(60 ILCS 1/Art. 15 heading)

(60 ILCS 1/15-5) Sec. 15-5. Township within city; organization; petition; hearing. (a) The county board in any county under township organization, by resolution, may provide (i) that the territory embraced within any city in the county, if the territory has a population of not less than 3,000, shall be organized as a township or (ii) that the territory of any city having a population of not less than 15,000 and composed of portions of 2 or more townships may be organized into a new township under the name designated in a petition under subsection (b). The city shall be known as a coterminous city. (b) The county board shall take no action by way of resolution as to any territory under the provisions of clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (a) unless a petition requesting that action, signed by at least 200 voters of the city, has been presented to the county board and the board has held a public hearing on the petition. Notice of the hearing shall be published at least 3 times in a newspaper published in the city or, if there is none, in a newspaper published in the county and having a general circulation in the territory described in the petition. The first notice shall be published at least 60 days before the date of the hearing. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-10) Sec. 15-10. Disconnection of territory from township; annexation to adjacent township. Until the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, whenever a township is organized under this Article and any of the territory of the city not more than one-half square mile in extent and containing not more than 50 inhabitants is disconnected from the city, the county board may, by resolution, upon receiving a certified copy of the resolution or ordinance of the city disconnecting the territory and after a public hearing on the matter following notice given as provided in Section 15-5, disconnect the territory from the township and annex it to an adjacent township or townships. Whenever a township is organized under this Article and any of the territory of the city is, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, disconnected from the city by court order or ordinance, the territory shall automatically be disconnected from the otherwise coterminous township and connected to the adjacent township, and the transfer of the territory shall not affect the city's status as a city with a coterminous township. If disconnection is pursuant to court order, the petitioning party in the cause shall, within 30 days of the entry of an order permitting disconnection, serve a copy of the order upon the coterminous township, the adjacent township, and the county clerk by certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall file proof of the service with the circuit clerk. Upon objection by either the coterminous township or the adjacent township within 180 days after the enactment of the ordinance or after service of the court order, the county board may, after receiving a certified copy of the court order or ordinance and after a public hearing on the matter following notice given as provided in Section 15-5, pass an ordinance annulling the automatic disconnection of territory from the coterminous township. The action by the county board shall not affect the disconnection of territory from the city, but shall cause the territory to remain in the coterminous township. The annulling by the county board of the automatic disconnection of territory from the coterminous township shall not affect the city's status as a city with a coterminous township. (Source: P.A. 90-481, eff. 8-17-97.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-15) Sec. 15-15. Annexation of territory by coterminous city; referendum. (a) Whenever a city that is coterminous with a township has voted to annex any territory in an adjacent township, the city clerk shall, by registered or certified mail, file a certified copy of the annexation ordinance with the clerk of the township in which the proposed disconnection is to take place. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, if, within 45 days after the date of mailing notification, the township board of the township from which the territory is to be disconnected determines by a majority vote of those board members then holding office that the disconnection would not be in the best interests of that township, the board may request that a referendum approving or disapproving the disconnection be held in that township. The city, its coterminous township, and the adjacent township may, however, agree by intergovernmental agreement and without the necessity of a referendum that the territory shall remain part of the adjacent township and shall not become part of the township that is coterminous with the municipality. (b) The township clerk of the adjacent township shall, within 30 days after the vote of the township board of the adjacent township, certify the proposition to disconnect the territory from the adjacent township to the proper election officials and the city clerk of the annexing city. The election officials shall submit the proposition to the voters of the township requesting the referendum at an election in accordance with the general election law. The proportionate cost of the election shall be borne by the township requesting the election. (c) The proposition shall be substantially in the following form: Shall (name of township) include the following

described territory that is presently included in (name of township)? (Insert description of territory.)

The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". (d) If a majority of those voting on the proposition in the township vote in favor thereof, the territory shall be disconnected from the adjacent township and connected to the township that is coterminous with the city. Only upon that connection shall any debts and liabilities of the territory be taken over by the coterminous township. (e) If a majority of those voting on the proposition do not vote in favor of it, the territory shall remain with the adjacent township. If, however, at any time after a majority of those voting do not vote in favor of the proposition, the township board of the township in which the proposed disconnection was to take place determines that the disconnection would be in the best interest of that township, the board may request that another referendum approving or disapproving that same disconnection be held in that township. The referendum shall be conducted in accordance with the general election law. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-17) Sec. 15-17. Township officer after disconnection. A township officer of a township from which territory is disconnected shall continue as an officer of the township until the expiration of the term for which he or she was elected or appointed and until a successor is elected or appointed and qualified, without regard to whether the township officer resides in the township or the territory disconnected from the township. (Source: P.A. 94-529, eff. 8-10-05.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-20) Sec. 15-20. Failure of proposition to disconnect; status quo. Where the proposition to disconnect the territory fails and it remains with the adjacent township, the status quo and operation of a township and the officers of a township coterminous with a city at the time provided for in this Article is not to be affected. Where the proposition to disconnect fails, the status quo of a council of a city that is coterminous with a township at the time provided for in this Article and that already is vested with the authority to exercise all powers vested in that township is not affected. Where a city coterminous at the time provided for in this Article has provided by operation of law that certain offices of the city and the coterminous township shall be united in the same person, or that the office and election of highway commissioners shall be discontinued, that provision shall continue to be the case after the proposition to disconnect the territory fails. Where the proposition to disconnect fails, vacancies in any of the township offices in a township coterminous at the time provided for in this Section may continue to be filled by the city council. Where the proposition to disconnect fails or the city, its coterminous township, and the adjacent township agree by intergovernmental cooperation agreement that the territory shall remain part of the adjacent township, the city may annex the territory and by doing so does not relinquish its status as a city with a coterminous township. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-25) Sec. 15-25. Parcel annexed less than 1% of total equalized assessed value of adjacent township. Within any 12 month period beginning on the date of a coterminous city's first annexation after August 11, 1986, when any parcel of territory lying in an adjacent township is annexed by the city and the parcel constitutes less than 1% of the total equalized assessed value of the adjacent township, and until all such parcels annexed during each such annual period constitute 1% or more of the total equalized assessed value of the adjacent township, each separate parcel shall become disconnected from that township and included in the coterminous township without having the proposition to disconnect submitted to the voters in the adjacent township. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-30) Sec. 15-30. Payment for property taxes collected by coterminous city. After August 11, 1986, whenever territory is disconnected from a township and connected to a coterminous township before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the coterminous city shall provide, on or before December 31 of each year for a period of 10 years, to the township from which the territory was disconnected an amount equal to the real estate tax that was collected on the property in the tax year immediately preceding the disconnection. Whenever territory is disconnected from a township and connected to a coterminous township on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the coterminous city shall provide to the township from which the territory was disconnected, for a period of 10 years: (i) no later than 60 days after the first due date for real estate taxes in that county for that tax year, an amount equal to at least 50% of the real estate tax that was collected on the property in the tax year immediately preceding the disconnection and (ii) on or before December 31 of each year an amount equal to 50% of the real estate tax that was collected on the property in the tax year immediately preceding the disconnection. (Source: P.A. 94-529, eff. 8-10-05.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-35) Sec. 15-35. Automatic annexation of certain territory; exception; reconnection to adjacent township. (a) If, on August 11, 1986, any unincorporated territory in a township that is adjacent to a township that is coterminous with a city (i) is wholly bounded by the coterminous township or (ii) is bounded solely by the coterminous township and (A) a river or lake, (B) property owned by the State of Illinois (except highway right-of-way owned in fee by the State), (C) a forest preserve district, or (D) the Illinois State boundary, that territory shall automatically, by operation of law, become annexed to the city, disconnected from the adjacent township, and included in the coterminous township without having the proposition to disconnect submitted to the voters in the adjacent township, except that when the unincorporated territory is, and as long as it remains, predominantly agricultural in nature, the automatic annexation shall not occur. (b) Any territory automatically annexed by operation of law to a city coterminous with a township under this Section, if the sale of alcoholic beverages is permitted in the territory and that sale is not permitted in the coterminous township and city, shall, on June 30, 1987, be disconnected from the city and its coterminous township and reconnected to the township from which it was originally disconnected. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-40) Sec. 15-40. Parcel with township hall and maintenance building; reconnection to adjacent township. Any parcel of land owned by a township on which both a township hall and a maintenance building are located and that consists of the entire territory that was annexed by operation of law to a city coterminous with a different township under this Article shall, on September 1, 1988, be disconnected from the city and its coterminous township and reconnected to the township from which it was originally disconnected. (Source: P.A. 86-1299; 87-1197; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-45) Sec. 15-45. Territory deemed a township. The territory of any organized city, within the limits of any county under township organization and not situated within any township, shall be deemed a township. (Source: Laws 1877, p. 212; P.A. 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-50) Sec. 15-50. Powers exercised by city council. All the powers vested in the township described in Section 15-45, including all the powers now vested by law in the highway commissioners of the township and in the township board of the township, shall be exercised by the city council. The city council shall perform the duties of a township or multi-township board in relation to the township or multi-township assessor as provided in the Property Tax Code. By a resolution passed by a three-fourths vote, the city council of any home rule municipality may cease to exercise the powers of the township board. Vacancies within the offices of township clerk, township collector, and board of trustees resulting from the city council's action shall be filled in accordance with the general election law for the holding of township elections. Any action taken under this Section shall not alter the rights and duties of the township supervisor as chief executive officer of the township or of any other duly elected township officials. (Source: P.A. 90-698, eff. 8-7-98.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-55) Sec. 15-55. Combining offices. The city council in a city and township described in Section 15-45 may by ordinance provide (i) that the offices of city and township clerk are united in the same person, (ii) that the offices of city treasurer and township collector are united in the same person, and (iii) that the office and election of highway commissioners shall be discontinued. In any combination of offices under this Section, the combined office shall be filled in the manner provided by law for filling the office of city clerk or city treasurer, as the case may be. The township supervisor shall be, ex officio, supervisor of general assistance. (Source: Laws 1951, p. 2014; P.A. 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-60) Sec. 15-60. Vacancies. Vacancies in any township office within a city and township described in Section 15-45 may be filled by the city council as provided in Section 60-5. (Source: P.A. 82-783; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-65) Sec. 15-65. Inapplicability. Notwithstanding any provisions of this Article to the contrary, this Article has no application to the office of township assessor in townships organized under this Article that are situated in counties of 500,000 or more. (Source: Laws 1947, p. 1729; P.A. 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/15-70) Sec. 15-70. City council meetings; township business. The city council of any coterminous city located in a county with a population of less than 1,000,000 may, by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of its members, authorize the township supervisor to preside over portions of city council meetings when the city council is exercising powers that would ordinarily be exercised by the township board in a township not organized under this Article. While the township supervisor is presiding, the supervisor has one vote and the mayor has no vote. (Source: P.A. 96-241, eff. 8-11-09.)