70 ILCS 3615/ Regional Transportation Authority Act.

(70 ILCS 3615/Art. III heading) ARTICLE III. ORGANIZATION.

(70 ILCS 3615/3.01) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.01)

Sec. 3.01. Board of Directors. The corporate authorities and governing body of the Authority shall be a Board consisting of 13 Directors until April 1, 2008, and 16 Directors thereafter, appointed as follows:

(a) Four Directors appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago, with the advice and consent of the City Council of the City of Chicago, and, only until April 1, 2008, a fifth director who shall be the Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority. After April 1, 2008, the Mayor of the City of Chicago, with the advice and consent of the City Council of the City of Chicago, shall appoint a fifth Director. The Directors appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago shall not be the Chairman or a Director of the Chicago Transit Authority. Each such Director shall reside in the City of Chicago.

(b) Four Directors appointed by the votes of a majority of the members of the Cook County Board elected from districts, a majority of the electors of which reside outside Chicago. After April 1, 2008, a fifth Director appointed by the President of the Cook County Board with the advice and consent of the members of the Cook County Board. Each Director appointed under this subparagraph shall reside in that part of Cook County outside Chicago.

(c) Until April 1, 2008, 3 Directors appointed by the Chairmen of the County Boards of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties, as follows:

(i) Two Directors appointed by the Chairmen of the county boards of Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, with the concurrence of not less than a majority of the Chairmen from such counties, from nominees by the Chairmen. Each such Chairman may nominate not more than 2 persons for each position. Each such Director shall reside in a county in the metropolitan region other than Cook or DuPage Counties.

(ii) One Director appointed by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board with the advice and consent of the DuPage County Board. Such Director shall reside in DuPage County.

(d) After April 1, 2008, 5 Directors appointed by the Chairmen of the County Boards of DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry Counties and the County Executive of Will County, as follows:

(i) One Director appointed by the Chairman of the Kane County Board with the advice and consent of the Kane County Board. Such Director shall reside in Kane County.

(ii) One Director appointed by the County Executive of Will County with the advice and consent of the Will County Board. Such Director shall reside in Will County.

(iii) One Director appointed by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board with the advice and consent of the DuPage County Board. Such Director shall reside in DuPage County.

(iv) One Director appointed by the Chairman of the Lake County Board with the advice and consent of the Lake County Board. Such Director shall reside in Lake County.

(v) One Director appointed by the Chairman of the McHenry County Board with the advice and consent of the McHenry County Board. Such Director shall reside in McHenry County.

(vi) To implement the changes in appointing authority under this subparagraph (d) the three Directors appointed under subparagraph (c) and residing in Lake County, DuPage County, and Kane County respectively shall each continue to serve as Director until the expiration of their respective term of office and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified or a vacancy occurs in the office. Thereupon, the appointment shall be made by the officials given appointing authority with respect to the Director whose term has expired or office has become vacant.

(e) The Chairman serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall continue to serve as Chairman until the expiration of his or her term of office and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified or a vacancy occurs in the office. Upon the expiration or vacancy of the term of the Chairman then serving upon the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Chairman shall be appointed by the other Directors, by the affirmative vote of at least 11 of the then Directors with at least 2 affirmative votes from Directors who reside in the City of Chicago, at least 2 affirmative votes from Directors who reside in Cook County outside the City of Chicago, and at least 2 affirmative votes from Directors who reside in the Counties of DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, or McHenry. The chairman shall not be appointed from among the other Directors. The chairman shall be a resident of the metropolitan region.

(f) Except as otherwise provided by this Act no Director shall, while serving as such, be an officer, a member of the Board of Directors or Trustees or an employee of any Service Board or transportation agency, or be an employee of the State of Illinois or any department or agency thereof, or of any municipality, county, or any other unit of local government or receive any compensation from any elected or appointed office under the Constitution and laws of Illinois; except that a Director may be a member of a school board.

(g) Each appointment made under this Section and under Section 3.03 shall be certified by the appointing authority to the Board, which shall maintain the certifications as part of the official records of the Authority.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 98-709, eff. 7-16-14.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.02) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.02)

Sec. 3.02. Chairman and Other Officers. The Chairman shall preside at meetings of the Board, and shall be entitled to vote on all matters. The Board shall select a Secretary and a Treasurer and may select persons to fill such other offices of the Authority and to perform such duties as it shall from time to time determine. The Secretary, Treasurer and other officers of the Authority may, but need not be, members of the Board.

(Source: P.A. 83-886.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.03) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.03)

Sec. 3.03. Terms, vacancies. Each Director shall hold office for a term of 5 years, and until his successor has been appointed and has qualified. A vacancy shall occur upon resignation, death, conviction of a felony, or removal from office of a Director. Any Director may be removed from office (i) upon concurrence of not less than 11 Directors, on a formal finding of incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office or (ii) by the Governor in response to a summary report received from the Executive Inspector General in accordance with Section 20-50 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, provided he or she has an opportunity to be publicly heard in person or by counsel prior to removal. Within 30 days after the office of any member becomes vacant for any reason, the appointing authorities of such member shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.

Whenever a vacancy for a Director, except as to the Chairman or those Directors appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago, exists for longer than 4 months, the new Director shall be chosen by election by all legislative members in the General Assembly representing the affected area. In order to qualify as a voting legislative member in this matter, the affected area must be more than 50% of the geographic area of the legislative district.

(Source: P.A. 95-708, eff. 1-18-08; 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.04) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.04)

Sec. 3.04. Compensation. Each Director including the Chairman, except for the Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority who shall not be compensated by the Authority, shall be compensated at the rate of $25,000 per year.

Officers of the Authority shall not be required to comply with the requirements of "An Act requiring certain custodians of public moneys to file and publish statements of the receipts and disbursements thereof", approved June 24, 1919, as now or hereafter amended.

(Source: P.A. 83-885; 83-886.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.05) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.05)

Sec. 3.05. Meetings. The Board shall prescribe the times and places for meetings and the manner in which special meetings may be called. The Board shall comply in all respects with the "Open Meetings Act", approved July 11, 1957, as now or hereafter amended. All records, documents and papers of the Authority, other than those relating to matters concerning which closed sessions of the Board may be held, shall be available for public examination, subject to such reasonable regulations as the Board may adopt.

A majority of the Directors holding office shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the affirmative votes of at least 9 Directors shall be necessary for approving any contract or agreement, adopting any rule or regulation, and any other action required by this Act to be taken by resolution or ordinance.

The Board shall meet with the Regional Citizens Advisory Board at least once every 4 months.

Open meetings of the Board shall be broadcast to the public and maintained in real-time on the Board's website using a high-speed Internet connection. Recordings of each meeting broadcast shall be posted to the Board's website within a reasonable time after the meeting and shall be maintained as public records to the extent practicable, as determined by the Board. Compliance with the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly does not relieve the Board of its obligations under the Open Meetings Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-1139, eff. 6-1-15.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.06) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.06)

Sec. 3.06. Territory and Annexation. The initial territory of the Authority shall be Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, Illinois. Any other county or portion thereof in Illinois contiguous to the metropolitan region may be annexed to the Authority on such conditions as the Authority shall by ordinance prescribe, by ordinance adopted by the county board of such county, and by approval by the Authority. Upon such annexation, a certificate of such action shall be filed by the Secretary of the Authority with the County Clerk of the county so annexing to the Authority and with the Secretary of State of Illinois and the State Department of Revenue.

No area may be annexed to the Authority except upon the approval of a majority of the electors of such area voting on the proposition so to annex, which proposition may be presented at any regular election as provided by the county board or boards of the county or counties in which the area in question is located. Such county board or boards shall cause certification of such proposition to be given in accordance with the general election law to the proper election officers who shall submit the proposition at an election in accordance with the general election law.

(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.08) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703.08)

Sec. 3.08. There is established a Regional Citizens Advisory Board. This board shall be comprised of the Chairmen of the Citizens Advisory Boards of the Chicago Transit Authority, the Commuter Rail Board and the Suburban Bus Board. This Board shall meet at least quarterly and shall advise the Board of the impact of its policies and programs on the communities within the metropolitan region. Members shall serve without compensation.

(Source: P.A. 83-886.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.09)

Sec. 3.09. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 83-886. Repealed by P.A. 95-708, eff. 1-18-08.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.10)

Sec. 3.10. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 83-886. Repealed by P.A. 95-708, eff. 1-18-08.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.11)

Sec. 3.11. Free and reduced fare services. The Authority shall provide the Department of Public Health with a monthly list of all riders that receive free or reduced fares. The list shall include an individual's name, address, and date of birth. The Department of Public Health shall, within 2 weeks after receipt of the list, report back to the Authority any discrepancies that indicate that a rider receiving free or reduced fare services is deceased. The Authority upon receipt of the report from the Department of Public Health shall take appropriate steps to remove any deceased individual's name from the list of individuals eligible under the free or reduced fare programs.

(Source: P.A. 97-781, eff. 1-1-13.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3.12)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 3.12. Reduced or free transit fare study.

(a) By July 1, 2024, the Authority shall conduct a study and submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding free and reduced fares and the development of a more equitable fare structure for the regional transit system. The study shall include:

(1) The impact and feasibility of providing year-round reduced or free transit fares, including, but not limited to, veterans, returning residents, students and youths, people experiencing low-incomes, and other riders who are not currently receiving free or reduced fares.

(2) A review of all reduced fare programs administered by the Authority and the service boards, which includes information on accounting of the total cost of the program, costs to increase the program, current sources of funding for the program, and recommendations to increase enrollment in current reduced fare and free-ride programs and any other recommendations for improvements to the programs.

(3) Analysis of how reduced and free ride programs and changes in eligibility and funding for these programs would affect the regional transit operating budget.

(b) In this Section, "returning resident" means any United States resident who is 17 years of age or older and has been in and left the physical custody of the Department of Corrections within the last 36 months.

(Source: P.A. 103-281, eff. 1-1-24.)