Bill Amendment: IL SB0116 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: SPECIAL SERVICE AREA TAX LAW

Status: 2016-11-30 - Third Reading - Short Debate - Lost 046-063-001 [SB0116 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB0116-House_Amendment_003.html

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Rep. Lou Lang

Filed: 5/2/2016

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 116
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 116 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended
by changing Sections 820-10, 820-20, and 820-25 and by adding
Section 820-37 as follows:
(20 ILCS 3501/820-10)
Sec. 820-10. Definitions. The following words or terms,
whenever used or referred to in this Article, shall have the
following meanings ascribed to them, except where the context
clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Department" means the Illinois Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity.
(b) "Unit of local government" means any unit of local
government, as defined in Article VII, Section 1 of the 1970
State Constitution and any local public entity as that term is

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defined by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act and also includes the State and any
instrumentality, office, officer, department, division,
bureau, commission, college or university thereof.
(c) "Energy conservation project" means any improvement,
repair, alteration or betterment of any building or facility or
any equipment, including but not limited to an Energy
Efficiency Project, as defined in item (iii) of subsection (b)
of Section 825-65, in connection with any school district or
community college district project, and any fixture or
furnishing including its energy using mechanical devices to be
added to or used in any building or facility that the Director
of the Department has certified to the Authority will be a
cost-effective energy-related project that will lower energy
or utility costs in connection with the operation or
maintenance of such building or facility, and will achieve
energy cost savings sufficient to cover bond debt service and
other project costs within 20 10 years from the date of project
installation.
(d) "Green special service area project" means any energy
efficiency improvement, renewable energy improvement, or water
use improvement as such terms are defined in Section 27-5 of
the Special Service Area Tax Law.
(Source: P.A. 97-760, eff. 7-6-12.)
(20 ILCS 3501/820-20)

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Sec. 820-20. Powers and Duties; Illinois Local Government
Financing Assistance Program. The Authority has the power:
(a) To purchase from time to time pursuant to negotiated
sale or to otherwise acquire from time to time any local
government securities issued by one or more units of local
government upon such terms and conditions as the Authority may
prescribe;
(b) To issue bonds in one or more series pursuant to one or
more resolutions of the Authority for any purpose authorized
under this Article, including without limitation purchasing or
acquiring local government securities, providing for the
payment of any interest deemed necessary on such bonds, paying
for the cost of issuance of such bonds, providing for the
payment of the cost of any guarantees, letters of credit,
insurance contracts or other similar credit support or
liquidity instruments, or providing for the funding of any
reserves deemed necessary in connection with such bonds and
refunding or advance refunding of any such bonds and the
interest and any premium thereon, pursuant to this Act;
(c) To provide for the funding of any reserves or other
funds or accounts deemed necessary by the Authority in
connection with any bonds issued by the Authority or local
government securities purchased or otherwise acquired by the
Authority;
(d) To pledge any local government security, including any
payments thereon, and any other funds of the Authority or funds

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made available to the Authority which may be applied to such
purpose, as security for any bonds or any guarantees, letters
of credit, insurance contracts or similar credit support or
liquidity instruments securing the bonds;
(e) To enter into agreements or contracts with third
parties, whether public or private, including without
limitation the United States of America, the State, or any
department or agency thereof to obtain any appropriations,
grants, loans or guarantees which are deemed necessary or
desirable by the Authority. Any such guarantee, agreement or
contract may contain terms and provisions necessary or
desirable in connection with the program, subject to the
requirements established by this Article;
(f) To charge reasonable fees to defray the cost of
obtaining letters of credit, insurance contracts or other
similar documents, and to charge such other reasonable fees to
defray the cost of trustees, depositories, paying agents, bond
registrars, escrow agents and other administrative expenses.
Any such fees shall be payable by units of local government
whose local government securities are purchased or otherwise
acquired by the Authority pursuant to this Article, in such
amounts and at such times as the Authority shall determine, and
the amount of the fees need not be uniform among the various
units of local government whose local government securities are
purchased or otherwise acquired by the Authority pursuant to
this Article;

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(g) To obtain and maintain guarantees, letters of credit,
insurance contracts or similar credit support or liquidity
instruments which are deemed necessary or desirable in
connection with any bonds or other obligations of the Authority
or any local government securities;
(h) To establish application fees and other service fees
and prescribe application, notification, contract, agreement,
security and insurance forms and rules and regulations it deems
necessary or appropriate;
(i) To provide technical assistance, at the request of any
unit of local government, with respect to the financing or
refinancing for any public purpose. In fulfillment of this
purpose, the Authority may request assistance from the
Department as necessary; any unit of local government that is
experiencing either a financial emergency as defined in the
Local Government Financial Planning and Supervision Act or a
condition of fiscal crisis evidenced by an impaired ability to
obtain financing for its public purpose projects from
traditional financial channels or impaired ability to fully
fund its obligations to fire, police and municipal employee
pension funds, or to bond payments or reserves, may request
technical assistance from the Authority in the form of a
diagnostic evaluation of its financial condition;
(j) To purchase any obligations of the Authority issued
pursuant to this Article;
(k) To sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of local

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government securities purchased or otherwise acquired by the
Authority pursuant to this Article, including without
limitation, the sale, transfer or other disposition of
undivided fractionalized interests in the right to receive
payments of principal and premium, if any, or the right to
receive payments of interest or the right to receive payments
of principal of and premium, if any, and interest on pools of
such local government securities;
(l) To acquire, purchase, lease, sell, transfer and
otherwise dispose of real and personal property, or any
interest therein, and to issue its bonds and enter into leases,
contracts and other agreements with units of local government
in connection with such acquisitions, purchases, leases, sales
and other dispositions of such real and personal property;
(m) To make loans to banks, savings and loans and other
financial institutions for the purpose of purchasing or
otherwise acquiring local government securities, and to issue
its bonds, and enter into agreements and contracts in
connection with such loans;
(n) To enter into agreements or contracts with any person
necessary or appropriate to place the payment obligations of
the Authority under any of its bonds in whole or in part on any
interest rate basis, cash flow basis, or other basis desired by
the Authority, including without limitation agreements or
contracts commonly known as "interest rate swap agreements",
"forward payment conversion agreements", and "futures", or

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agreements or contracts to exchange cash flows or a series of
payments, or agreements or contracts, including without
limitation agreements or contracts commonly known as
"options", "puts" or "calls", to hedge payment, rate spread, or
similar exposure; provided, that any such agreement or contract
shall not constitute an obligation for borrowed money, and
shall not be taken into account under Section 845-5 of this Act
or any other debt limit of the Authority or the State of
Illinois;
(o) To make and enter into all other agreements and
contracts and execute all instruments necessary or incidental
to performance of its duties and the execution of its powers
under this Article;
(p) To contract for and finance the costs of energy audits,
project-specific engineering and design specifications, and
any other related analyses preliminary to an energy
conservation project; and, to contract for and finance the cost
of project monitoring and data collection to verify
post-installation energy consumption and energy-related
operating costs. Any such contract shall be executed only after
it has been jointly negotiated by the Authority and the
Department; and
(p-5) To purchase special service area bonds and to accept
assignments or pledges, or both, of special service area bonds
or agreements relating to green special service area projects,
which authority shall be liberally construed; and

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(q) To exercise such other powers as are necessary or
incidental to the foregoing.
(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
(20 ILCS 3501/820-25)
Sec. 820-25. Unit of Local Government Participation. Any
unit of local government is authorized to voluntarily
participate in this program. Any unit of local government which
is authorized to issue, sell and deliver its local government
securities under any provision of the Constitution or laws of
the State may issue, sell and deliver such local government
securities to the Authority under this Article; provided that
and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
any such unit of local government may issue and sell any such
local government security at any interest rate or rates, which
rate or rates may be established by an index or formula which
may be implemented by persons appointed or retained for those
purposes therefor, payable at such time or times, and at such
price or prices to which the unit of local government and the
Authority may agree. Any unit of local government may pay any
amount charged by the Authority pursuant to this Article. Any
unit of local government participating in this program may pay
out of the proceeds of its local government securities or out
of any other moneys or funds available to it for such purposes
any costs, fees, interest deemed necessary, premium or reserves
incurred or required for financing or refinancing this program,

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including without limitation any fees charged by the Authority
pursuant to this Article and its share, as determined by the
Authority, of any costs, fees, interest deemed necessary,
premium or reserves incurred or required pursuant to Section
820-20 of this Act. All local government securities purchased
or otherwise acquired by the Authority pursuant to this Act
shall upon delivery to the Authority be accompanied by an
approving opinion of bond counsel as to the validity of such
securities. The Authority shall have discretion to purchase or
otherwise acquire those local government securities, as it
shall deem to be in the best interest of its financing program
for all units of local government taken as a whole. Any unit of
local government with the authority, in connection with green
special service area projects, to provide special service area
financing under the Special Service Area Tax Law is authorized
to issue special service area bonds and sell or assign those
special service area bonds to the Authority or to assign or
pledge special service area bonds or agreements, or both, to
the Authority.
(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
(20 ILCS 3501/820-37 new)
Sec. 820-37. Unit of local government participation;
bonds. The Authority may assist units of local government by
establishing and implementing a program to issue their bonds
secured by special service area agreements assigned or pledged

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to the Authority by units of local government so as to provide
financing for green special service area projects. The bonds of
the Authority shall not constitute an indebtedness or
obligation of the Authority or the State, and it shall be
plainly stated on the face of each such bond that it does not
constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the Authority or
the State but is payable solely from the revenues, income, or
other assets of the Authority that are pledged to the repayment
of those bonds.
Section 10. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 27-5 and by adding Sections 27-97, 27-100, and 27-105
as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/27-5)
Sec. 27-5. Short title; definitions. This Article may be
cited as the Special Service Area Tax Law.
When used in this Article:
"Energy efficiency improvement" means any installation,
modification, or replacement that reduces energy consumption
in any multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial
building, structure, or other facility, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(1) insulation in walls, roofs, floors, foundations,
and heating and cooling distribution systems;
(2) storm windows and doors, multiglazed windows and

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doors, heat-absorbing or heat-reflective glazed and coated
window and door systems, additional glazing, reductions in
glass area, and other window and door system modifications;
(3) automatic energy control systems;
(4) high efficiency furnaces, lighting fixtures,
ventilating, or air conditioning and distribution systems;
(5) caulking and weather-stripping;
(6) facilities, improvements, or systems to bring
natural daylight into buildings; and
(7) any other installation, modification, replacement,
facility, improvement, rehabilitation, repair, or
remodeling that is permanently affixed to the property and
has the effect of reducing energy consumption.
For the purposes of levying a special service area tax or
assessment on the real property on which the energy efficiency
improvement is located in a green special service area under
the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax Code, any
energy efficiency improvement shall be deemed to be real
property.
"Green special service area" means a special service area
created pursuant to Section 27-97 of this Act for the purpose
of providing special services that are energy efficiency
improvements, renewable energy improvements, water use
improvements, or a combination thereof. The corporate
authorities of the municipality or county may establish (i)
multiple green special service areas pursuant to a single

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ordinance or (ii) multiple buildings, structures, facilities,
improvements, or lots or parcels of land within a single green
special service area, which are not required to be contiguous.
Revenues from multiple green special service areas and revenues
from multiple buildings, structures, facilities, improvements
or lots or parcels of land within a single green special
service area may be aggregated for a pledge as security for
bonds issued pursuant to Section 27-45 of this Act.
"Green special service area project" means any energy
efficiency improvement, renewable energy improvement, or water
use improvement, or any combination thereof.
"Multi-family residential" means a building containing
more than 4 units that is intended for human habitation, or any
mixed residential-commercial buildings or portions thereof
that are intended for human habitation.
"Renewable energy improvement" means any fixture, product,
system, device, or interacting group thereof, for or serving
any multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial
building, structure, or other facility that is permanently
affixed to the property and produces energy from renewable
resources as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power
Agency Act. For purposes of levying a special service area tax
or assessment on the real property on which the renewable
energy improvement is located in a green special service area
under the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax
Code, any renewable energy improvement shall be deemed to be

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real property.
"Special Service Area" means a contiguous area, except as
provided in this Act concerning green special service areas,
within a municipality or county in which special governmental
services are provided in addition to those services provided
generally throughout the municipality or county, the cost of
the special services to be paid from revenues collected from
taxes or assessments levied or imposed upon property within
that area. Territory shall be considered contiguous for
purposes of this Article even though certain completely
surrounded portions of the territory are excluded from the
special service area. A county may create a special service
area within a municipality or municipalities when the
municipality or municipalities consent to the creation of the
special service area. A municipality may create a special
service area within a municipality and the unincorporated area
of a county or within another municipality when the county or
other municipality consents to the creation of the special
service area.
"Special Services" means all forms of services pertaining
to the government and affairs of the municipality or county,
including but not limited to weather modification, energy
efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements, water
use improvements, and improvements permissible under Article 9
of the Illinois Municipal Code, and contracts for the supply of
water as described in Section 11-124-1 of the Illinois

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Municipal Code which may be entered into by the municipality or
by the county on behalf of a county special service area.
"Water use improvement" means any fixture, product,
system, device, or interacting group thereof, for or serving
any multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial
building, structure, or other facility that has the effect of
conserving water resources through improved water management
or efficiency. For the purposes of levying a special service
area tax or assessment on the real property on which the water
use improvement is located in a green special service area
under the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax
Code, any water use improvement shall be deemed to be real
property.
(Source: P.A. 86-1324; 88-445.)
(35 ILCS 200/27-97 new)
Sec. 27-97. Green special service areas.
(a) The corporate authorities of a municipality or a county
may establish a green special service area, or multiple green
special service areas under a single ordinance, for the purpose
of arranging for and financing energy efficiency improvements,
renewable energy improvements, or water use improvements, the
financing of which shall constitute a public purpose. Each
green special service area shall include only property for
which each owner of record has executed a contract or agreement
consenting to the inclusion of the property within the green

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special service area, and such contract or agreement may be
entered into after the adoption of the ordinance by the
corporate authorities establishing the green special service
area. The inclusion, or, as applicable, deletion, of property
within the green special service area after the adoption of the
ordinance by the corporate authorities establishing the green
special service area may be made either (i) by the adoption of
a supplemental or amending ordinance by the corporate
authorities or (ii) pursuant to authority in the establishing
ordinance designating one or more county or municipal officers,
as applicable, to include or delete other properties. Green
special service areas are exempt from the provisions of
Sections 27-20, 27-25, 27-30, 27-35, 27-40, 27-50, 27-55,
27-60, 27-65, and 27-70 of the Special Service Area Tax Law. A
municipality or a county may create a green special service
area by an ordinance establishing the green special service
area or multiple green special services areas. Notwithstanding
anything in the Special Service Area Tax Law to the contrary, a
county may establish a green special service area within a
municipality without the consent of that municipality. Each
owner of record of property within a green special service area
may arrange for the specific energy efficiency improvements,
renewable energy improvements, or water use improvements, and
may obtain financing for such improvements through the process
set forth in the ordinance establishing the green special
service area. A green special service area may consist of a

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single building, structure, facility, improvement, or lot or
parcel of land. The corporate authorities of a municipality or
a county may establish multiple green special service areas
pursuant to a single ordinance or may, within a single green
special service area, identify multiple buildings, structures,
facilities, improvements, or lots or parcels of land, whether
or not those buildings, structures, facilities, improvements,
lots, or parcels are contiguous. However, each green special
service area shall be established with respect to a single
contract or agreement. Revenues derived from special service
area taxes or assessments levied in multiple green special
service areas or revenues from multiple buildings, structures,
facilities, improvements or lots or parcels of land within a
single green special service area may be aggregated for a
pledge as security for bonds issued pursuant to Section 27-45
of the Special Service Area Tax Law. Municipalities and
counties shall have the power to issue bonds under Section
27-45 of the Special Service Area Tax Law for the public
purposes set forth in this Section 27-97; provided that it
shall not be necessary to give notice of or to conduct a public
hearing, as required in Section 27-45 of the Special Service
Area Tax Law, in connection with the issuance of those bonds,
as otherwise required by Section 27-45 of the Special Service
Area Tax Law.
(b) The corporate authorities of a county or municipality
that establish a green special service area shall have the

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power to levy a special service area tax or assessment on the
real property on which the energy use improvements, the
renewable energy improvements, and the water use improvements
are located if each owner of record has entered into a contract
or agreement for those energy efficiency improvements, those
renewable energy improvements, and those water use
improvements. It is not necessary to file a copy of the notice
of public hearing with the County Clerk as otherwise required
by Section 27-75 of the Special Service Area Tax Law. The
contract or agreement entered into with the owner of the
property shall be conclusive as to the due authorization and
establishment of the applicable green special service area as
it relates to those energy efficiency improvements, those
renewable energy improvements, and those water use
improvements and the amount of the special service area taxes
or assessments to be levied and extended against the real
property on which such energy efficiency improvements, such
renewable energy improvements and such water use improvements
are located. A contract or agreement may specify the amount of
the special service area taxes or assessments levied pursuant
to this Section on the real property on which the applicable
energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements,
water use improvements, or a combination thereof are located or
as applicable to the principal of and interest on bonds issued,
including as a part of a larger pooled or composite issue, for
financing such energy efficiency improvements, renewable

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energy improvements or water use improvements. The specified
special service area tax or assessment levies in a contract or
agreement when recorded as provided in subsection (c) of this
Section and filed in the office of the recorder of the county
where the real property is located shall be authority for each
affected municipality or county to extend and collect the
levied special service area taxes or assessments for the
applicable municipality or county, or both, with respect to
each such contract or agreement.
In the event that a municipality establishes a green
special service area pursuant to this Section, the county clerk
of the county in which the green special service area is
located may agree to extend, and the county collector of that
county may agree to collect, distribute, and account for, the
special service area taxes or assessments on behalf of the
municipality upon the establishment of the green special
service area or at any time thereafter. Upon agreement, the
county clerk shall continue to extend, and the county collector
shall continue to collect, distribute, and account for the
levied special service area taxes or assessments until the
green special service area is dissolved. If the county clerk
and the county collector agree to extend, collect, and account
for the levied special service area taxes or assessments, the
ordinance levying the special service area taxes in a green
special service area shall be filed with the county clerk of
that county.

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(c) Before entering into a contract or agreement as set
forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, a
municipality or county must ensure that: (i) there are no
delinquent taxes, special assessments, or water or sewer
charges on the property; (ii) the amount of the tax or
assessment in relation to the greater of the assessed value of
the property or the appraised value of the property, as
determined by a licensed appraiser, does not exceed 25%; (iii)
any existing mortgage holders have provided written consent;
(iv) an assessment of the existing water or energy use and a
modeling of expected monetary savings have been conducted for
the proposed project; (v) the contractors to be used are
registered and have agreed to adhere to a set of terms and
conditions through a process established by the municipality or
county; (vi) the contractors to be used have signed a written
acknowledgement that the municipality or county will not
authorize payment to the contractor until the municipality or
county has received written conformation from the property
owner that the improvement was properly installed and is
operating as intended; (vii) the term of the tax or assessment
does not exceed the useful life of the project paid for by the
tax or assessment, provided that projects that consist of
multiple improvements with varying lengths of useful life shall
have the lengths blended to determine an overall tax or
assessment term that does not exceed the useful life of the
improvements in aggregate; and (viii) the property owner has

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signed a certification that the municipality or county has
complied with the provisions of this subsection (c), which
shall be conclusive evidence as to compliance with those
provisions, but shall not relieve any contractor,
municipality, or county from any potential liability.
(d) The contract or agreement in subsection (b) of this
Section shall be in recordable form and shall be recorded in
the office of the recorder in the county where the real
property is located.
(e) Any municipality or county with the authority to
provide special service area financing in connection with green
special service area projects, as provided in the Special
Service Area Tax Law, may do any of the following: (i) issue
special service area bonds pursuant to Section 27-45 of the
Special Service Area Tax Law, as provided in subsection (a) of
this Section, (ii) sell or assign those bonds to the Illinois
Finance Authority or to a third party, and (iii) assign or
pledge those special service area bonds, agreements relating to
green special service area projects, or both to the Illinois
Finance Authority or to a third party.
(f) A municipality or county may join with any other
municipality or county, or with any person, or with any number
or combination thereof, by contract or otherwise as may be
permitted by law, in a program to implement green special
service areas in whole or in part.
(g) This Section shall be liberally construed to effect the

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legislative purpose of enabling eligible property owners to
make energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy
improvements, or water use improvements, or any combination
thereof, to their properties.
(35 ILCS 200/27-100 new)
Sec. 27-100. Administrative fees. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, each municipality or county may charge
administrative fees in connection with the administration of
Special Service Areas. Such administrative fees may be
collected from Special Service Area tax levies or assessments.
(35 ILCS 200/27-105 new)
Sec. 27-105. Third-party administration. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, a municipality or county may
delegate by municipal or county ordinance a third-party
not-for-profit corporation to administer all or any part of its
Special Service Area program, including its Green Special
Service Area program.
Section 15. The Counties Code is amended by changing
Section 5-1005 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/5-1005) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-1005)
Sec. 5-1005. Powers. Each county shall have power:
1. To purchase and hold the real and personal estate

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necessary for the uses of the county, and to purchase and
hold, for the benefit of the county, real estate sold by
virtue of judicial proceedings in which the county is
plaintiff.
2. To sell and convey or lease any real or personal
estate owned by the county.
3. To make all contracts and do all other acts in
relation to the property and concerns of the county
necessary to the exercise of its corporate powers.
4. To take all necessary measures and institute
proceedings to enforce all laws for the prevention of
cruelty to animals.
5. To purchase and hold or lease real estate upon which
may be erected and maintained buildings to be utilized for
purposes of agricultural experiments and to purchase, hold
and use personal property for the care and maintenance of
such real estate in connection with such experimental
purposes.
6. To cause to be erected, or otherwise provided,
suitable buildings for, and maintain a county hospital and
necessary branch hospitals and/or a county sheltered care
home or county nursing home for the care of such sick,
chronically ill or infirm persons as may by law be proper
charges upon the county, or upon other governmental units,
and to provide for the management of the same. The county
board may establish rates to be paid by persons seeking

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care and treatment in such hospital or home in accordance
with their financial ability to meet such charges, either
personally or through a hospital plan or hospital
insurance, and the rates to be paid by governmental units,
including the State, for the care of sick, chronically ill
or infirm persons admitted therein upon the request of such
governmental units. Any hospital maintained by a county
under this Section is authorized to provide any service and
enter into any contract or other arrangement not prohibited
for a hospital that is licensed under the Hospital
Licensing Act, incorporated under the General
Not-For-Profit Corporation Act, and exempt from taxation
under paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Section 501 of the
Internal Revenue Code.
7. To contribute such sums of money toward erecting,
building, maintaining, and supporting any non-sectarian
public hospital located within its limits as the county
board of the county shall deem proper.
8. To purchase and hold real estate for the
preservation of forests, prairies and other natural areas
and to maintain and regulate the use thereof.
9. To purchase and hold real estate for the purpose of
preserving historical spots in the county, to restore,
maintain and regulate the use thereof and to donate any
historical spot to the State.
10. To appropriate funds from the county treasury to be

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used in any manner to be determined by the board for the
suppression, eradication and control of tuberculosis among
domestic cattle in such county.
11. To take all necessary measures to prevent forest
fires and encourage the maintenance and planting of trees
and the preservation of forests.
12. To authorize the closing on Saturday mornings of
all offices of all county officers at the county seat of
each county, and to otherwise regulate and fix the days and
the hours of opening and closing of such offices, except
when the days and the hours of opening and closing of the
office of any county officer are otherwise fixed by law;
but the power herein conferred shall not apply to the
office of State's Attorney and the offices of judges and
clerks of courts and, in counties of 500,000 or more
population, the offices of county clerk.
13. To provide for the conservation, preservation and
propagation of insectivorous birds through the expenditure
of funds provided for such purpose.
14. To appropriate funds from the county treasury and
expend the same for care and treatment of tuberculosis
residents.
15. In counties having less than 1,000,000
inhabitants, to take all necessary or proper steps for the
extermination of mosquitoes, flies or other insects within
the county.

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16. To install an adequate system of accounts and
financial records in the offices and divisions of the
county, suitable to the needs of the office and in
accordance with generally accepted principles of
accounting for governmental bodies, which system may
include such reports as the county board may determine.
17. To purchase and hold real estate for the
construction and maintenance of motor vehicle parking
facilities for persons using county buildings, but the
purchase and use of such real estate shall not be for
revenue producing purposes.
18. To acquire and hold title to real property located
within the county, or partly within and partly outside the
county by dedication, purchase, gift, legacy or lease, for
park and recreational purposes and to charge reasonable
fees for the use of or admission to any such park or
recreational area and to provide police protection for such
park or recreational area. Personnel employed to provide
such police protection shall be conservators of the peace
within such park or recreational area and shall have power
to make arrests on view of the offense or upon warrants for
violation of any of the ordinances governing such park or
recreational area or for any breach of the peace in the
same manner as the police in municipalities organized and
existing under the general laws of the State. All such real
property outside the county shall be contiguous to the

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county and within the boundaries of the State of Illinois.
19. To appropriate funds from the county treasury to be
used to provide supportive social services designed to
prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of elderly
residents, or, for operation of, and equipment for, senior
citizen centers providing social services to elderly
residents.
20. To appropriate funds from the county treasury and
loan such funds to a county water commission created under
the "Water Commission Act", approved June 30, 1984, as now
or hereafter amended, in such amounts and upon such terms
as the county may determine or the county and the
commission may agree. The county shall not under any
circumstances be obligated to make such loans. The county
shall not be required to charge interest on any such loans.
21. To appropriate and expend funds from the county
treasury for economic development purposes, including the
making of grants to any other governmental entity or
commercial enterprise deemed necessary or desirable for
the promotion of economic development in the county.
22. To lease space on a telecommunications tower to a
public or private entity.
23. In counties having a population of 100,000 or less
and a public building commission organized by the county
seat of the county, to cause to be erected or otherwise
provided, and to maintain or cause to be maintained,

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suitable facilities to house students pursuing a
post-secondary education at an academic institution
located within the county. The county may provide for the
management of the facilities.
24. To engage in and undertake activities related to
and in connection with energy efficiency improvements,
renewable energy improvements, and water use improvements,
all as defined in the Special Service Area Tax Law,
including, but not limited to, green special service area
financing for energy efficiency improvements, renewable
energy improvements, and water use improvements whether on
public or private property, under the Special Service Area
Tax Law. This item shall be liberally construed to effect
the legislative purpose of enabling eligible property
owners to make energy efficiency improvements, renewable
energy improvements, and water use improvements to or
serving the designated properties.
All contracts for the purchase of coal under this Section
shall be subject to the provisions of "An Act concerning the
use of Illinois mined coal in certain plants and institutions",
filed July 13, 1937, as amended.
(Source: P.A. 95-197, eff. 8-16-07; 95-813, eff. 1-1-09;
96-622, eff. 8-24-09.)
Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
adding Division 15.4 to Article 11 as follows:

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(65 ILCS 5/Art. 11 Div. 15.4 heading new)
DIVISION 15.4. GREEN SPECIAL SERVICE AREAS
(65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-1 new)
Sec. 11-15.4-1. Green special service areas. Each
municipality shall have the power and authority to engage in
and undertake activities related to and in connection with
energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements,
and water use improvements, all as defined in the Special
Service Area Tax Law, including, but not limited to, green
special service area financing for those energy efficiency
improvements, renewable energy improvements, and water use
improvements whether on public or private property, under the
Special Service Area Tax Law. This Section shall be liberally
construed to effect the legislative purpose of enabling
property owners to make energy efficiency improvements,
renewable energy improvements, or water use improvements to or
serving the designated properties.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".