2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 70 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS › 70 ILCS 3615/ - Regional Transportation Authority Act. › Article III - Organization

(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)
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.)