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91_SB0958
SRS91S0036PMcb
1 AN ACT to concerning natural areas, amending named Acts.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Conversation District Act is amended by
5 changing Section 4 as follows:
6 (70 ILCS 410/4) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7104)
7 Sec. 4. Not less No fewer than 1% of the voters in any
8 county having less than 1,000,000 population which is not
9 organized as a forest preserve district may petition the
10 circuit court of such county to order the question to be
11 submitted to the voters of such county whether a conservation
12 district, the boundaries of which shall be coextensive with
13 the boundaries of the county, shall be organized under this
14 Act. Not less than 1% of the voters in each county of a
15 group of not more than 5 adjoining counties each of which has
16 less than 1,000,000 population and none of which is organized
17 as a forest preserve district may jointly petition the
18 circuit court of the county having the largest population to
19 order the question to be submitted to the voters of such
20 counties whether a conservation district, the boundaries of
21 which shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the group
22 of counties taken as a whole, shall be organized under this
23 Act.
24 If the proposed district shall embrace more than one
25 county the petition shall be accompanied by the written
26 approval of the Department of Natural Resources.
27 If the proposed district is coextensive with the
28 boundaries of a single county it shall be designated by the
29 name of that county.
30 Upon the filing of such petition with the circuit court,
31 the circuit clerk shall give notice of the time and place of
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1 a hearing upon the subject of the petition which shall be
2 inserted in one or more daily or weekly newspapers published
3 within the proposed district at least 20 days before such
4 hearing. If no daily or weekly newspaper is published within
5 such proposed district, notice may be given by posting at
6 least 15 copies in each county in such proposed district at
7 least 20 days before such meeting in conspicuous public
8 places as far separated from each other as reasonably
9 possible.
10 At the time and place fixed for such public hearing the
11 circuit court shall hear all persons who desire to be heard,
12 and if the circuit court shall find that the provisions of
13 this Act have been complied with and that the allegations of
14 the petition are true then the court shall order a referendum
15 by the legal voters to be held in the proposed district to
16 determine the question of organization of the proposed
17 district. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the
18 order and the question to the proper election officials who
19 shall submit the question to the voters of the proposed
20 district at a referendum in accordance with the general
21 election law.
22 Notice of the referendum shall specify the purpose of
23 such referendum with a description of such proposed district,
24 and the name of the proposed district.
25 The clerk of the circuit court shall cause a statement of
26 the results of such referendum to be entered of record in the
27 circuit court, and if such district shall lie in more than
28 one county, a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the
29 clerk of the circuit court of each such other county who
30 shall file the same of record in the circuit court of such
31 county. If a majority of the votes cast in the referendum
32 are in favor of the organization of a conservation district,
33 such district shall thenceforth be deemed to be organized.
34 (Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
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1 Section 10. The Downstate Forest Preserve District is
2 amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
3 (70 ILCS 805/1) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 6302)
4 Sec. 1. Whenever any area of contiguous territory lying
5 wholly within one county contains one or more natural forests
6 or parks thereof and one or more cities, towns or villages,
7 such territory may be incorporated as a forest preserve
8 district in the following manner, to wit:
9 Any 500 legal voters residing within the limits of such
10 proposed district may petition the circuit court of the
11 county in which such proposed district lies, to order the
12 question to be submitted to the legal voters of such proposed
13 district whether or not it shall be organized as a forest
14 preserve district under this act. Such petition shall be
15 addressed to the circuit court of the county in which such
16 proposed forest preserve district is situated and shall
17 contain a definite description of the territory intended to
18 be embraced in such district, and the name of such district.
19 Upon the filing of such petition in the office of the clerk
20 of the circuit court of the county in which such territory is
21 situated, it shall be the duty of such circuit court to fix a
22 day and hour for the public consideration thereof, which
23 shall not be less than 15 days after the filing of such
24 petition. Such circuit court shall cause a notice of the time
25 and place of such public consideration to be published 3
26 successive days in some newspaper having a general
27 circulation in the territory proposed to be placed in such
28 district. The date of the last publication of such notice
29 shall not be less than 5 days prior to the time set for such
30 public hearing. At the time and place fixed for such public
31 hearing the circuit court shall hear any person owning
32 property in such proposed district who desires to be heard,
33 and if the circuit judge finds that all of the provisions of
-4- SRS91S0036PMcb
1 this act have been complied with, the court shall enter an
2 order fixing and defining the boundaries and the name of such
3 proposed district in accordance with the prayer of the
4 petition. In the event that any other petition or petitions
5 for the organization of a forest preserve district or
6 districts in the same county is filed under this act before
7 the time fixed for the public hearing of the first petition,
8 the circuit court shall postpone the public consideration of
9 the first petition so that the hearing of all petitions shall
10 be set for the same day and hour. In any county where there
11 are 2 or more judges sitting at the time of filing such first
12 petitions the clerk of the circuit court shall cause all
13 petitions filed subsequent to the first petition to be
14 assigned to the judge to whom the first petition is assigned
15 so that all such petitions may be heard by the same judge.
16 Should 2 or more petitions be filed under this act and
17 come on for hearing at the same time and it shall be found by
18 the circuit court that any of the territory embraced in any
19 one of the petitions is included in or contiguous with the
20 territory embraced in any other petition or petitions, the
21 circuit court may include all of the territory described in
22 such petitions in one district and shall fix the name
23 proposed in the petition first filed as the name for the
24 district. After the entry of the order fixing and defining
25 the boundaries and the name of such proposed district, it
26 shall be the duty of the circuit court to order to be
27 submitted to the legal voters of such proposed district at
28 any election, the question of the organization of such
29 proposed district. The clerk of the circuit court shall
30 certify the order and the question to the proper election
31 officials who shall submit the question to the voters of the
32 proposed district in accordance with the general election
33 law. Notice of the referendum shall contain a definite
34 description of the territory intended to be embraced in such
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1 district, and the name of such district.
2 (Source: P.A. 83-1362.)