104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB1233
 
Introduced 1/24/2025, by Sen. Terri Bryant
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

70 ILCS 2105/4a    from Ch. 42, par. 386a
    Amends the River Conservancy Districts Act. Provides that a trustee on a board representing a river conservancy district that embraces Jackson County may be removed for incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office by the appropriate appointing presiding officer or officers, without the advice and consent of the corporate authorities, by filing a written order of removal with the appropriate county or municipal clerk or clerks.


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A BILL FOR
 
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1    AN ACT concerning local government.

2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:

4    Section 5. The River Conservancy Districts Act is amended 
5by changing Section 4a as follows:

6    (70 ILCS 2105/4a)    (from Ch. 42, par. 386a)
7    Sec. 4a. Every conservancy district so established shall 
8be governed by a board of trustees. In the statement finding 
9the results of the election to be favorable to the 
10establishment of the district, the circuit court shall 
11determine and name each municipality within the district 
12having 5,000 or more population according to the last 
13preceding federal census.
14        (1) In case there is one or more municipalities having 
15 a population of 5,000 or more within the district, the 
16 trustees shall be appointed as follows:
17            (a) In districts organized prior to July 1, 1961, 
18 where there is only one such municipality, 3 trustees 
19 shall be appointed from such municipality, and one 
20 trustee shall be appointed from the area within the 
21 district outside of such municipality, and one trustee 
22 shall be appointed at large. In districts organized on 
23 and after July 1, 1961, where there is only one such 
 
 
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1 municipality one trustee shall be appointed from such 
2 municipality, and one trustee shall be appointed from 
3 each county in the district, except that where the 
4 district is wholly contained within a single county, 
5 one trustee shall be appointed from that county and 
6 one additional trustee shall be appointed from the 
7 municipality, and, in any case, 2 trustees shall be 
8 appointed at large. A trustee appointed from a county 
9 in the district shall be appointed from the area 
10 outside any such municipality. If the district is 
11 located wholly within the corporate limits of such 
12 municipality, 3 of the trustees of the district shall 
13 be appointed from such municipality, and 2 trustees 
14 shall be appointed at large. In a district wholly 
15 contained within a single county of between 60,500 and 
16 70,000 population and having no more than one 
17 municipality of 5,000 or more population, regardless 
18 of the date of organization, 3 trustees shall be 
19 appointed from that municipality, 2 trustees shall be 
20 appointed from the district outside that municipality, 
21 and 2 trustees shall be appointed at large. No more 
22 than 2 appointments by each appointing authority may 
23 be from the same political party.
24            In the case of the Saline Valley Conservancy 
25 District, in addition to the other trustees as 
26 provided in this subsection (a), the mayor of each 
 
 
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1 municipality with a population of 2,000 to 4,999 that 
2 purchases water from the District may appoint one 
3 member to the Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2023 
4 for a 5-year term, and the member shall serve until the 
5 trustee's successor is appointed and qualified or the 
6 municipality no longer purchases water from the 
7 District. A vacancy shall be filled by the mayor of the 
8 municipality for the remainder of the term. 
9            (b) Where there are 2 or more such municipalities, 
10 one trustee shall be appointed from each such 
11 municipality, one trustee shall be appointed from each 
12 county in the district for each 50,000 population or 
13 part thereof within the district in such county 
14 according to the last preceding federal census, and 2 
15 trustees shall be appointed at large. A trustee 
16 appointed from a county in the district shall be 
17 appointed from the area outside any such municipality. 
18 If the district is located wholly within the corporate 
19 limits of such municipalities, 2 trustees shall be 
20 appointed from the one of such municipalities having 
21 the largest population, and one trustee shall be 
22 appointed from each of the other such municipalities, 
23 and 2 trustees shall be appointed at large.
24            (c) Trustees representing the area within the 
25 district located outside of any municipality having 
26 5,000 or more population and trustees appointed at 
 
 
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1 large when the district is wholly contained within a 
2 single county shall be appointed by the presiding 
3 officer of the county board with the advice and 
4 consent of the county board and any trustee 
5 representing the area within any such municipality 
6 shall be appointed by its presiding officer. If 
7 however the district is located in more than one 
8 county, any trustee representing the area within a 
9 district located outside of any municipality having 
10 5,000 or more population and any trustee at large 
11 shall be appointed by a majority vote of the presiding 
12 officers of the county boards of the counties which 
13 encompass any part of the district, except that no 
14 such appointment shall affect the term of any trustee 
15 in office on the effective date of this amendatory Act 
16 of 1977. Any trustee representing the area within any 
17 such municipality shall be appointed by its presiding 
18 officer.
19            (d) A trustee representing the area within any 
20 such municipality shall reside within its corporate 
21 limits. A trustee representing the area within the 
22 district and located outside of any such municipality 
23 shall reside within such area. A trustee appointed at 
24 large may reside either within or without any such 
25 municipality but must reside within the territory of 
26 the district. Should any trustee cease to reside 
 
 
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1 within that part of the territory he represents, then 
2 his office shall be deemed vacated, and shall be 
3 filled by appointment for the remainder of the term as 
4 hereinafter provided.
5        (2) In case there are no municipalities having a 
6 population of 5,000 or more within such district located 
7 wholly within a single county, the statement required by 
8 Section 1 shall include such finding, and in such case the 
9 Board shall consist of 5 trustees who shall be appointed 
10 at large by the presiding officer of the county board with 
11 the advice and consent of the county board. If however the 
12 district is located in more than one county, the trustees 
13 at large shall be appointed by a majority vote of the 
14 presiding officers of the county boards of the counties 
15 which encompass any portion of the district, but any 
16 trustee in office on the effective date of this amendatory 
17 Act of 1977 shall be permitted to serve out the remainder 
18 of his term. Each such trustee shall reside within the 
19 district and shall continue to reside therein.
20        (3) All initial appointments of trustees shall be made 
21 within 60 days after the determination of the result of 
22 the election. Each appointment shall be in writing and 
23 shall be filed and made a matter of record in the office of 
24 the county clerk wherein the organization proceedings were 
25 filed. A trustee shall qualify within 10 days after 
26 appointment by acceptance and the taking of the 
 
 
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1 constitutional oath of office, both to be in writing and 
2 similarly filed for record in the office of such county 
3 clerk. Members initially appointed to the board of 
4 trustees of such district shall serve from date of 
5 appointment for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years and shall draw lots 
6 to determine the periods for which they each shall serve. 
7 In case there are more than 5 trustees, lots shall be drawn 
8 so that 5 trustees shall serve initial terms of 1, 2, 3, 4 
9 and 5 years and the other trustees shall serve terms of 1, 
10 2, 3, 4 or 5 years as the number of trustees shall require 
11 and the drawing of lots shall determine. The successors of 
12 all such initial members of the board of trustees of a 
13 river conservancy district shall serve for terms of 5 
14 years, all such appointments and appointments to fill 
15 vacancies shall be made in like manner as in the case of 
16 the initial trustees. A trustee having been duly appointed 
17 shall continue to serve after the expiration of his term 
18 until his successor has been appointed. Each trustee 
19 initially appointed in accordance with this amendatory Act 
20 of 1995 shall serve a term of 3 or 5 years as determined by 
21 lot.
22        (4) Should a municipality which is wholly within a 
23 district attain, or should such a municipality be 
24 established, having a population of 5,000 or more after 
25 the entry of the statement by the circuit court, the 
26 presiding officer of such municipality may petition the 
 
 
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1 circuit court of the county in which such municipality 
2 lies for an order finding and determining the population 
3 of such municipality and, if it is found and determined 
4 upon the hearing of such petition that the population of 
5 such municipality is 5,000 or more, the board of trustees 
6 of such district as previously established shall be 
7 increased by one trustee who shall reside within the 
8 corporate limits of such municipality and shall be 
9 appointed by its presiding officer. The initial trustee so 
10 appointed shall serve for a term of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years, 
11 as may be determined by lot, and his successors shall be 
12 similarly appointed and shall serve for terms of 5 years. 
13 All provisions of this Section applicable to trustees 
14 representing municipal areas shall apply to any such 
15 trustee, including paragraph 5.
16        (5) Should the foregoing provisions respecting the 
17 appointment of trustees representing the area within any 
18 municipality of 5,000 or more population be invalid when 
19 applied to any situation, then as to such situation any 
20 such provision shall be deemed to be excised from this 
21 Act, and the trustee whose appointment is thus affected 
22 shall be appointed at large by the presiding officer of 
23 the county board with the advice and consent of the county 
24 board except if the district embraces more than one county 
25 in which case the trustees shall be appointed at large by a 
26 majority vote of the presiding officers of the county 
 
 
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1 boards of the counties which encompass any portion of the 
2 district.
3        (6) In the case of boards a board representing 
4 districts a district that embrace Jackson County or    
5 embraces Franklin and Jefferson counties, a trustee may be 
6 removed for incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance 
7 in office by the appropriate appointing presiding officer 
8 or officers, without the advice and consent of the 
9 corporate authorities, by filing a written order of 
10 removal with the appropriate county or municipal clerk or 
11 clerks. 
12        (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
13 contrary, in the case of a board representing a district 
14 that embraces Franklin and Jefferson counties, the terms 
15 of all trustees shall end on the effective date of this 
16 amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly. Beginning on 
17 that date, the board shall consist of 7 trustees. The 7 
18 trustees initially appointed pursuant to this amendatory 
19 Act of the 94th General Assembly shall be appointed in the 
20 same manner as otherwise provided in this Section by the 
21 appropriate appointing authority and shall serve the 
22 following terms, as determined by lot: (i) 2 trustees 
23 shall serve until July 1, 2006; (ii) 2 trustees shall 
24 serve until July 1, 2007; (iii) one trustee shall serve 
25 until July 1, 2008; (iv) one trustee shall serve until 
26 July 1, 2009; and (v) one trustee shall serve until July 1, 
 
 
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1 2010. Upon expiration of the terms of the trustees 
2 initially appointed under this amendatory Act of the 94th 
3 General Assembly, their respective successors shall be 
4 appointed for terms of 5 years, beginning on July 1 of the 
5 year in which the previous term expires and until their 
6 respective successors are appointed and qualified. After 
7 the appointment of the trustees initially appointed 
8 pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 94th General 
9 Assembly, the number of trustees on the board may be 
10 increased in accordance with subsection (4).
11(Source: P.A. 103-79, eff. 6-9-23.)