70 ILCS 410/4

(70 ILCS 410/4) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7104)

Sec. 4. Not less than 1% of the voters in any county having less than 1,000,000 population which is not organized as a forest preserve district may petition the circuit court of such county to order the question to be submitted to the voters of such county whether a conservation district, the boundaries of which shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the county, shall be organized under this Act. Not less than 1% of the voters in each county of a group of not more than 5 adjoining counties each of which has less than 1,000,000 population and none of which is organized as a forest preserve district may jointly petition the circuit court of the county having the largest population to order the question to be submitted to the voters of such counties whether a conservation district, the boundaries of which shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the group of counties taken as a whole, shall be organized under this Act.

If the proposed district shall embrace more than one county the petition shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Department of Natural Resources.

If the proposed district is coextensive with the boundaries of a single county it shall be designated by the name of that county.

Upon the filing of such petition with the circuit court, the circuit clerk shall give notice of the time and place of a hearing upon the subject of the petition which shall be inserted in one or more daily or weekly newspapers published within the proposed district at least 20 days before such hearing. If no daily or weekly newspaper is published within such proposed district, notice may be given by posting at least 15 copies in each county in such proposed district at least 20 days before such meeting in conspicuous public places as far separated from each other as reasonably possible.

At the time and place fixed for such public hearing the circuit court shall hear all persons who desire to be heard, and if the circuit court shall find that the provisions of this Act have been complied with and that the allegations of the petition are true then the court shall order a referendum by the legal voters to be held in the proposed district to determine the question of organization of the proposed district. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the order and the question to the proper election officials who shall submit the question to the voters of the proposed district at a referendum in accordance with the general election law.

Notice of the referendum shall specify the purpose of such referendum with a description of such proposed district, and the name of the proposed district.

The clerk of the circuit court shall cause a statement of the results of such referendum to be entered of record in the circuit court, and if such district shall lie in more than one county, a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court of each such other county who shall file the same of record in the circuit court of such county. If a majority of the votes cast in the referendum are in favor of the organization of a conservation district, such district shall thenceforth be deemed to be organized.

(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)