§ 3c — Elected board of commissioners in certain counties

If the boundaries of a district are co-extensive with the boundaries of a county having a population of more than 800,000 but less than 3,000,000, all commissioners of the forest preserve district shall be elected from the number of districts as determined by the forest preserve district board of commissioners. Such a forest preserve district is a separate and distinct legal entity, and its board members are elected separate and apart from the elected county commissioners. Upon its formation, or as a result of decennial reapportionment, such a forest preserve district shall adopt a district map determining the boundary lines of each district. That map shall be adjusted and reapportioned subject to the same decennial reapportionment process stated in Section 3c-1. No more than one commissioner shall be elected from each district. At their first meeting after election in 2022 and at their first meeting after election next following each subsequent decennial reapportionment of the county under Section 3c-1, the elected commissioners shall publicly, by lot, divide themselves into 2 groups, as equal in size as possible. Commissioners from the first group shall serve for terms of 2, 4, and 4 years, and commissioners from the second group shall serve terms of 4, 4, and 2 years. The president of the board of commissioners of the forest preserve district shall be elected by the voters of the county, rather than by the commissioners. The president shall be a resident of the county and shall be elected throughout the county for a 4-year term without having been first elected as commissioner of the forest preserve district. Each commissioner shall be a resident of the forest preserve board district from which the commissioner was elected not later than the date of the commencement of the term of office. The term of office for the president and commissioners elected under this Section shall commence on the first Monday of the month following the month of election. Neither a commissioner nor the president of the board of commissioners of that forest preserve district shall serve simultaneously as member or chairman of the county board. No person shall seek election to both the forest preserve commission and the county board at the same election, nor shall they be eligible to hold both offices at the same time. The president, with the advice and consent of the board of commissioners shall appoint a secretary, treasurer, and such other officers as deemed necessary by the board of commissioners, which officers need not be members of the board of commissioners. The president shall have the powers and duties as specified in Section 12 of this Act. Candidates for president and commissioner shall be candidates of established political parties. If a vacancy in the office of president or commissioner occurs, other than by expiration of the president's or commissioner's term, the forest preserve district board of commissioners shall declare that a vacancy exists and notification of the vacancy shall be given to the county central committee of each established political party within 3 business days after the occurrence of the vacancy. If the vacancy occurs in the office of forest preserve district commissioner, the president of the board of commissioners shall, within 60 days after the date of the vacancy, with the advice and consent of other commissioners then serving, appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. The appointee shall be affiliated with the same political party as the commissioner in whose office the vacancy occurred and be a resident of such district. If a vacancy in the office of president occurs, other than by expiration of the president's term, the remaining members of the board of commissioners shall, within 60 days after the vacancy, appoint one of the commissioners to serve as president for the remainder of the unexpired term. In that case, the office of the commissioner who is appointed to serve as president shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled within 60 days by appointment of the president with the advice and consent of the other forest preserve district commissioners. The commissioner who is appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of president shall be affiliated with the same political party as the person who occupied the office of president prior to the vacancy. A person appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of president or commissioner shall establish the appointee's party affiliation by the appointee's record of voting in primary elections or by holding or having held an office in an established political party organization before the appointment. If the appointee has not voted in a party primary election or is not holding or has not held an office in an established political party organization before the appointment, the appointee shall establish the appointee's political party affiliation by the appointee's record of participating in an established political party's nomination or election caucus. If, however, more than 28 months remain in the unexpired term of a commissioner or the president, the appointment shall be until the next general election, at which time the vacated office of commissioner or president shall be filled by election for the remainder of the term. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if a vacancy occurs after the last day provided in Section 7-12 of the Election Code for filing nomination papers for the office of president of a forest preserve district where that office is elected as provided for in this Section, or as set forth in Section 7-61 of the Election Code, a vacancy in nomination shall be filled by the passage of a resolution by the nominating committee of the affected political party within the time periods specified in the Election Code. The nominating committee shall consist of the chairman of the county central committee and the township chairmen of the affected political party. All other vacancies in nomination shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Election Code. The president and commissioners elected under this Section may be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses actually incurred in performing their official duties under this Act in accordance with the provisions of Section 3a. The reimbursement paid under this Section shall be paid by the forest preserve district. Compensation for the president and the forest preserve commissioners elected under this Section shall be established by the board of commissioners of the forest preserve district. This Section does not apply to a forest preserve district created under Section 18.5 of the Conservation District Act.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-600, eff. 7-1-24; 104-40, eff. 1-1-26 .)