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Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

TOWNSHIPS
(60 ILCS 1/) Township Code.

60 ILCS 1/Art. 5

 
    (60 ILCS 1/Art. 5 heading)
ARTICLE 5.
ADOPTION OF TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION

60 ILCS 1/5-5

    (60 ILCS 1/5-5)
    Sec. 5-5. Vote on organization. At any general election held in the several counties in this State, the qualified voters in any county may vote for or against township organization in the county.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-10

    (60 ILCS 1/5-10)
    Sec. 5-10. Referendum. Whenever a proposition or public question is required to be submitted under this Code for approval or rejection by the electors at an election, the time and manner of conducting the referendum shall be in accordance with the general election law.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-15

    (60 ILCS 1/5-15)
    Sec. 5-15. Form of proposition. The county board, on the petition of 10% or more of the legal voters of the county, shall certify and cause to be submitted to the voters of the county the question of township organization under this Article. The proposition shall be substantially in the form: "For township organization" or "Against township organization".
(Source: P.A. 88-62; 89-365, eff. 8-18-95.)

60 ILCS 1/5-20

    (60 ILCS 1/5-20)
    Sec. 5-20. Abstract of election returns. The county clerk shall enter an abstract of the returns of the election, prepared and certified as in elections for county officers, file the abstract in the records of the county, and certify an exact copy of the abstract and cause it to be delivered to the State Comptroller.
(Source: P.A. 83-343; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-25

    (60 ILCS 1/5-25)
    Sec. 5-25. Effect of vote. If it appears by the returns of the election that a majority of the legal voters of the county are for township organization, then, the county so voting in favor of adopting township organization shall be governed by and subject to the provisions of this Code on and after the first Tuesday of April of the next succeeding odd-numbered year. A majority of the voters voting at the election shall be deemed a majority of the voters of the county.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-30

    (60 ILCS 1/5-30)
    Sec. 5-30. Appointment of commissioners to divide county into townships. The presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, shall at the next session of the county board appoint 3 commissioners to divide the county into townships. The commissioners shall be residents of the county. The commissioners shall be paid for their services by the county.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-35

    (60 ILCS 1/5-35)
    Sec. 5-35. Division of county into townships. The commissioners shall proceed to divide the county into townships, making them conform to the townships according to government surveys. Fractional townships may be attached to adjoining townships if the number of the inhabitants or the amount of territory of a fractional township is not sufficient for a separate township. If a township has too few inhabitants for a separate organization, then the township may be added to some adjoining township or divided between 2 or more townships for the time being. When a creek or river so divides a township that it is inconvenient for transacting township business, the creek or river may be made the township boundary, and the fractions so formed may be disposed of as other fractional townships.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-40

    (60 ILCS 1/5-40)
    Sec. 5-40. Township names. Townships shall be named in accordance with the express wish of the inhabitants of the township. If there is not a degree of unanimity as to the name, the commissioners may designate the name. The county board may change the name of any township in its county upon a petition of a majority of the voters of the township. No 2 townships in the State shall have the same name.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-45

    (60 ILCS 1/5-45)
    Sec. 5-45. Commissioners' report. The commissioners shall make a written report of their proceedings, giving the names and bounds of each township. They shall present the report to the county clerk on or before the first day of March next succeeding.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-50

    (60 ILCS 1/5-50)
    Sec. 5-50. Abstract of commissioners' report. The county clerk shall, within 30 days after receiving the commissioners' report, transmit by mail to the Secretary of State an abstract of the report. The abstract shall give the bounds of each township and the name designated for each township. The clerk shall record the commissioners' report in a book kept for that purpose.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-55

    (60 ILCS 1/5-55)
    Sec. 5-55. Duplicate township names. If the Secretary of State, on comparing the abstracts of the reports from the several counties, finds that any 2 or more townships within a single county are named alike, he or she shall so inform the clerk of the county. The county board of that county shall, at its next meeting, adopt for one of the townships a different name. When the name is adopted, the county clerk shall inform the Secretary of State as provided in Section 5-50.
(Source: P.A. 102-148, eff. 7-23-21.)

60 ILCS 1/5-60

    (60 ILCS 1/5-60)
    Sec. 5-60. Record of township names and boundaries. The Secretary of State shall keep a record of the names and boundaries of the several townships.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-65

    (60 ILCS 1/5-65)
    Sec. 5-65. Township election. The township election shall be scheduled in accordance with and conducted in the manner required by the Election Code.
(Source: P.A. 87-471; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-70

    (60 ILCS 1/5-70)
    Sec. 5-70. Refusal to organize township; annexation.
    (a) If any township refuses or neglects to organize and elect township officers, the county board of the county may order another election for that purpose at the time of the next regular election scheduled under the general election law. The county board shall appoint qualified residents of the township to serve in the township offices and to perform the duties and possess all the rights and powers of those offices until the regular election of officers provided in this Code.
    (b) If the township does not then organize and elect officers, the county board may, at any regular or special meeting, appoint the necessary officers for the township. The persons so appointed shall hold their offices until the next annual township meeting and until their successors are elected or appointed and qualified.
    (c) If the persons appointed under subsection (b) fail to qualify as required by law or if, at any time after the organization of the township, the electors of the township refuse to elect or appoint officers or to exercise the powers required by law, the county board may annex the township to an adjoining township. The township so annexed shall thereafter constitute a part of the township to which it is annexed.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

60 ILCS 1/5-75

    (60 ILCS 1/5-75)
    Sec. 5-75. Township co-extensive with city or village. When, in any county under township organization, there is any territory co-extensive with the limits of a city or village situated in the county and not included within any organized township, that territory shall constitute a township by the name of the city or village. All provisions of this Code shall apply to the township so constituted, the same as if it had been organized under this Article in the case of the organization of new townships.
(Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)