093_HB3045eng

 
HB3045 Engrossed                     LRB093 04441 SJM 04493 b

 1        AN ACT concerning community revitalization.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
 5    Community Self-Revitalization Act.

 6        Section 5.  Findings and purpose.
 7        (a)  The General Assembly finds that:
 8             (1)  There   is   a   great   need   for    economic
 9        revitalization in many communities throughout this State.
10             (2)  Each  community  has  valuable resources at its
11        fingertips that  can  be  tapped  in  the  revitalization
12        process.
13             (3)  With  adequate  support and assistance from the
14        State and other resources, each community can participate
15        in and shepherd its own economic renewal.
16             (4)  Successful redevelopment  plans  are  based  on
17        policy that is responsive to the existing composition and
18        character  of  the  economically distressed community and
19        that allows and compels the community to  participate  in
20        the redevelopment planning process.
21             (5)  A  successful  redevelopment initiative creates
22        and maintains a  capable  and  adaptable  workforce,  has
23        access  to capital, has a sound fiscal base, has adequate
24        infrastructure, has well-managed natural  resources,  and
25        has an attractive quality of life.
26        (b)  It  is  the purpose of this legislation to provide a
27    mechanism for an economically distressed community to use  in
28    its efforts to revitalize the community.

29        Section 10.  Definitions. As used in this Section:
30        "Community"  means  a municipality, a county with respect
 
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 1    to the unincorporated areas of a county, and any  combination
 2    of municipalities and counties acting jointly.
 3        "Department"   means   the  Department  of  Commerce  and
 4    Community Affairs.
 5        "Economically distressed community" means  any  community
 6    that  is  certified by the Department as being in the highest
 7    10%  of  all  communities  in  the  State  in  its  rate   of
 8    unemployment,  its  poverty  rate, and the rate of bankruptcy
 9    petitions filed.

10        Section 15.  Certification; Board of Economic Advisors.
11        (a)  In order to receive the assistance  as  provided  in
12    this Act, a community shall first, by ordinance passed by its
13    corporate  authorities,  request  that the Department certify
14    that  it  is  an  economically  distressed   community.   The
15    community  must  submit  a certified copy of the ordinance to
16    the  Department.  After  review  of  the  ordinance,  if  the
17    Department  determines   that   the   community   meets   the
18    requirements  for certification, the Department shall certify
19    the community as an economically distressed community.
20        (b)  A community that is certified by the  Department  as
21    an  economically  distressed community may appoint a Board of
22    Economic Advisors to create and  implement  a  revitalization
23    plan for the community. The Board shall consist of 12 members
24    of  the  community,  appointed  by the mayor or the presiding
25    officer of the county or jointly by the presiding officers of
26    each municipality and county  that  have  joined  to  form  a
27    community  for  the  purposes  of this Act. The Board members
28    shall be appointed from the 12  sectors  vital  to  community
29    redevelopment as follows:
30             (1)  A member representing households and families.
31             (2)  A member representing religious organizations.
32             (3)  A member representing educational institutions.
33             (4)  A  member  representing  daycare  centers, care
 
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 1        centers for the handicapped, and  care  centers  for  the
 2        disadvantaged.
 3             (5)  A    member    representing   community   based
 4        organizations   such    as    neighborhood    improvement
 5        associations.
 6             (6)  A   member   representing   federal  and  State
 7        employment service systems, skill training  centers,  and
 8        placement referrals.
 9             (7)  A  member  representing  Masonic organizations,
10        fraternities, sororities, and social clubs.
11             (8)  A member representing hospitals, nursing homes,
12        senior citizens,  public  health  agencies,  and  funeral
13        homes.
14             (9)  A  member representing organized sports, parks,
15        parties, and games of chance.
16             (10)  A  member  representing   political   parties,
17        clubs,  and  affiliations,  and  election related matters
18        concerning voter education and participation.
19             (11)  A member representing the cultural aspects  of
20        the  community,  including  cultural  events, lifestyles,
21        languages,  music,  visual  and  performing   arts,   and
22        literature.
23             (12)  A   member   representing   police   and  fire
24        protection agencies, prisons, weapons  systems,  and  the
25        military industrial complex.
26        The  Board  shall  meet  initially  within 30 days of its
27    appointment, shall select one member as  chairperson  at  its
28    initial meeting, and shall thereafter meet at the call of the
29    chairperson.   Members  of  the  Board  shall  serve  without
30    compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and
31    necessary expenses from funds available for that purpose.
32        (c)  The  Board  shall  create   a   3-year   to   5-year
33    revitalization plan for the community. The plan shall contain
34    distinct,   measurable  objectives  for  revitalization.  The
 
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 1    objectives shall be used to guide ongoing  implementation  of
 2    the  plan and to measure progress during the 3-year to 5-year
 3    period. The Board shall work in  a  dynamic  manner  defining
 4    goals for the community based on the strengths and weaknesses
 5    of  the  individual  sectors of the community as presented by
 6    each member of the Board. The Board shall  meet  periodically
 7    and revise the plan in light of the input from each member of
 8    the   Board  concerning  his  or  her  respective  sector  of
 9    expertise.  The  process  shall   be   a   community   driven
10    revitalization    process,   with   community-specific   data
11    determining the direction and scope of the revitalization.

12        Section 20.  Action by the Board.
13        (a)  Organize. The Board shall first assess the needs and
14    the resources of  the  community  operating  from  the  basic
15    premise that the family unit is the primary unit of community
16    and  that  the  demand  for  goods  and  services  from  this
17    residential  sector is the main source of recovery and growth
18    for  the  redevelopment  of  a  community.  The  Board  shall
19    inventory community assets, including the  condition  of  the
20    family  with  respect  to  the role of the family as workers,
21    consumers, and investors. The Board shall inventory the  type
22    and  viability  of businesses and industries currently in the
23    community. In compiling the inventory, the Board  shall  rely
24    on  the input of each Board member with respect to his or her
25    expertise in a given sector of the revitalization plan.
26        (b)  Revitalize. In implementing the revitalization plan,
27    the Board shall focus on and build from existing resources in
28    the community, growing existing businesses rather than luring
29    business into the community from the outside. The Board shall
30    also focus on the residents themselves rather than jobs.  The
31    Board shall promote investment in training residents in areas
32    that  will  lead to employment and in turn will bring revenue
33    into the community.
 
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 1        (c)  Mobilize. The Board  shall  engage  in  the  dynamic
 2    process of community self-revitalization through a continuous
 3    reassessment   of   the   needs   of  the  community  in  the
 4    revitalization process. As each goal of the 3-year to  5-year
 5    plan  is achieved, the Board shall draw from the resources of
 6    its  members  to  establish  new  goals  and  implement   new
 7    strategies  employing  the  lessons  learned  in  the earlier
 8    stages of revitalization.
 9        (d)  Advise. The Board shall Act as the  liaison  between
10    the  community  and  the local, county, and State Government.
11    The  Board  shall  make  use  of  the  resources   of   these
12    governmental  entities  and  shall provide counsel to each of
13    these bodies with respect to economic development.
14        The Board shall also act as  a  liaison  between  private
15    business  entities located in the community and the community
16    itself. The Board shall offer advice and assistance to  these
17    entities  when  requested and provide incentives and support,
18    both economic and  otherwise,  to  facilitate  expansion  and
19    further investment in the community by the businesses.
20        The  Board  shall annually submit a report to the General
21    Assembly and the Governor summarizing the accomplishments  of
22    the  community concerning revitalization and the goals of the
23    community for future revitalization.

24        Section 25.  Funding sources.
25        (a)  Subject to appropriation, the Department shall  make
26    grants  to  communities  that  are  certified as economically
27    distressed communities under this Act and that create a Board
28    of Economic Advisors  under  this  Act  for  the  operational
29    expenses  of  the Board. The procedures for grant application
30    shall be established by the Department by rule.
31        (b)  The Board, as a vital part of  its  function,  shall
32    seek  funding  sources  to  enhance economic development. The
33    Board shall seek funding from the local, State,  and  federal
 
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 1    government  as  well as from private funding sources, whether
 2    in the form of grants, loans, or  otherwise.  The  Department
 3    shall  advise  the  Boards of Economic Advisors created under
 4    this Act of all available sources  of  funding  for  economic
 5    development  that  it is aware of and shall assist the Boards
 6    in securing this funding.
 7        (c)  To the extent that there is a  gap  in  funding  for
 8    economic  development,  the  Board  shall  recommend possible
 9    solutions to be undertaken by the State  in  addressing  this
10    issue to fill the funding gap.

11        Section  99.  Effective  date. This Act takes effect upon
12    becoming law.