2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 75 - LIBRARIES › 75 ILCS 16/ - Public Library District Act of 1991. › Article 20 - Mergers Of Districts

(75 ILCS 16/Art. 20 heading)
ARTICLE 20.  
		MERGERS OF DISTRICTS
(75 ILCS 16/20-5)
Sec. 20-5. 
		Mergers authorized. 
		Mergers of 2 or more districts contiguous to
each other may be accomplished as provided in this Article.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)
(75 ILCS 16/20-10)
Sec. 20-10. 
		Ordinance for merger; notice of intent.
(a) The board of trustees of a district
wishing to merge with a contiguous district having the same limitations
upon the annual library taxes that may be levied shall publish notice of its
intent to adopt an ordinance for merger with the contiguous
district.  The notice shall be published in accordance with Section
1-30 in the proposed district and in the county that contains all or the larger
portion of the proposed district. The notice shall state the time, date, and
place of the meeting at which the ordinance is to be voted upon.
(b) On the date specified in the notice, the board of trustees may proceed
to enact the ordinance for merger. Enactment of the ordinance must be by a
two-thirds vote of the trustees serving on the board of each district. Ayes and
nays shall be recorded.
(c) The ordinances for merger enacted by each district need not be worded
exactly the same, but each ordinance must specifically state the intent to
merge.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)
(75 ILCS 16/20-15)
Sec. 20-15. 
		Petition of residents; referendum.
(a) An election for a merger may be called upon the filing of petitions
signed by at least 100 of the voters residing in each of the districts.
The petitions shall specify the new maximum tax rate if the districts
proposed to be merged do not have the same limitations upon the annual
library taxes that may be levied.  Separate but identical petitions shall
be filed with the secretary of each district affected.  The specified
petitions shall be filled with the Secretaries of the respective districts
within 90 days of each other.
(b) The secretary of each district shall certify the question of merger to
the proper election authority, who shall submit the question to the respective
voters of each district affected at a regular election in accordance with
the Election Code.  The proposition shall be in substantially the following
form:
Shall (name of public library district), (location),     Illinois, be merged with (name of public library district), (location), Illinois?
If the petitions specified a new maximum tax rate, the ballot shall be
in substantially the following form:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Shall The ....... Public Library
District, of ....... Illinois, be
merged with The ....... Public          YES
Library District, of ....... Illinois,
with a maximum annual public library   -----------------------
tax rate for the merged districts
established at ....% of the value of    NO
all taxable property as equalized and
assessed by the Department of Revenue?"
--------------------------------------------------------------
(c) If a majority of the votes cast upon the question in each district
are in favor of the merger, the districts shall be merged. The election
authority of each district shall prepare a certificate of the results of
the election.
(d) A proposition for the merger of public library districts shall not be
submitted to the voters more often than once a year.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)
(75 ILCS 16/20-20)
Sec. 20-20. 
		Petition by districts after ordinance or referendum.
(a) Each district shall, upon enactment of a merger ordinance or upon
an election approving a merger, file an appropriate petition with the circuit
court of the county in which the majority of the merged territories lie.
The petition shall set forth the following:
(1) The merger ordinances or the certificate of the     election authority upon the question of merger.
(2) The establishment and history of the district.
(3) The lawful ceiling or limitation upon the annual     public library tax levy.
(4) The territory of the district and a map of the     district.
(5) The bond issues outstanding, the amount of the     issues that is due, and the dates payments are due.
(b) The petition shall request a date for
a hearing on the petition and the name of the judge appointed to preside.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)
(75 ILCS 16/20-25)
Sec. 20-25. 
		Hearing; court order for merger.
(a) The circuit court shall enter its order setting forth the date of the
hearing and naming the judge who will preside at the hearing. The trustees of
each district shall publish notice of the petition and the time, date, and
place of the hearing in accordance with Section 1-30 in the proposed district
and in the county that contains all or the larger portion of the proposed
district.
(b) At the hearing, all residents of the affected districts shall have a
reasonable opportunity to appear and present evidence regarding the lawful
ceiling, limitations upon, or duplications of the library tax levies then in
effect.
(c) The judge, upon hearing the petition and the evidence presented and
upon finding it sufficient, shall enter a final judgment doing the following:
(1) Approving the merger of the districts petitioning     for merger.
(2) Naming the district.
(3) Appointing the incumbent trustees as trustees of     the district with the same terms each had as a trustee before the merger.
(4) Fixing the boundaries of the districts.
(5) Specifying the ceiling or limitation upon the     annual public library tax that may be levied by the district after the merger based upon the limitation specified in the petition for referendum or the merger ordinance. If any library party to the merger was eligible to receive its proportionate share of the Personal Property Tax Replacement Fund, that eligibility shall continue to apply to the entire library district created by the merger.
(6) Specifying the effective date of the merger to be     the ensuing July 1 after entry of the judgment.
(7) Specifying that the district formed by the merger     has acquired the assets and has assumed the liabilities of the districts not excluded in the final judgment.
(d) The trustees shall publish notice of the order and its effective
date in the same manner as for notice of a petition to the circuit court for
merger of the districts.
(e) The order shall be effective not later than 30 days after the date of
its entry.
(f) No further election need be held on the
question of merger under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)
(75 ILCS 16/20-30)
Sec. 20-30. 
		Existing bond issue or special tax levy.
(a) An existing bond issue shall not be affected by a
merger of districts, but shall
continue in full force and effect, and a special tax supporting the
existing bond issue
shall continue to be levied upon the residents of the district originally
approving the bond issue.
(b) The merger shall not
affect the levy of any other special
tax under Article 35. The levy shall continue
in full force and effect, and the special taxes shall continue to be levied
upon the residents of the district originally authorizing the special
taxes.
(c) Residents
of the other district  or districts involved in the merger shall not be
specially taxed in these instances unless the special taxes
are first approved
by the voters in the same manner as in the case of the original voter approval,
as provided in Article 35.
(Source: P.A. 87-1277.)