Illinois General Assembly Approves Major Park and Recreation Proposals

———————————————— By Peter M. Murphy ———————————————— IAPD Legal Counsel

At this writing, the Illinois General Assembly is working towards passage of bills by the June 30th deadline.

I am pleased, however, to be able to report to you that H.B. 1149, requiring a one year residency for eligibility to run as a park commissioner, and H.B. 1305, which permits multi-year contracts for professional services, passed both Houses.

OSLAD Funding Approved
On June 27, the Senate took final action on S.B. 1463, which creates a funding source for the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development program, and sent the bill to the Governor's desk on a 38-19-2 vote.

S.B. 787, which provides funding to the Department of Conservation for establishment of a grant program for development of bikeways, passed the General Assembly on June 25 and has an effective date of January 1, 1990. This will make approximately $7 million available in grants for the development of bikeways.

Interest Rates
Earlier legislative bulletins to every member agency detailed the General Assembly's legislative response to the Bates decision which seriously undermined the ability of local governments to issue bonds.

Governor James R. Thompson signed P.A. 86-004 on June 6, 1989, and in doing so clarified the effect of the Omnibus Interest Rate which provides that units of local government can pay interest on bonds issued by them up to the greater of 9 percent or 125 percent of the rate shown in the 20 G.O. Bonds Index of average municipal bond yields. This legislation also made specific legislative change to the Park District Code.

Other Legislation
Pending legislative action are H.B. 1148, passed on June 27, changes the final date for filing park district levies to the third Tuesday in December;

H.B. 1453 which amends the Criminal Code regarding bid rigging; S.B. 494 giving park districts input into tax increment financing districts; S.B. 971 which amends the Truth In Taxation Act to expand reporting requirements; S.B. 1391 which also amends the statutes regarding bid rigging; and H.B. 494 intended to tie the Illinois minimum wage to the Federal minimum wage.

Complete copies of all legislation are available upon request from the IAPD offices.

Legislation Failing
Legislation not passing this year includes H.B. 79 which would have increased the Homestead Exemption from $3,500 to $7,000; H.B. 80 which would have frozen Property Taxes at the amount extended in 1988; H.B. 101 amending the Local Governmental and Governmental Tort Immunity Act to impose liability for failure to upgrade existing streets or other public places; H.B. 1304 which would have required every Illinois park district to publicize its Budget and Appropriation Ordinance; and S.B. 515 which increased the cost of publications required by law from 20 cents to 30 cents per column line.

Finally, I would like to thank those park commissioners, directors and agencies which have responded to the numerous requests for contacts with your legislators this year. It was as a direct result of these contacts that Illinois park districts and forest preserve districts had such a successful legislative year.