Annexation of contiguous territory contributing to groundwater contamination.
(a)The corporate authorities of a municipality adjoining unincorporated territory in which the majority of residential, business, commercial, and industrial structures and improvements are contaminating the groundwater of the State through the direct discharge of sanitary sewerage into underground mines and Class 5 injection wells, as defined by the Illinois Groundwater Pollution Control Code, may annex that territory, in whole or in part, after adopting an ordinance to that effect and filing it with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the territory is located. The ordinance shall certify the following:
(1)That the territory sought to be annexed is contiguous to the municipality seeking annexa
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Annexation of contiguous territory contributing to groundwater contamination. (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality adjoining unincorporated territory in which the majority of residential, business, commercial, and industrial structures and improvements are contaminating the groundwater of the State through the direct discharge of sanitary sewerage into underground mines and Class 5 injection wells, as defined by the Illinois Groundwater Pollution Control Code, may annex that territory, in whole or in part, after adopting an ordinance to that effect and filing it with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the territory is located. The ordinance shall certify the following: (1) That the territory sought to be annexed is contiguous to the municipality seeking annexation and not within the corporate boundaries of any other municipality. (2) That a survey of all residential, business, commercial, and industrial structures and improvements in the territory sought to be annexed has shown that a majority of those structures and improvements are discharging untreated sanitary sewerage directly into underground mines or Class 5 injection wells as defined by the Illinois Groundwater Pollution Control Code. (3) That the corporate authorities of the municipality seeking annexation have approved a plan for eliminating groundwater contamination by providing sanitary sewerage collection and treatment facilities to serve the territory sought to be annexed within 5 years from the date of annexation to the municipality. (4) That no tract of land in excess of 10 acres has been included in the ordinance without the express consent of the owner or owners of the tract. The circuit court shall enter an order fixing the date and time for a hearing on the proposed annexation. The date for the hearing shall be not less than 20 nor more than 30 days after the filing of the ordinance. The corporate authorities shall give notice of the proposed annexation not more than 30 nor less than 15 days before the date fixed for the hearing. This notice shall state that an ordinance has been filed and shall give the substance of the ordinance, including a description of the territory to be annexed, the name of the annexing municipality, and the date fixed for the hearing. This notice shall be given by publishing it at least once in one or more newspapers published in the annexing municipality. A copy of this notice shall be filed with the clerk of the annexing municipality. The corporate authorities shall pay to the clerk of the circuit court $10 as a filing and service fee, and no ordinance shall be filed until this fee is paid. (b) After the filing of the ordinance, but not less than 5 days before the date fixed for the hearing, any interested person may file with the clerk of the circuit court objections (i) that the territory described in the ordinance is not contiguous to the annexing municipality, (ii) that all or a portion of the territory described in the ordinance is included within the boundaries of another municipality, (iii) that a majority of all residential, business, commercial, and industrial structures and improvements in the territory sought to be annexed are not discharging untreated sanitary sewerage directly into underground mines or Class 5 injection wells as defined by the Illinois Groundwater Pollution Control Code, (iv) that the corporate authorities of the municipality seeking annexation do not have a plan for eliminating groundwater contamination by providing sanitary sewerage collection and treatment facilities to serve the territory sought to be annexed within 5 years from the date of annexation to the municipality, (v) that the description of the territory contained in the ordinance is inadequate, or (vi) that a tract of land in excess of 10 acres has been included in the ordinance without the express consent of the owner or owners of the tract. (c) The cause shall be heard without further pleadings. At the hearing the objectors may be heard in person or by counsel. The court shall hear and determine only objections set forth in subsection (b). The only matters for determination at the hearing shall be the validity of the annexation ordinance, and the decision of the court shall be final. If the court finds (i) that the territory described in the ordinance is not contiguous to the annexing municipality, (ii) that all or a portion of the territory described in the ordinance is included within the boundaries of another municipality, (iii) that a majority of all residential, business, commercial, and industrial structures and improvements in the territory sought to be annexed are not discharging untreated sanitary sewerage directly into underground mines or Class 5 injection wells as defined by the Illinois Groundwater Pollution Control Code, (iv) that the corporate authorities of the municipality seeking annexation do not have a plan for eliminating groundwater contamination by providing sanitary sewerage collection and treatment facilities to serve the territory sought to be annexed within 5 years from the date of annexation to the municipality, (v) that the description of the territory contained in the ordinance is inadequate, or (vi) that a tract of land in excess of 10 acres has been included in the ordinance without the express consent of the owner or owners of the tract, then the court shall find the ordinance invalid and dismiss the petition. If the court finds that the ordinance is valid, the court shall (i) enter an order describing the territory to be annexed, (ii) find that the ordinance complies with this Section, and (iii) direct that the question of annexation be submitted to the corporate authorities of the annexing municipality for final action. A certified copy of the order of the court directing that the question of annexation be submitted to the corporate authorities shall be sent to the clerk of the annexing municipality. A final order of the court may be appealed as in other civil actions. (d) After the municipal clerk receives the certified copy of the court order, the corporate authorities of the annexing municipality shall proceed to consider the question of the annexation of the described territory. A majority vote of the corporate authorities then holding office is required to annex the territory. The vote shall be by "ayes" and "nays" entered on the legislative records of the municipality. Except as otherwise provided in Section 7-1-1, this decision of the corporate authorities shall be effective after the expiration of 30 days.