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91_HB4757
LRB9114585EGfg
1 AN ACT to amend the Counties Code.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding
5 Section 5-1049.3 as follows:
6 (55 ILCS 5/5-1049.3 new)
7 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2004)
8 Sec. 5-1049.3. Sovereignty cases; State and county
9 assistance.
10 (a) For the purposes of this Section, "sovereignty case"
11 means an action or proceeding that (1) is brought to recover
12 lands within the State from an individual who currently holds
13 title or a beneficial interest in title that originally
14 derives from a federal land patent that is alleged to be
15 invalid and (2) could result in the loss of State sovereignty
16 or county jurisdiction over that land or liability for rents
17 or damages accruing as a result of the invalidity of the
18 federal land patent.
19 (b) The county board of a county in which land subject
20 to a sovereignty case is located may:
21 (1) To the extent permitted by law, intervene or
22 otherwise participate in the defense and settlement of
23 the sovereignty case and take any other appropriate
24 action to protect the county's jurisdiction, taxing
25 authority, or other interest in the land that is the
26 subject of the sovereignty case;
27 (2) seek and accept advice and other assistance
28 from the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of
29 the Governor with respect to the sovereignty case;
30 (3) hire private legal counsel to advise or
31 represent the county with respect to the sovereignty
-2- LRB9114585EGfg
1 case; and
2 (4) assist the named defendant landowners located
3 within the county in obtaining and paying for appropriate
4 legal counsel with respect to the sovereignty case.
5 (c) The Attorney General may, upon request, provide
6 legal advice and other assistance to the county board of any
7 county in which land subject to a sovereignty case is
8 located.
9 (d) The Office of the Governor, upon request, may
10 provide assistance to the county board of any county in which
11 land subject to a sovereignty case is located, with respect
12 to the sovereignty case. That assistance may include a
13 grant, payable out of moneys appropriated to the Governor for
14 that purpose, which may be used by the county board for any
15 of the expenses incurred by the county in relation to the
16 sovereignty case, including the payment of assistance to the
17 named defendant landowners in the county for their expenses
18 in obtaining appropriate legal counsel with respect to the
19 sovereignty case.
20 (e) This Section is not a limitation on any power or
21 duty of a county board otherwise provided by law.
22 (f) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2004.
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.