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COUNTIES
(55 ILCS 5/) Counties Code.

55 ILCS 5/5-12008

    (55 ILCS 5/5-12008) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-12008)
    Sec. 5-12008. Enforcement of ordinances or resolutions. All ordinances or resolutions passed under the terms of this Division shall be enforced by such officer of the county as may be designated by ordinance or resolution. The ordinance or resolution may require that for any class or classes of districts created thereby, applications be made for permits to erect buildings or structures, or to alter or remodel existing buildings or structures, and may vest in the officer designated to enforce the ordinance or resolution, the power to make orders, requirements, decisions and determinations with respect to applications for such permits and with respect to the enforcement of the terms of the ordinance or resolution.
(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

55 ILCS 5/5-12009

    (55 ILCS 5/5-12009) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-12009)
    Sec. 5-12009. Variation by board of appeals. The regulations by this Division authorized may provide that a board of appeals may determine and vary their application in harmony with their general purpose and intent and in accordance with general or specific rules therein contained in cases where there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of any of such regulations relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land; or the regulations by this Division authorized may provide that the county board may, by ordinance or resolution determine and vary their application in harmony with their general purpose and intent and in accordance with general or specific rules therein contained in cases where there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of any such regulations relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land; however, no such variation shall be made by such county board without a hearing before the board of appeals unless the variation sought is a variation of ten percent or less of the regulations by this Division authorized as to location of structures or as to bulk requirements under such regulations, in which case no public hearing is required and such variation may be granted by the administrative official charged with the enforcement of any ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this Division. Provided, however, that before such variation may be granted, a notice of the intent to grant such variation shall be sent by certified mail to all adjoining landowners. If any adjoining landowner files a written objection with the administrative official within 15 days of receipt of such notice, the variation shall only be considered by the board of appeals in the manner provided in this Section. All other variations sought shall be made only by ordinance, resolution or otherwise in a specific case and after a public hearing before a board of appeals of which there shall be at least 15 days notice of the date, time and place of such hearing published in a newspaper of general circulation published in the township or road district in which such property is located. If no newspaper is published in such township or road district, then such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county and having circulation where such property is located. The notice shall contain: (1) the particular location of the real estate for which the variation is requested by legal description and street address, and if no street address then by locating such real estate with reference to any well-known landmark, highway, road, thoroughfare or intersection; (2) whether or not the petitioner or applicant is acting for himself or in the capacity of agent, alter ego, or representative of a principal, and stating the name and address of the actual and true principal; (3) whether petitioner or applicant is a corporation, and if a corporation, the correct names and addresses of all officers and directors, and of all stockholders or shareholders owning any interest in excess of 20% of all outstanding stock of such corporation; (4) whether the petitioner or applicant, or his principal if other than applicant, is a business or entity doing business under an assumed name, and if so, the name and residence of all true and actual owners of such business or entity; (5) whether the petitioner or applicant is a partnership, joint venture, syndicate or an unincorporated voluntary association, and if so, the names and addresses of all partners, joint venturers, syndicate members or members of the unincorporated voluntary association; and (6) a brief statement of what the proposed variation consists.
    The costs or charges of the publication notice by this Section required shall be paid by the petitioner or applicant.
    Where a variation is to be made by ordinance or resolution, upon the report of the board of appeals such county board may by ordinance or resolution without further public hearing adopt any proposed variation or may refer it back to the board of appeals for further consideration and any proposed variation which fails to receive the approval of the board of appeals shall not be passed except by the favorable vote of 3/4 of all the members of the county board, but in counties in which the county board consists of 3 members only a 2/3 vote is required. Every such variation, whether made by the board of appeals directly or by ordinance or resolution after a hearing before a board of appeals shall be accompanied by a finding of fact specifying the reason for making such variation.
    If a township located within a county with a population of less than 600,000 or more than 3,000,000 has a plan commission, and the plan commission objects to a zoning variation which affects unincorporated areas of the township, the township board of trustees within 15 days after the public hearing before the board of appeals on such zoning variation, may submit its written objections to the county board of the county where the unincorporated areas of the township are located. In such case, the county board shall not approve the zoning variation, except by the favorable vote of 3/4 of all members of the county board.
    Appeals from final zoning decisions of the County Board must be filed within one year unless a shorter filing period is required by another law.
(Source: P.A. 91-738, eff. 1-1-01.)

55 ILCS 5/5-12009.5

    (55 ILCS 5/5-12009.5)
    Sec. 5-12009.5. Special uses.
    (a) The county board may, by an ordinance passed under this Division, provide for the classification of special uses. Those uses may include, but are not limited to, public and quasi-public uses affecting the public interest; uses that have a unique, special, or unusual impact upon the use or enjoyment of neighboring property; and uses that affect planned development. A use may be permitted in one or more zoning districts and may be a special use in one or more other zoning districts.
    (b) A special use may be granted only after a public hearing conducted by the board of appeals. There must be at least 15 days' notice before the hearing. The notice must include the time, place, and date of the hearing and must be published in a newspaper published in the township or road district where the property is located. If there is no newspaper published in the township or road district where the property is located, the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice must also contain (i) the particular location of the property for which the special use is requested by legal description and by street address, or if there is no street address, by locating the property with reference to any well-known landmark, highway, road, thoroughfare, or intersection; (ii) whether the petitioner or applicant is acting for himself or herself or as an agent, alter ego, or representative of a principal and the name and address of the principal; (iii) whether the petitioner or applicant is a corporation, and if so, the correct names and addresses of all officers and directors of the corporation and of all stockholders or shareholders owning any interest in excess of 20% of all of the outstanding stock or shares of the corporation; (iv) whether the petitioner or applicant, or his or her principal, is a business or entity doing business under an assumed name, and if so, the name and residence of all actual owners of the business or entity; (v) whether the petitioner or applicant, or his or her principal, is a partnership, joint venture, syndicate, or an unincorporated voluntary association, and if so, the names and addresses of all partners or members of the partnership, joint venture, syndicate, or unincorporated voluntary association; and (vi) a brief statement of the proposed special use.
    In addition to any other notice required by this Section, the board of appeals must give at least 15 days' notice before the hearing to (i) any municipality whose boundaries are within 1-1/2 miles of any part of the property proposed as a special use and (ii) the owner or owners of any land adjacent to or immediately across any street, alley, or public right-of-way from the property proposed as a special use.
    The petitioner or applicant must pay the cost of the publication of the notice required by this Section.
    (c) A special use may be granted only upon evidence that the special use meets the standards established for that classification in the ordinance. The special use may be subject to conditions reasonably necessary to meet those standards.
    (d) The board of appeals shall report to the county board a finding of fact and a recommendation as to whether the county board should deny, grant, or grant subject to conditions the special use. The county board may, by ordinance and without a further public hearing, adopt any proposed special use on receiving the report or it may refer the proposal back to the board of appeals for further consideration.
    (e) The county board may, by ordinance, delegate to the board of appeals the authority to grant special uses subject to the restrictions and requirements of this Section. The ordinance may delegate the authority to grant all special uses or to grant only certain classes of special uses while reserving to the county board the authority to grant other classes of special uses. If the county board enacts an ordinance delegating its authority, the board of appeals must, after conducting the required public hearing, issue a finding of fact and final decision in writing on the proposed special use.
(Source: P.A. 90-175, eff. 1-1-98; 91-334, eff. 7-29-99.)

55 ILCS 5/5-12010

    (55 ILCS 5/5-12010) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-12010)
    Sec. 5-12010. Board of Appeals. The presiding officer of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board shall appoint a board of appeals consisting of 5 members and may appoint 2 alternate members, the 5 members to serve respectively for the following terms: one for one year, one for 2 years, one for 3 years, one for 4 years and one for 5 years; and the alternate members to serve respectively for 4 years and 5 years. The successor to each member so appointed shall serve for a term of 5 years. Alternate members, if appointed, shall serve as members of the board only in the absence of regular members, with the alternate member who has the greatest amount of time remaining in his or her term to have priority over the other alternate member in determining which alternate member shall serve in the absence of a regular member. In counties of less than 1,000,000 population the presiding officer of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board may appoint an additional 2 members to serve for a term of 5 years. At the end of the term of the 2 additional members, the county board may provide for the appointment of successors in the same manner or may allow the board of appeals to revert to a membership of 5. One of the members so appointed shall be named as chairman at the time of his appointment, and in case of vacancy the appointing power shall designate a chairman. All members of a board of appeals shall be residents of separate townships at the time of their appointments, except that in counties containing fewer than 5 townships, or fewer than 7 townships if the county board has provided for the appointment of 2 additional members, that limitation shall not be applicable. The appointing authority shall have the power to remove any member of the board for cause, after public hearing. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired term of any member whose place has become vacant. The members of the board of appeals shall be compensated on a per diem basis with a mileage allowance for travel, the amounts to be determined by the county board. All meetings of the board of appeals shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such times and places within the county as the board may determine. The chairman, or in his absence the acting chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions. Every rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof, and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the board shall immediately be filed in the office of the board and shall be a public record. In the performance of its duties the board of appeals may incur such expenditures as are authorized by the county board.
(Source: P.A. 89-217, eff. 1-1-96.)

55 ILCS 5/5-12011

    (55 ILCS 5/5-12011) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-12011)
    Sec. 5-12011. Hearing and decision of board of appeals. The board of appeals shall also hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official charged with the enforcement of any ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this Division.
    It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under any such ordinance or resolution or under the terms of this Division. Where a public hearing before a board of appeals is required by this Division or by any ordinance or resolution under the terms of this Division, notice of each hearing shall be published at least 15 days in advance thereof in a newspaper of general circulation published in the township or road district in which such property is located. If no newspaper is published in such township or road district, then such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county and having circulation where such property is located. The concurring vote of 3 members of a board consisting of 5 members or the concurring vote of 4 members of a board consisting of 7 members is necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under any such ordinance or resolution, or to effect any variation in such ordinance or resolution, or to recommend any variation or modification in such ordinance or resolution to the county board. An appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the county. An appeal shall be taken within such time as is prescribed by the board of appeals by general rule by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the board of appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
    An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the board of appeals after the notice of appeal has been filed with him that by reasons of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the board of appeals or by a court on application, on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
(Source: P.A. 92-128, eff. 1-1-02.)