Bill Text: IL SB1843 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources may expend funds for the maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the National Road located in southeastern Illinois. Provides that the Department may make grants to contractors for the maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the National Road located in southeastern Illinois. Provides that the grants shall be made from State appropriations and to the extent permitted by federal law from federal funds for this purpose. Provides that moneys for this purpose may be received from local units of government or appropriate and allowable not-for-profit or private organizations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-18 - Assigned to Appropriations- Public Safety and Infrastructure [SB1843 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1843-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1843 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Chapin Rose SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 862/12
Amends the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources may expend funds for the maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the National Road located in southeastern Illinois. Provides that the Department may make grants to contractors for the maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the National Road located in southeastern Illinois. Provides that the grants shall be made from State appropriations and to the extent permitted by federal law from federal funds for this purpose. Provides that moneys for this purpose may be received from local units of government or appropriate and allowable not-for-profit or private organizations.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Recreational Trails of Illinois Act is
amended by changing Section 12 as follows:
(20 ILCS 862/12)
Sec. 12. Recreational Trail Programs; powers and
authorities.
(a) The Department may expend funds for recreational trail
program purposes and for the maintenance and restoration of
the existing part of the National Road located in southeastern
Illinois. The Department may: plan, survey, design, develop,
operate, and maintain recreational trails and related
facilities of the State; maintain and restore the existing
part of the National Road located in southeastern Illinois;
prepare, or cause to be prepared, those plans, specifications,
and other documents as are necessary to advertising for and
the taking and acceptance of bids and letting of construction
contracts for those recreational trail projects and for the
maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the
National Road located in southeastern Illinois, as required in
the Illinois Procurement Code; enter into contracts for
construction management or supervision on all recreational

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trail projects constructed; enter into contracts for
professional services for planning, testing, design, or
consulting on all recreational trail projects constructed; and
acquire land, waters, structures, and interests in land,
waters, and structures for those areas and related facilities.
The Department may enter into contracts and agreements with
the United States or any appropriate or allowable federal
entity, keep financial and other records, and furnish to
appropriate officials and agencies of the United States
reports and information as may be reasonably necessary to
enable those officials and agencies to perform their duties
under those programs. In connection with obtaining for the
State the benefits of any program, the Department shall
coordinate its activities with and represent the interest of
all agencies of the State and units of local government and
with appropriate and allowable not-for-profit and private
organizations having interests in the acquisition, planning,
development, and maintenance of recreational trail resources
and related facilities within the State.
(b) The Department may execute projects for recreational
trail purposes and for the maintenance and restoration of the
existing part of the National Road located in southeastern
Illinois using funds made available to the Department from
State appropriations, the federal government, and other public
and private sources in the exercise of its statutory powers
and duties. Projects involving participating federal-aid funds

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may be undertaken by the Department after it has been
determined that sufficient funds are available to the
Department for meeting the non-federal share of project costs.
It is the legislative intent that, to the extent as may be
necessary to assure the proper operation, maintenance, and
preservation of areas and facilities surveyed, acquired, or
developed under any program participated in by this State
under authority of this Act, the areas and facilities shall be
maintained for public recreational trail purposes. The
Department may enter into and administer agreements with the
United States or any appropriate federal agency for survey,
planning, acquisition, development, and preservation projects
involving participating federal-aid funds on behalf of any
federal, State, or local unit of government or appropriate and
allowable not-for-profit or private organizations, provided
the federal, State, or local unit of government or appropriate
and allowable not-for-profit or private organization, gives
necessary assurances to the Department that it has available
sufficient funds to meet its share of the cost of the project
and that the surveyed, acquired, or developed areas and
facilities will be operated and maintained at its expense for
public recreational trail use.
(c) The Department may enter into agreements as necessary
with the Federal Highway Administration, or any successor
agency, for the purpose of authorizing federal obligation
limitations for projects under the federal Recreational Trails

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Program. The Department and the Department of Transportation
shall enter into an inter-agency agreement to closely
coordinate the obligation of projects authorized by the
Illinois Division Office of the Federal Highway Administration
to maximize federal funding opportunities.
(d) The Department may make grants to contractors for the
maintenance and restoration of the existing part of the
National Road located in southeastern Illinois. The grants
shall be made from State appropriations and to the extent
permitted by federal law from federal funds for this purpose.
Moneys for this purpose may be received from local units of
government or appropriate and allowable not-for-profit or
private organizations.
(Source: P.A. 100-798, eff. 1-1-19.)