103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4240

 

Introduced 1/16/2024, by Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
70 ILCS 805/3c
70 ILCS 805/3c-1
70 ILCS 805/3c-2 new

    Amends the Downstate Forest Preserve District Act. Restores language concerning how the terms of elected commissioners are to be determined for a forest preserve district having boundaries that are coextensive with the boundaries of a county having a population of more than 800,000 but less than 3,000,000. Specifies that the changes made by the amendatory Act are to be deemed to have been in continuous effect since November 15, 2021 (the effective date of the Public Act that deleted language concerning how the terms of elected commissioners of such a district are to be determined) and are to remain in effect until lawfully repealed. Provides that all actions that were taken on or after 2021 and before the effective date of the amendatory Act by a downstate forest preserve district or any other person and that are consistent with or in reliance on the changes made by the amendatory Act are validated. Effective immediately.


LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4240LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Downstate Forest Preserve District Act is
5amended by changing Sections 3c and 3c-1 and by adding Section
63c-2 as follows:
 
7    (70 ILCS 805/3c)
8    Sec. 3c. Elected board of commissioners in certain
9counties. If the boundaries of a district are co-extensive
10with the boundaries of a county having a population of more
11than 800,000 but less than 3,000,000, all commissioners of the
12forest preserve district shall be elected from the number of
13districts as determined by the forest preserve district board
14of commissioners. Such a forest preserve district is a
15separate and distinct legal entity, and its board members are
16elected separate and apart from the elected county
17commissioners. Upon its formation, or as a result of decennial
18reapportionment, such a forest preserve district shall adopt a
19district map determining the boundary lines of each district.
20That map shall be adjusted and reapportioned subject to the
21same decennial reapportionment process stated in Section 3c-1.
22No more than one commissioner shall be elected from each
23district. At their first meeting after election in 2022 and at

 

 

HB4240- 2 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1their first meeting after election next following each
2subsequent decennial reapportionment of the county under
3Section 3c-1, the elected commissioners shall publicly, by
4lot, divide themselves into 2 groups, as equal in size as
5possible. Commissioners from the first group shall serve for
6terms of 2, 4, and 4 years, and commissioners from the second
7group shall serve terms of 4, 4, and 2 years. The president of
8the board of commissioners of the forest preserve district
9shall be elected by the voters of the county, rather than by
10the commissioners. The president shall be a resident of the
11county and shall be elected throughout the county for a 4-year
12term without having been first elected as commissioner of the
13forest preserve district. Each commissioner shall be a
14resident of the forest preserve board district from which he
15or she was elected not later than the date of the commencement
16of the term of office. The term of office for the president and
17commissioners elected under this Section shall commence on the
18first Monday of the month following the month of election.
19Neither a commissioner nor the president of the board of
20commissioners of that forest preserve district shall serve
21simultaneously as member or chairman of the county board. No
22person shall seek election to both the forest preserve
23commission and the county board at the same election, nor
24shall they be eligible to hold both offices at the same time.
25The president, with the advice and consent of the board of
26commissioners shall appoint a secretary, treasurer, and such

 

 

HB4240- 3 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1other officers as deemed necessary by the board of
2commissioners, which officers need not be members of the board
3of commissioners. The president shall have the powers and
4duties as specified in Section 12 of this Act.
5    Candidates for president and commissioner shall be
6candidates of established political parties.
7    If a vacancy in the office of president or commissioner
8occurs, other than by expiration of the president's or
9commissioner's term, the forest preserve district board of
10commissioners shall declare that a vacancy exists and
11notification of the vacancy shall be given to the county
12central committee of each established political party within 3
13business days after the occurrence of the vacancy. If the
14vacancy occurs in the office of forest preserve district
15commissioner, the president of the board of commissioners
16shall, within 60 days after the date of the vacancy, with the
17advice and consent of other commissioners then serving,
18appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired
19term. The appointee shall be affiliated with the same
20political party as the commissioner in whose office the
21vacancy occurred and be a resident of such district. If a
22vacancy in the office of president occurs, other than by
23expiration of the president's term, the remaining members of
24the board of commissioners shall, within 60 days after the
25vacancy, appoint one of the commissioners to serve as
26president for the remainder of the unexpired term. In that

 

 

HB4240- 4 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1case, the office of the commissioner who is appointed to serve
2as president shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled within
360 days by appointment of the president with the advice and
4consent of the other forest preserve district commissioners.
5The commissioner who is appointed to fill a vacancy in the
6office of president shall be affiliated with the same
7political party as the person who occupied the office of
8president prior to the vacancy. A person appointed to fill a
9vacancy in the office of president or commissioner shall
10establish his or her party affiliation by his or her record of
11voting in primary elections or by holding or having held an
12office in an established political party organization before
13the appointment. If the appointee has not voted in a party
14primary election or is not holding or has not held an office in
15an established political party organization before the
16appointment, the appointee shall establish his or her
17political party affiliation by his or her record of
18participating in an established political party's nomination
19or election caucus. If, however, more than 28 months remain in
20the unexpired term of a commissioner or the president, the
21appointment shall be until the next general election, at which
22time the vacated office of commissioner or president shall be
23filled by election for the remainder of the term.
24Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if a vacancy occurs
25after the last day provided in Section 7-12 of the Election
26Code for filing nomination papers for the office of president

 

 

HB4240- 5 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1of a forest preserve district where that office is elected as
2provided for in this Section, or as set forth in Section 7-61
3of the Election Code, a vacancy in nomination shall be filled
4by the passage of a resolution by the nominating committee of
5the affected political party within the time periods specified
6in the Election Code. The nominating committee shall consist
7of the chairman of the county central committee and the
8township chairmen of the affected political party. All other
9vacancies in nomination shall be filled in accordance with the
10provisions of the Election Code.
11    The president and commissioners elected under this Section
12may be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses actually
13incurred in performing their official duties under this Act in
14accordance with the provisions of Section 3a. The
15reimbursement paid under this Section shall be paid by the
16forest preserve district.
17    Compensation for the president and the forest preserve
18commissioners elected under this Section shall be established
19by the board of commissioners of the forest preserve district.
20    This Section does not apply to a forest preserve district
21created under Section 18.5 of the Conservation District Act.
22(Source: P.A. 102-668, eff. 11-15-21.)
 
23    (70 ILCS 805/3c-1)
24    Sec. 3c-1. Reapportionment plan for forest preserve
25districts under Section 3c.

 

 

HB4240- 6 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1    (a) Beginning in 2021, the The Downstate Forest Preserve
2District board of commissioners shall develop an apportionment
3plan and specify the number of districts. Each district shall
4have one commissioner. Each such district:
5        (1) shall be substantially equal in population to each
6    other district; and
7        (2) shall be comprised of contiguous territory, as
8    nearly compact as practicable; and
9        (3) shall be created in such a manner so that no
10    precinct shall be divided between 2 or more districts,
11    insofar as is practicable.
12    (b) The president of the board of commissioners of a
13Downstate Forest Preserve District may develop a reappointment
14plan and that plan, as presented or as amended, shall be
15presented to the board by the third Wednesday in May in the
16year after a federal decennial census year for approval in
17accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this
18Section. If the president presents a plan to the board by the
19third Wednesday in May, the board shall conduct at least one
20public hearing to receive comments and to discuss the
21apportionment plan. That hearing shall be held at least 6 days
22but not more than 21 days before the board may consider
23adopting the plan, and the public shall be given notice by
24publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the
25district of the hearing at least 6 days in advance of the
26hearing. The president of the board of commissioners shall

 

 

HB4240- 7 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1have access to the federal decennial census available to the
2board.
3    (c) For the reapportionment in calendar year 2021, the
4president of the board of commissioners may develop and
5present (or redevelop and represent) to the board by the third
6Wednesday in November of 2021 an apportionment plan. If a plan
7is presented, the board shall conduct at least one hearing on
8the proposed plan before it may be adopted. That hearing shall
9be held at least 6 days but not more than 21 days before the
10board may consider adopting the plan, and the public shall be
11given notice by publication in a newspaper of general
12circulation in the district of the hearing at least 6 days in
13advance of the hearing.
14    (d) After each decennial census, the Downstate Forest
15Preserve District board is not obligated to reapportion the
16districts if existing districts are within a 10% population
17deviation from each other based on the results of the
18decennial census.
19    (e) As used in this Section, "Downstate Forest Preserve
20District" means a district described in Section 3c.
21(Source: P.A. 102-668, eff. 11-15-21.)
 
22    (70 ILCS 805/3c-2 new)
23    Sec. 3c-2. Continuous effect of provisions; validation.
24The General Assembly declares that the changes made to
25Sections 3c and 3c-1 by this amendatory Act of the 103rd

 

 

HB4240- 8 -LRB103 35317 AWJ 65365 b

1General Assembly shall be deemed to have been in continuous
2effect since November 15, 2021 (the effective date of Public
3Act 102-688) and shall continue to be in effect until they are
4lawfully repealed. All actions that were taken on or after
52021 and before the effective date of this amendatory Act of
6the 103rd General Assembly by a downstate forest preserve
7district or any other person and that are consistent with or in
8reliance on the changes made to Sections 3c and 3c-1 by this
9amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly are hereby
10validated.
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.