Bill Text: IL HB5429 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that when two municipalities have annexed property adjacent to the same highway, jurisdiction over the highway shall be shared equally between both municipalities.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB5429 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB5429-Introduced.html

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98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 HB5429 Introduced , by Rep. Jack D. Franks SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
65 ILCS 5/7-1-1 from Ch. 24, par. 7-1-1
Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that when two municipalities have annexed property adjacent to the same highway, jurisdiction over the highway shall be shared equally between both municipalities.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
changing Section 7-1-1 as follows:
(65 ILCS 5/7-1-1) (from Ch. 24, par. 7-1-1)
Sec. 7-1-1. Annexation of contiguous territory. Any
territory that is not within the corporate limits of any
municipality but is contiguous to a municipality may be annexed
to the municipality as provided in this Article. For the
purposes of this Article any territory to be annexed to a
municipality shall be considered to be contiguous to the
municipality notwithstanding that the territory is separated
from the municipality by a strip parcel, railroad or public
utility right-of-way, or former railroad right-of-way that has
been converted to a recreational trail, but upon annexation the
area included within that strip parcel, right-of-way, or former
right-of-way shall not be considered to be annexed to the
municipality. For purposes of this Section, "strip parcel"
means a separation no wider than 30 feet between the territory
to be annexed and the municipal boundary.
Except in counties with a population of more than 600,000
but less than 3,000,000, territory which is not contiguous to a

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municipality but is separated therefrom only by a forest
preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land or open
space that is part of an open space program, as defined in
Section 115-5 of the Township Code, or conservation area, may
be annexed to the municipality pursuant to Section 7-1-7 or
7-1-8, but only if the annexing municipality can show that the
forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land,
open space, or conservation area creates an artificial barrier
preventing the annexation and that the location of the forest
preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, open
space, or conservation area property prevents the orderly
natural growth of the annexing municipality. It shall be
conclusively presumed that the forest preserve district,
federal wildlife refuge, open land, open space, or conservation
area does not create an artificial barrier if the property
sought to be annexed is bounded on at least 3 sides by (i) one
or more other municipalities (other than the municipality
seeking annexation through the existing forest preserve
district, federal wildlife refuge, open land, open space, or
conservation area), (ii) forest preserve district property,
federal wildlife refuge, open land, open space, or conservation
area, or (iii) a combination of other municipalities and forest
preserve district property, federal wildlife refuge property,
open land, open space, or conservation area. It shall also be
conclusively presumed that the forest preserve district,
federal wildlife refuge, open land, open space, or conservation

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area does not create an artificial barrier if the municipality
seeking annexation is not the closest municipality within the
county to the property to be annexed. The territory included
within such forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge,
open land, open space, or conservation area shall not be
annexed to the municipality nor shall the territory of the
forest preserve district, federal wildlife refuge, open land,
open space, or conservation area be subject to rights-of-way
for access or services between the parts of the municipality
separated by the forest preserve district, federal wildlife
refuge, open land, open space, or conservation area without the
consent of the governing body of the forest preserve district
or federal wildlife refuge. The changes made to this Section by
Public Act 91-824 are declaratory of existing law and shall not
be construed as a new enactment.
For the purpose of this Section, "conservation area" means
an area dedicated to conservation and owned by a not-for-profit
organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, or any area owned by a conservation district.
In counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River
with populations of more than 200,000 but less than 255,000, a
municipality that is partially located in territory that is
wholly surrounded by the Mississippi River and a canal,
connected at both ends to the Mississippi River and located on
property owned by the United States of America, may annex
noncontiguous territory in the surrounded territory under

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Sections 7-1-7, 7-1-8, or 7-1-9 if that territory is separated
from the municipality by property owned by the United States of
America, but that federal property shall not be annexed without
the consent of the federal government.
For the purposes of this Article, any territory to be
annexed to a municipality that is located in a county with more
than 500,000 inhabitants shall be considered to be contiguous
to the municipality if only a river and a national heritage
corridor separate the territory from the municipality. Upon
annexation, no river or national heritage corridor shall be
considered annexed to the municipality.
When any land proposed to be annexed is part of any Fire
Protection District or of any Public Library District and the
annexing municipality provides fire protection or a public
library, as the case may be, the Trustees of each District
shall be notified in writing by certified or registered mail
before any court hearing or other action is taken for
annexation. The notice shall be served 10 days in advance. An
affidavit that service of notice has been had as provided by
this Section must be filed with the clerk of the court in which
the annexation proceedings are pending or will be instituted
or, when no court proceedings are involved, with the recorder
for the county where the land is situated. No annexation of
that land is effective unless service is had and the affidavit
filed as provided in this Section.
The new boundary shall extend to the far side of any

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adjacent highway and shall include all of every highway within
the area annexed. However, when two municipalities have annexed
property adjacent to the same highway, jurisdiction over the
highway shall be shared equally between both municipalities
from each municipality's border directly contiguous to the
adjacent highway to the center of the highway. These highways
shall be considered to be annexed even though not included in
the legal description set forth in the petition for annexation.
When any land proposed to be annexed includes any highway under
the jurisdiction of any township, the Township Commissioner of
Highways, the Board of Town Trustees, the Township Supervisor,
and the Township Clerk shall be notified in writing by
certified or registered mail before any court hearing or other
action is taken for annexation. In the event that a
municipality fails to notify the Township Commissioner of
Highways, the Board of Town Trustees, the Township Supervisor,
and the Township Clerk of the annexation of an area within the
township, the municipality shall reimburse that township for
any loss or liability caused by the failure to give notice. If
any municipality has annexed any area before October 1, 1975,
and the legal description in the petition for annexation did
not include the entire adjacent highway, any such annexation
shall be valid and any highway adjacent to the area annexed
shall be considered to be annexed notwithstanding the failure
of the petition to annex to include the description of the
entire adjacent highway.

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Any annexation, disconnection and annexation, or
disconnection under this Article of any territory must be
reported by certified or registered mail by the corporate
authority initiating the action to the election authorities
having jurisdiction in the territory and the post office
branches serving the territory within 30 days of the
annexation, disconnection and annexation, or disconnection.
Failure to give notice to the required election authorities
or post office branches will not invalidate the annexation or
disconnection. For purposes of this Section "election
authorities" means the county clerk where the clerk acts as the
clerk of elections or the clerk of the election commission
having jurisdiction.
No annexation, disconnection and annexation, or
disconnection under this Article of territory having electors
residing therein made (1) before any primary election to be
held within the municipality affected thereby and after the
time for filing petitions as a candidate for nomination to any
office to be chosen at the primary election or (2) within 60
days before any general election to be held within the
municipality shall be effective until the day after the date of
the primary or general election, as the case may be.
For the purpose of this Section, a toll highway or
connection between parcels via an overpass bridge over a toll
highway shall not be considered a deterrent to the definition
of contiguous territory.

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When territory is proposed to be annexed by court order
under this Article, the corporate authorities or petitioners
initiating the action shall notify each person who pays real
estate taxes on property within that territory unless the
person is a petitioner. The notice shall be served by certified
or registered mail, return receipt requested, at least 20 days
before a court hearing or other court action. If the person who
pays real estate taxes on the property is not the owner of
record, then the payor shall notify the owner of record of the
proposed annexation.
(Source: P.A. 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1233, eff. 7-23-10;
97-601, eff. 1-1-12.)