Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

MUNICIPALITIES
(65 ILCS 5/) Illinois Municipal Code.

65 ILCS 5/Art. 5 Div. 5

 
    (65 ILCS 5/Art. 5 Div. 5 heading)
DIVISION 5. ABANDONMENT OF
MANAGERIAL FORM

65 ILCS 5/5-5-1

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-1) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-1)
    Sec. 5-5-1. Petition for abandonment of managerial form; referendum; succeeding elections of officers and alderpersons or trustees.
    (a) A city or village that has operated for 4 years or more under the managerial form of municipal government may abandon that organization as provided in this Section. For the purposes of this Article, the operation of the managerial form of municipal government shall be deemed to begin on the date of the appointment of the first manager in the city or village. When a petition for abandonment signed by electors of the municipality equal in number to at least 10% of the number of votes cast for candidates for mayor at the preceding general quadrennial municipal election is filed with the circuit court for the county in which that city or village is located, the court shall set a date not less than 10 nor more than 30 days thereafter for a hearing on the sufficiency of the petition. Notice of the filing of the petition and of the date of the hearing shall be given in writing to the city or village clerk and to the mayor or village president at least 7 days before the date of the hearing. If the petition is found sufficient, the court shall enter an order directing that the proposition be submitted at an election other than a primary election for the municipality. The clerk of the court shall certify the proposition to the proper election authorities for submission. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
        Shall (name of city or village) retain the managerial
    
form of municipal government?
    (b) If the majority of the votes at the election are "yes", then the proposition to abandon is rejected and the municipality shall continue operating under this Article 5. If the majority of the votes are "no", then the proposition to abandon operation under this Article 5 is approved.
    (c) If the proposition for abandonment is approved, the city or village shall become subject to Article 3.1 or Article 4, whichever Article was in force in the city or village immediately before the adoption of the plan authorized by this Article 5, upon the election and qualification of officers to be elected at the next succeeding general municipal election. Those officers shall be those prescribed by Article 3.1 or Article 4, as the case may be, but the change shall not in any manner or degree affect the property rights or liabilities of the city or village. The mayor, clerk, and treasurer and all other elected officers of a city or village in office at the time the proposition for abandonment is approved shall continue in office until the expiration of the term for which they were elected.
    (d) If a city or village operating under this Article 5 has alderpersons or trustees elected from wards or districts and a proposition to abandon operation under this Article 5 is approved, then the officers to be elected at the next succeeding general municipal election shall be elected from the same wards or districts as exist immediately before the abandonment.
    (e) If a city or village operating under this Article 5 has a council or village board elected from the municipality at large and a proposition to abandon operation under this Article 5 is approved, then the first group of alderpersons, board of trustees, or commissioners so elected shall be of the same number as was provided for in the municipality at the time of the adoption of a plan under this Article 5, with the same ward or district boundaries in cities or villages that immediately before the adoption of this Article 5 had wards or districts, unless the municipal boundaries have been changed. If there has been such a change, the council or village board shall so alter the former ward or district boundaries so as to conform as nearly as possible to the former division. If the plan authorized by this Article 5 is abandoned, the next general municipal election for officers shall be held at the time specified in Section 3.1-10-75 or 3.1-25-15 for that election. The alderpersons or trustees elected at that election shall, if the city or village was operating under Article 3 at the time of adoption of this Article 5 and had at that time staggered 4 year terms of office for the alderpersons or trustees, choose by lot which shall serve initial 2 year terms as provided by Section 3.1-20-35 or 3.1-15-5, whichever may be applicable, in the case of election of those officers at the first election after a municipality is incorporated.
    (f) The proposition to abandon the managerial form of municipal government shall not be submitted in any city or village oftener than once in 46 months.
(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-1.1

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-1.1) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-1.1)
    Sec. 5-5-1.1. The proposition to abandon the managerial form provided in Section 5-5-1 shall not be submitted at the primary election for the municipality.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-2

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-2) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-2)
    Sec. 5-5-2. The petition specified in Section 5-5-1 shall contain a general statement, of not more than 200 words, of the reasons for which the change is sought.
    The petition shall include substantially the following:
    To the Circuit Court of the County of (name of county):
    We, the undersigned electors of the city (or village) of...., entitled to vote for mayor (or president) in the city (or village) of ...., do hereby demand an election on the issue whether to retain the managerial form for the following reasons: (Here state reasons in not more than 200 words).
-------------------

House
NameNumberStreetDate of Signing

(if any)
-------------------
-------------------
    Opposite his signature, each petitioner shall write the street and number of his residence (if there are such) and the date on which he signs the sheet. No signature shall be valid unless the requirements in this paragraph are complied with and unless the date of signing is less than 4 months preceding the date of filing the petition.
    No signature shall be revoked, except by a written revocation filed with the circuit court with whom the petition is required to be filed before the petition is filed. Upon the request of any person, the clerk of such circuit court shall furnish a certified copy of the petition including the names thereon, upon the payment by that person to the clerk of a fee of $1 for each 100 names thereon.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-3

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-3) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-3)
    Sec. 5-5-3. Jurisdiction is vested in the circuit court to determine without a jury the sufficiency of the petition.
    The clerk of the court, with whom the petition is filed, immediately after it is filed with him, shall present it to the court. The court shall then schedule a hearing on the sufficiency of the petition as provided in Section 5-5-1.
    The specified court shall ascertain and declare by the entry of an order, the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.
(Source: P.A. 80-1031.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-4

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-4) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-4)
    Sec. 5-5-4. If the court finds the petition sufficient, it shall order the proposition to be submitted at an election. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the proposition and the order for submission to the proper election authorities.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-5

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-5) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-5)
    Sec. 5-5-5. Any city or village which has adopted this Article 5 and was operating under Article 4 at the time of such adoption may upon abandonment of this Article 5 also abandon operation under Article 4, as provided in Section 4-10-1, and by so doing shall become subject to the alderperson form provisions of Article 3 and shall be subject to the provisions of that Article 3 the same as if it had been operating under Article 3 at the time this Article 5 was adopted, except for any period of time after abandonment of this Article 5 necessary to make the provisions of Article 3 fully and completely applicable.
    Any city or village which has adopted this Article 5 and was operating under Article 3 at the time of such adoption may upon abandonment of this Article 5 also abandon operation under Article 3 by adopting Article 4, as provided in Sections 4-2-2 through 4-2-9, and by so doing shall become subject to the provisions of Article 4 and shall be subject to the provisions of that Article 4 the same as if it had been operating under Article 4 at the time this Article 5 was adopted, except for any period of time after abandonment of this Article 5 necessary to make the provisions of Article 4 fully and completely applicable.
(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

65 ILCS 5/5-5-6

    (65 ILCS 5/5-5-6) (from Ch. 24, par. 5-5-6)
    Sec. 5-5-6. If a city or village operating under this Article 5 desires to submit (1) the rejection or continuance of the managerial form of municipal government and (2) the adoption or abandonment of the commission form or the strong mayor form of municipal government if the managerial government is abandoned, both propositions may be submitted at the same election, and may be printed on the same ballot, but each proposition shall be stated separately. In case the 2 petitions are filed, the time limitation in Section 5-5-1 shall not apply. If the proposition to abandon the managerial form of municipal government receives a majority of the votes and the proposition to adopt or to abandon Article 4 or Article 6, as the case may be, receives a majority of the votes, the provision in Section 5-5-1 that such city or village shall become subject to the provisions of Article 3, 4 or 6, whichever article was in force in such city or village immediately prior to the abandonment or the plan authorized by this Article 5 shall not apply. In case the proposition to abandon the managerial form of municipal government fails to receive a majority of votes and the proposition to adopt or to abandon Article 4 or Article 6, as the case may be, receives a majority of votes, the provisions of Section 5-5-5 shall be applicable.
    In case the proposition to abandon the managerial form of municipal government receives a majority of votes, and the proposition to adopt or to abandon Article 4 or Article 6, as the case may be, fails to receive a majority of the votes, the provision in Section 5-5-1 that such city or village shall become subject to the provisions of Article 3, Article 4 or Article 6, whichever article was in force in such city or village immediately prior to the adoption of the plan authorized by this Article 5 shall be applicable.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)