(70 ILCS 1205/Art. 7 heading)
(70 ILCS 1205/7-1) (from Ch. 105, par. 7-1)
Sec. 7-1. All park districts shall retain and be vested with all power and authority contained in an act entitled "An Act to enable park commissioners or corporate authorities to take, regulate, control and improve public streets leading to public parks; to pay for the improvement thereof, and in that behalf to make and collect a special assessment or special tax on contiguous property," approved April 9, 1879, and "An Act to enable park commissioners to condemn land in certain cases for the purpose of making streets selected and taken for boulevards of uniform width and to provide for the payment of the same", approved June 14, 1887.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 113.)
(70 ILCS 1205/7-2) (from Ch. 105, par. 7-2)
Sec. 7-2. Power is hereby conferred upon any park district to acquire, lay out, extend, maintain, and improve pleasure driveways and boulevards and to acquire and improve any and all real estate, lands, riparian estates or rights, and all other property acquired or needed for any such park, boulevard, or driveway or for extending, adorning, or maintaining the same if such land is located within such park district, under the provisions of Article 9 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as heretofore and hereafter amended. The Board shall, by resolution, designate the Local Improvement Act under which it elects to proceed. The same provision shall apply to the collections of the assessments by installments and for the issuing of bonds and vouchers therefor as are provided in case of special assessments of cities and villages in said Article 9 of the Illinois Municipal Code, except as limited by Sections 7-3 to 7-5 hereof.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 1398.)
(70 ILCS 1205/7-3) (from Ch. 105, par. 7-3)
Sec. 7-3. In the making of any local improvements by a park district and except as in this section otherwise provided, the powers and duties provided to be exercised and performed by the respective officers of cities and villages under Article 9 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as heretofore and hereafter amended shall be exercised and performed by the corresponding officers of such park districts, insofar as action by any such officers is required under the form of local improvement proceeding the board elects to adopt for the improvement. The board of such district shall act as the Board of Local Improvements. The superintendent of such park district or such other official or person as the board may designate shall act as Superintendent of Special Assessments. The engineer employed by the board to prepare the plans and specifications for the improvements shall be the "engineer," or if no such person be employed, then any qualified engineer designated by the board may so act. The attorney for said park district shall (unless a special attorney be employed by the board for such purpose) be the attorney for said Board of Local Improvements.
The members of said board of local improvements shall act as such without compensation, and the secretary shall be ex-officio secretary of said board of local improvements and the treasurer shall perform the duties of collector of said special assessment and shall be custodian of such funds which shall be expended only for the improvement for which said assessment is levied.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 1398.)
(70 ILCS 1205/7-4) (from Ch. 105, par. 7-4)
Sec. 7-4. The word "improvement" as used in this article shall include the condemnation of property for park or boulevard purposes, or both.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 113.)
(70 ILCS 1205/7-5) (from Ch. 105, par. 7-5)
Sec. 7-5. Any park district may, in the manner hereafter provided, levy an annual tax not exceeding .025% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all the taxable property in such district, to be known as a public benefit tax, and the fund arising therefrom shall be known as a public benefit fund and shall be used solely for the purpose of paying any such amounts that may be assessed for such public benefit under Section 7-2. No such tax shall be levied in any park district until the question of levying such tax is first certified by the board to the proper election officials who shall submit the proposition at an election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be submitted to the voters of the district in substantially the following form:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shall a public benefit tax not exceeding
.025% be levied each year on the taxable YES
property of.... Park District (naming it) as ----------------
provided in Section 7-5 of "The Park District NO
Code"?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Notice of the referendum shall be given and the referendum shall be conducted in the manner provided by the general election law.
If a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition are in favor, the governing board may levy and collect such tax annually thereafter, so long as there remains outstanding any assessment against the district for public benefits under any special assessment proceeding. Should any assessment be later assessed against the district in a subsequent local improvement proceeding for public benefits, then the tax may again be levied so long as the assessment remains unpaid without the necessity of any additional referendum. Such tax shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be levied and collected in such district and shall not be included in any limitation of rate contained in this code or any other law, but shall be excluded therefrom, in addition thereto, and in excess thereof. The tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as the general taxes for such district. The foregoing limitations upon tax rates may be increased or decreased according to the referendum provisions of the General Revenue Law of Illinois.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489; 81-1509.)