HB0663 is a local government technical bill that amends the Sanitary District Act of 1936 to update the procedures for dissolving certain sanitary districts in Illinois. The bill preserves the general rule that a sanitary district without outstanding revenue bonds may be dissolved through a petition and election process initiated by 50 electors, with the court certifying the question to election officials and dissolution occurring if a majority votes in favor.
The bill also adds or revises special dissolution provisions for three specific districts: the Fox Lake Hills Sanitary District, the Lindenhurst Sanitary District, and the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District. In each case, the bill authorizes a local governmental body to assume the district’s assets, liabilities, and responsibilities under specified conditions, including confirmation that debts are paid or funded, that permits or grants will not be impaired, and that the appropriate local government will notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency within 60 days. For Lindenhurst, the village board may also take over the district’s taxing authority; for Southeast Joliet, the City of Joliet may accept the transfer and the County of Will may control assets the city deems unnecessary for continued operations.
Impact
HB0663 changes Illinois law governing sanitary district dissolution by creating district-specific pathways for consolidation or transfer of responsibilities to Lake County, the Village of Lindenhurst, the City of Joliet, and, in some cases, Will County. It affects the Sanitary District Act of 1936 and the allocation of statutory powers, asset ownership, tax authority, and environmental notification duties when a district is dissolved. The practical effect is to make it easier for these local governments to absorb and manage sanitary district functions without a separate election in the named special cases, while leaving the general dissolution process intact for other districts.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial. It passed the Illinois House 116-0 and the Senate motion 57-0, indicating unanimous support in both chambers. The absence of committee transcript debate in the provided materials also suggests the measure was treated as a technical or administrative local government cleanup bill rather than a major policy dispute.
Contention
No significant opposition is reflected in the voting record or available discussion. The only potentially sensitive issues are the transfer of assets, liabilities, and taxing authority from sanitary districts to municipalities or counties, and the need to ensure that outstanding debts, permits, and grants are protected during dissolution. Those safeguards are built into the bill, which likely helped limit contention. The named local governments and affected sanitary districts are the primary parties impacted.