55 ILCS 5/ Counties Code.

(55 ILCS 5/5-38006) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38006)

Sec. 5-38006. Officers of board. Immediately after their appointment the members of the county library board shall elect a president and a secretary-treasurer from among their number.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38007) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38007)

Sec. 5-38007. Powers and duties of board. The county library board shall (a) establish, equip and maintain a county library; (b) establish, equip and maintain branches and stations of the county library in the various parts of the county; (c) acquire and circulate books, periodicals, pamphlets, musical scores and records, pictures, stereopticon slides, motion picture films, and other educational material; (d) receive and administer legacies and gifts of real and personal property; (e) appoint a county librarian and necessary assistants and employees, and fix their compensation; (f) make, alter and amend, from time to time, reasonable by-laws, rules and regulations for the operation of the public county library service; and (g) do all other things necessary to carry on an efficient public county library service.

In establishing, equipping and maintaining branches or stations of the county library, the county library board may, if deemed advisable, contract, in writing, with existing libraries to serve as such branches or stations.

Whenever a county library board which has been duly appointed may desire to erect a library building, or to purchase a building or a site, or both, for a library, or to accumulate a fund for either or both of these purposes, it shall proceed in the manner provided for the carrying out of similar purposes in "An Act in relation to free public libraries for cities, villages, incorporated towns and townships and to repeal Acts and parts of Acts therein named", approved July 12, 1965, as amended.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38008) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38008)

Sec. 5-38008. Annual tax levy. An annual tax of not to exceed .04%, or the rate limit in effect on July 1, 1967, whichever is greater, of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property within each county which has established a public county library service may be assessed, levied and collected by that county in the manner provided for the assessment, levy and collection of other taxes for county purposes.

Such tax rate may be increased in excess of .04% but not in excess of .08% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue under the following terms and conditions. Prior to the levy and collection of such a tax, the county board shall adopt a resolution authorizing the levy and collection of the tax at a rate not in excess of .08% of the value of all taxable property within the county as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, and, within fifteen days after the adoption of such a resolution, it shall be published once in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the county. The publication of the resolution shall include a notice of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting that the question of the adoption of the resolution be submitted to the electors of the county; (2) the time in which the petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the prospective referendum. The county clerk shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one.

If no petition is filed in the office of the county clerk, as hereinafter provided in this Section, within 30 days after the publication of the resolution, or if all such petitions so filed are determined to be invalid or insufficient, the resolution shall be in effect. But, if within that 30 day period a petition is filed in the office of the county clerk, signed by electors numbering not less than 5% of the number of electors residing within the county, asking that the question of levying and collecting such tax be submitted to the electors of the county, the board shall certify that question to the proper election officials, who shall submit the question at an election in accordance with the general election law. If a majority of electors voting upon the question voted in favor of the levy and collection of the tax provided for, such county shall be authorized and empowered to levy and collect such tax annually, but if a majority of the electors voting upon the question are not in favor thereof, the resolution shall not take effect.

Such tax rate may be increased to not to exceed .20% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, if the voters in such county shall so determine by a majority of those voting upon the proposition at any regular election. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

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Shall the annual tax rate for

county library purposes in...... YES

County be increased from not to

exceed (insert present maximum --------------------------

rate) to not to exceed .20% of

the assessed value of all taxable NO

property within the county?

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Any such tax authorized by the voters shall not be included within any constitutional or statutory limitation for county purposes, but shall be excluded therefrom and be in addition thereto and in excess thereof. The foregoing limitations upon tax rates may be increased or decreased under the referendum provisions of the General Revenue Law of Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38009) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38009)

Sec. 5-38009. Proceeds of tax in separate fund. In counties having a population of 25,000 or more, the proceeds of this tax shall be deposited in the treasury of the county in a separate library fund. In counties having a population of less than 25,000, the proceeds thereof, shall be paid over by the person charged with the collection thereof to the county library board and deposited by it in a fund to be known as the county library fund; and in counties of such population such library board shall require the treasurer of such board or such other person as may be designated as the custodian of the moneys paid over to such board to give a bond to be approved by it and in such amount, not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 as the board may determine, conditioned that he will safely keep and will pay over upon the order of such board all funds received and held by him for such board.

No part of this fund shall be expended except upon warrants certified to as correct by the county librarian and approved by the president of the county library board. In cases where the public county library service is maintained by contract with an existing library or libraries, no part of the library fund shall be expended except upon warrants certified to as correct by the librarian or two (2) members of the board of any such library and approved by the president of the board of trustees of any such library.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38010) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38010)

Sec. 5-38010. Fiscal year. The fiscal year of any public county library service shall be co-extensive with the fiscal year of that county.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38011) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38011)

Sec. 5-38011. Report of board. Within 30 days after the close of each fiscal year, the county library board shall make a written report to the county board. In cases where a public county library service is maintained by contract with an existing library or libraries, a report shall be made to the county board at the same time by the librarian or the secretary or some other officer of the county library board of such library or libraries. A copy of each report shall be filed at the same time with the Illinois State library.

It shall contain (a), an itemized statement of the various sums of money received from the library fund, or from other sources; (b), an itemized statement of the objects and purposes to which those sums of money have been devoted; (c), a statement of the number of books and periodicals available for use, and the number thereof circulated during the fiscal year; (d), a statement of the real and personal property acquired by legacy, purchase, gift or otherwise, during the fiscal year; (e), a statement of the number, location and character of the branches or stations of the public county library service, if any, established during the fiscal year; (f), a statement of the character of any other extensions of public county library service undertaken during the fiscal year; and (g), any other statistics or information that may be required by the county board.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38012) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38012)

Sec. 5-38012. Referendum on establishment of county library service. None of the foregoing powers or duties shall be exercised, however, unless the question of establishing a public county library service shall have been submitted to the voters of the county, at a regular election, and unless a majority of the votes cast upon the question at any such election within the limits of the cities, villages and incorporated towns in the county and a majority of those cast upon the question outside the limits of such cities, villages or incorporated towns shall be in favor of the establishment of a public county library service.

This question shall not be submitted to the voters, however, unless there shall have been filed a petition therefor, signed by not less than one hundred legal voters of the county.

The proposition of establishing a public county library service shall be in substantially the following form: FOR the establishment of a public county library service. AGAINST the establishment of a public county library service.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/5-38013) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-38013)

Sec. 5-38013. Inapplicability to counties of 500,000 or more. This Division shall not apply to counties having a population of 500,000 or more.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-39 heading) Division 5-39. County Law Libraries

(55 ILCS 5/5-39001) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-39001)

Sec. 5-39001. Establishment and use; fee. The county board of any county may establish and maintain a county law library, to be located in any county building or privately or publicly owned building at the county seat of government. The term "county building" includes premises leased by the county from a public building commission created under the Public Building Commission Act. After August 2, 1976, the county board of any county may establish and maintain a county law library at the county seat of government and, in addition, branch law libraries in other locations within that county as the county board deems necessary.

The facilities of those libraries shall be freely available to all licensed Illinois attorneys, judges, other public officers of the county, and all members of the public, whenever the court house is open, and may include self-help centers and other legal assistance programs for the public as part of the services it provides on-site and online.

The expense of establishing and maintaining those libraries shall be borne by the county. To defray that expense, including the expense of any attendant self-help centers and legal assistance programs, in any county having established a county law library or libraries, the clerk of all trial courts located at the county seat of government shall charge and collect a county law library fee of $2, and the county board may authorize a county law library fee of not to exceed $21 through December 31, 2021 and $20 on and after January 1, 2022, to be charged and collected by the clerks of all trial courts located in the county. The fee shall be paid at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, but no additional fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance.

Each clerk shall commence those charges and collections upon receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county board that the board has acted under this Division to establish and maintain a law library.

The fees shall be in addition to all other fees and charges of the clerks, assessable as costs, remitted by the clerks monthly to the county treasurer, and retained by the county treasurer in a special fund designated as the County Law Library Fund. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, disbursements from the fund shall be by the county treasurer, on order of a majority of the resident circuit judges of the circuit court of the county. In any county with more than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the county board shall order disbursements from the fund and the presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, may appoint a library committee of not less than 9 members, who, by majority vote, may recommend to the county board as to disbursements of the fund and the operation of the library. In single county circuits with 2,000,000 or fewer inhabitants, disbursements from the County Law Library Fund shall be made by the county treasurer on the order of the chief judge of the circuit court of the county. In those single county circuits, the number of personnel necessary to operate and maintain the county law library shall be set by and those personnel shall be appointed by the chief judge. The county law library personnel shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The salaries of those personnel shall be fixed by the county board of the county. Orders shall be pre-audited, funds shall be audited by the county auditor, and a report of the orders and funds shall be rendered to the county board and to the judges.

Fees shall not be charged in any criminal or quasi-criminal case, in any matter coming to the clerk on change of venue, or in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative officer, agency, or body.

No moneys distributed from the County Law Library Fund may be directly or indirectly used for lobbying activities, as defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist Registration Act or as defined in any ordinance or resolution of a municipality, county, or other unit of local government in Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13; 99-859, eff. 8-19-16.)

(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-40 heading) Division 5-40. Floodplain Regulation

(55 ILCS 5/5-40001) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-40001)

Sec. 5-40001. Floodplain regulations. Counties are authorized to adopt and enforce floodplain regulations consistent with Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations that implement the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended. For the purposes of preventing flood damages and preserving the flood carrying capacity of streams, floodplain regulations shall apply to all buildings, structures, construction, excavation, and filling in the floodplain whether or not the land, buildings, structures, construction, excavation, or filling are for agricultural purposes. The Department of Natural Resources shall prepare manuals and model ordinances and shall advise counties on achieving floodplain regulation purposes without unnecessarily interfering with land uses.

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

(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-41 heading) Division 5-41. Administrative Adjudication of Ordinance Violations