order dispensing with further
elections is given or made shall continue in office until the time that
their successors would have been elected under the provisions of Section
4-5 and until their successors have been appointed and shall have
qualified.

(Source: P.A. 77-701.)