Public Act 93-0302

HB0116 Enrolled                      LRB093 03383 MKM 03401 b

    AN ACT concerning fire protection districts.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 2. The Township Code is amended by adding Section
30-166 as follows:

    (60 ILCS 1/30-166 new)
    Sec.  30-166.  Civil penalties for false fire alarms. The
township board of  any  township  providing  fire  protection
services may impose reasonable civil penalties on individuals
who repeatedly cause false fire alarms.

    Section  5.   The Fire Protection District Act is amended
by changing Section 6 as follows:

    (70 ILCS 705/6) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 26)
    Sec.  6.  The  trustees  shall  constitute  a  board   of
trustees for the district for which they are appointed, which
board  of  trustees is declared to be the corporate authority
of the fire protection district, and shall  exercise  all  of
the  powers  and control all the affairs and property of such
district. The board of trustees at their initial meeting  and
at their first meeting following the commencement of the term
of  any  trustee shall elect one of their number as president
and one of their  number  as  secretary  and  shall  elect  a
treasurer for the district, who may be one of the trustees or
may  be  any other citizen of the district and who shall hold
office during the pleasure of the board and  who  shall  give
such  bond  as  may  be  required  by  the  board.  Except as
otherwise provided in Sections 16.01 through 16.18, the board
may  appoint  and  enter  into  a  multi-year  contract   not
exceeding  3  years  with  a  fire  chief and may appoint any
firemen that may be necessary for the district who shall hold
office during the pleasure of the board and  who  shall  give
any bond that the board may require.  The board may prescribe
the  duties  and fix the compensation of all the officers and
employees of the fire protection district.  A member  of  the
board  of  trustees  of  a  fire  protection  district may be
compensated as follows: in a district  having  fewer  than  4
full time paid firemen, a sum not to exceed $1,000 per annum;
in  a  district having more than 3 but less than 10 full time
paid firemen, a sum not to exceed  $1,500  per  annum;  in  a
district  having  either 10 or more full time paid firemen, a
sum not  to  exceed  $2,000  per  annum.  In  addition,  fire
districts  that  operate  an  ambulance  service  pursuant to
authorization by referendum, as provided in Section  22,  may
pay  trustees an additional annual compensation not to exceed
50%  of  the  amount  otherwise   authorized   herein.    The
additional compensation shall be an administrative expense of
the  ambulance service and shall be paid from revenues raised
by the ambulance  tax  levy.   The  trustees  also  have  the
express  power  to  execute  a note or notes and to execute a
mortgage or trust deed to secure the payment of such note  or
notes;  such  trust deed or mortgage shall cover real estate,
or some part thereof,  or  personal  property  owned  by  the
district and the lien of the mortgage shall apply to the real
estate or personal property so mortgaged by the district, and
the  proceeds  of  the  note  or  notes  may  be  used in the
acquisition of personal property or of real estate or in  the
erection  of  improvements on such real estate.  The trustees
have express power to purchase either real estate or personal
property to be used for the purposes of the  fire  protection
district    through   contracts   which   provide   for   the
consideration  for  such  purchase   to   be   paid   through
installments  to be made at stated intervals during a certain
period of time, but, in no case, shall such contracts provide
for the consideration to be paid during a period of  time  in
excess  of  25  years.   The  trustees  have express power to
provide for the benefit of its employees,  volunteer  firemen
and  paid firemen, group life, health, accident, hospital and
medical insurance, or any combination thereof; and to pay for
all or any portion of the premiums on such  insurance.   Such
insurance  may  include  provisions for employees who rely on
treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer for healing
in accord with the tenets and practice of a  well  recognized
religious  denomination.  The  board  of trustees has express
power to change the corporate name  of  the  fire  protection
district  by  ordinance  provided  that  notification  of any
change is given to the circuit clerk and the  Office  of  the
State   Fire  Marshal.  The  board  of  trustees  may  impose
reasonable civil  penalties  on  individuals  who  repeatedly
cause false fire alarms. The board of trustees has full power
to  pass  all necessary ordinances, and rules and regulations
for the proper management and conduct of the business of  the
board  of  trustees  of  the  fire  protection  district  for
carrying  into  effect the objects for which the district was
formed.
(Source: P.A. 91-948, eff. 1-1-02.)