(60 ILCS 1/Art. 235 heading)

(60 ILCS 1/235-5) Sec. 235-5. Township taxes for various purposes. The township board may raise money, by taxation not exceeding the rates established in Section 235-10, for the following purposes: (1) Prosecuting or defending suits by or against the

township or in which the township is interested.

(2) Maintaining cemeteries under the control,

management, and ownership of the township and controlling, managing, and maintaining public cemeteries not operated for profit, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1c of the Public Graveyards Act.

(3) Maintaining and operating a public nonsectarian

hospital under Article 175. This authorization does not apply to any township that avails itself of the provisions of Article 170.

(4) Maintaining and operating a township committee on

youth under Section 215-5.

(5) Providing mental health services under Section

190-10.

(6) Providing services in cooperation with another

governmental entity, not-for-profit corporation, or nonprofit community service association under Section 85-13.

(7) Maintaining and operating a township committee

for senior citizens' services under Section 220-10.

(8) Maintaining and operating a township health

service that may provide, but is not required to provide or limited to providing, examination, diagnosis, testing, and inoculation and all necessary and appurtenant personnel, equipment, and insurance.

(9) Accumulating moneys in a dedicated fund for a

specific capital construction or maintenance project or a major equipment purchase. The annual budget and appropriation ordinance for the township shall state the amount, purpose, and duration of any accumulation of funds authorized under this Section, with specific reference to each project to be constructed or equipment to be purchased. Nothing in this item precludes a township from accumulating moneys as provided in Section 6-501 of the Illinois Highway Code.

(10) Executing the rights, powers, duties, and

responsibilities, or satisfying the liabilities or obligations, assumed from a road district abolished under the provisions of Section 6-133 of the Illinois Highway Code.

(11) Any other purpose authorized by law. (Source: P.A. 97-611, eff. 1-1-12.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-10) Sec. 235-10. Rate of tax; referendum to increase maximum rate. (a) In townships having an equalized assessed valuation of $36,000,000 or more, taxes authorized by subsection (a) may be extended at a rate not exceeding 0.25% of value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property in the township. (b) In townships having an equalized assessed valuation of $30,000,000 but less than $36,000,000, taxes authorized by subsection (a) may be extended at a rate calculated to yield tax revenues not exceeding $90,000. (c) In townships having an equalized assessed valuation of $15,000,000 but less than $30,000,000, taxes authorized by subsection (a) may be extended at a rate not exceeding the rate computed by subtracting 0.01% of value for each $1,000,000 or major fraction thereof in excess of $15,000,000 but less than $30,000,000 of equalized assessed valuation from the rate of 0.45% of value. (d) In townships having an equalized assessed valuation of less than $15,000,000, taxes may be extended at a rate not exceeding 0.45% of value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property in the township. (e)(1) In townships having an equalized assessed valuation of less than $10,000,000, taxes may be extended at a rate of not more than 0.45% of value, or not more than 0.65% of value if approved by voters in the township in a referendum on the limit increase, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property in the township. (2) On the petition of at least 10% of the registered voters residing in the township to the township clerk, the clerk shall order a referendum on the proposition to increase the extension limitation as provided in the petition. The township clerk shall certify the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition to the township voters at the next election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form: Shall the present maximum tax extension limit of

(insert present maximum tax extension limit) of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of the taxable real property in (name of township) be increased to a maximum tax extension limit of (insert proposed maximum tax extension limit) of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of the taxable real property in (name of township)?

The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". (3) If a majority of all ballots cast on the proposition is in favor of the increase, the county clerk shall certify the results of the election to the township clerk. (f) Any township having exceeded an equalized assessed valuation of $15,000,000 before September 17, 1983, may tax at the rate authorized to be extended under this Section if approved by the township voters at the annual township meeting. If approval is not obtained, the tax may not be extended at a rate of more than 0.25% of the value, as equalized and assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property in the township.(g) Any township having assumed the rights, powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities, obligations, and responsibilities of a road district abolished under the provisions of Section 6-133 of the Illinois Highway Code may tax at a rate determined by adding the rate authorized to be extended under this Section to the last rate authorized to be extended for road purposes under Section 6-501 of the Illinois Highway Code. (Source: P.A. 97-611, eff. 1-1-12.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-13) Sec. 235-13. Truth in taxation. Tax levies by a township shall be subject to the Truth in Taxation Act to the extent that Act applies. (Source: P.A. 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-15) Sec. 235-15. Special tax for sidewalks, street lighting, or traffic control devices. (a) The township board of a township in a county with a population between 300,000 and 3,000,000 may provide for the construction or installation and repair of sidewalks or street lighting or traffic control devices in the township along or upon any roads and may provide for the payment of the whole or any part of the cost of the construction, installation, or repair by special taxation of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land touching upon the road near or on which a sidewalk or device is ordered or otherwise benefiting from the improvement, except that the property is not subject to the tax if it is located within a city, village, or incorporated town. This special taxation may be by levying the whole or any part of the cost upon each of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land touching upon the road or otherwise benefiting from the improvement, pro rata, according to their respective values. The values of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land shall be determined by the last preceding assessment under the Property Tax Code. (b) Before a special tax may be levied under this Section, the township board shall by resolution set a day and hour for a public hearing upon the proposed improvement for which the tax is to be levied. The hearing shall be held not less than 10 days after the resolution proposing the improvement is adopted. Notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be sent by mail directed to the person who paid the general taxes for the last preceding year on each lot, tract, and parcel of real estate that is to be subject to the tax not less than 5 days before the date set for the public hearing. The notice, in addition to the time, date, and place of the public hearing, shall contain a general description of the proposed improvement including the estimated cost of the improvement. (c) At the time and place fixed for the public hearing, the township board shall meet and hear anyone desiring to be heard upon the subject of the proposed improvement. If any person objects to the proposed improvement or any of the elements of it, the corporate authorities may adopt a new resolution abandoning the proposed scheme or adhering to it or changing, altering, or modifying the extent, nature, kind, or character of the proposed scheme as it considers most desirable. (d) If the owners of 50% or more in number of the lots, tracts, and parcels of real estate that are to be subject to the tax file written objections with the recording officer of the township, the township board shall proceed no further with the improvement and the same improvement shall not again be initiated for a period of one year. (e) The township board shall proceed to prepare a special tax list against those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land subject to the special tax, ascertaining by computation the amount of special taxes and the annual installments of those taxes to be charged against each of those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land on account of the installation, construction, or repair according to the rule fixed for the levy of that special tax by the township board. (f) The special tax list shall be filed in the office of a specified officer or board, and this officer or board shall thereupon issue warrants directed to the township collector (or to the officer designated in the ordinance) for the collection of the amount of special tax so ascertained and appearing from the special tax list to be due from the respective lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land. The aggregate amount of each special tax shall be divided into 5 annual installments of equal amounts. (g) The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall file a copy of the ordinance and the special tax list with the recorder of the county in which the township is situated. Upon that filing, the special tax becomes a lien upon each lot, block, tract, or parcel subject to the special tax until all installments have been paid with respect to the lot, block, tract, or parcel. (h) The first installment shall be due and payable on the second day of January next after the date of the first voucher issued on account of the work done, the second installment one year thereafter, and so on annually until all installments are paid. The specified officer or board shall file in the office of the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) a certificate, signed by the officer or secretary of the board preparing the tax list, of the date of the first voucher and of the amount of the voucher within 30 days after the issuance of the voucher. (i) All the installments shall bear interest as provided in the ordinance until paid, at a rate of not to exceed 6% annually. Interest on assessments shall begin to run from the date of the first voucher issued on account of work done. (j) In all cases, the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax), whenever payment is made of any installment, shall collect all interest that is due up to the date of that payment, whether the payment is made at or after maturity. Any person may at any time pay the whole assessment against any lot, block, tract, or parcel of land, or any installment thereof, with interest as provided in this Section up to the date of payment. The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall proceed to collect the warrants by mailing a written notice to the address of the party who last paid the general taxes on the respective lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land in the list that the tax list is in his possession for collection. All money collected shall be immediately paid over by that officer to the township. (k) The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall maintain as a permanent public record a list containing at least the following information: (1) A description of all lots, blocks, tracts, and

parcels subject to the special tax.

(2) The amount of the special tax assessed against

each lot, block, tract, and parcel.

(3) The installments that have been received by the

collecting officer.

(l) Upon failure to collect the special tax as provided in this Section, the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax), on or before the first day of August in each year, shall make a written report of this special tax to the officer of the county authorized by law to apply for judgment against and sell lands for taxes due. This report shall also contain an enumeration of (i) all the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land upon which the special tax remains unpaid, (ii) the names of the respective owners of those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels so far as the names are known to the collecting officer, (iii) the amount due and unpaid upon each lot, block, tract, or parcel, and (iv) a copy of the resolution or ordinance ordering the installation, construction, or repair. This report shall be accompanied by the oath of the officer that the list is a correct return of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land on which the special tax levied by authority of the township for the cost or partial cost, as the case may be, of the sidewalk or device specified in that ordinance remains due and unpaid and that the amounts stated as due and unpaid have not been collected either in whole or in part. This report, when made as required in this subsection, is prima facie evidence that all the forms and requirements of the law in relation to making that return have been complied with and that the special tax, as mentioned in the report, is due and unpaid. (m) When the specified officer of the county receives the report, he or she shall at once proceed to obtain judgment against the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land enumerated in the report for the special tax remaining due and unpaid in the same manner as provided by law for obtaining judgment against land for taxes due and unpaid under the Property Tax Code and in the same manner shall proceed to sell the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels for the special tax due and unpaid. In obtaining this judgment and making this sale, the specified officer shall be subject to applicable provisions of the Property Tax Code. The Property Tax Code shall also apply to the execution of certificates of sales and deeds and to the force and effect of these sales and deeds. All other laws in relation to the enforcement and collection of taxes and redemption from tax sales shall apply to proceedings to collect the special tax. (Source: P.A. 88-62; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-16) Sec. 235-16. Special tax for sidewalks, street lighting, street repairs, or traffic control devices; counties of 3,000,000 or more. (a) The township board of a township in a county with a population of more than 3,000,000 may provide for the construction or installation and repair of sidewalks or repair of streets, including improvements for flood control, or street lighting or traffic control devices in the township along or upon any roads and may provide for the payment of the whole or any part of the cost of the construction, installation, or repair by special taxation of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land touching upon the road near or on which a sidewalk or device is ordered or otherwise benefiting from the improvement, except that the property is not subject to the tax if it is located within a city, village, or incorporated town. This special taxation may be by levying the whole or any part of the cost upon each of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land touching upon the road or otherwise benefiting from the improvement, pro rata, according to their respective values. The values of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land shall be determined by the last preceding assessment under the Property Tax Code. (b) Before a special tax may be levied under this Section, the township board shall by resolution set a day and hour for a public hearing upon the proposed improvement for which the tax is to be levied. The hearing shall be held not less than 10 days after the resolution proposing the improvement is adopted. Notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be sent by mail directed to the person who paid the general taxes for the last preceding year on each lot, tract, and parcel of real estate that is to be subject to the tax not less than 5 days before the date set for the public hearing. The notice, in addition to the time, date, and place of the public hearing, shall contain a general description of the proposed improvement including the estimated cost of the improvement. The notice shall also inform each person of the requirement that 51% or more of the owners of lots, tracts, and parcels of real estate that would be subject to the tax must sign a petition authorizing the township board to proceed with the improvement. (c) At the time and place fixed for the public hearing, the township board shall meet and hear anyone desiring to be heard upon the subject of the proposed improvement. If any person objects to the proposed improvement or any of the elements of it, the corporate authorities may adopt a new resolution abandoning the proposed scheme or adhering to it or changing, altering, or modifying the extent, nature, kind, or character of the proposed scheme as it considers most desirable. (d) If the owners of 51% or more in number of the lots, tracts, and parcels of real estate that are to be subject to the tax file a petition with the town clerk agreeing with the improvement, then the township board shall proceed with the improvement. If a petition is not filed or contains an insufficient number of signatures, the township board shall proceed no further and the same improvement shall not again be initiated for a period of one year. (e) The township board shall proceed to prepare a special tax list against those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land subject to the special tax, ascertaining by computation the amount of special taxes and the annual installments of those taxes to be charged against each of those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land on account of the installation, construction, or repair according to the rule fixed for the levy of that special tax by the township board. (f) The special tax list shall be filed in the office of a specified officer or board, and this officer or board shall thereupon issue warrants directed to the township collector (or to the officer designated in the ordinance) for the collection of the amount of special tax so ascertained and appearing from the special tax list to be due from the respective lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land. The aggregate amount of each special tax shall be divided into 5 annual installments of equal amounts. (g) The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall file a copy of the ordinance and the special tax list with the recorder of the county in which the township is situated. Upon that filing, the special tax becomes a lien upon each lot, block, tract, or parcel subject to the special tax until all installments have been paid with respect to the lot, block, tract, or parcel. (h) The first installment shall be due and payable on the second day of January next after the date of the first voucher issued on account of the work done, the second installment one year thereafter, and so on annually until all installments are paid. The specified officer or board shall file in the office of the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) a certificate, signed by the officer or secretary of the board preparing the tax list, of the date of the first voucher and of the amount of the voucher within 30 days after the issuance of the voucher. (i) All the installments shall bear interest as provided in the ordinance until paid, at a rate of not to exceed 6% annually. Interest on assessments shall begin to run from the date of the first voucher issued on account of work done. (j) In all cases, the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax), whenever payment is made of any installment, shall collect all interest that is due up to the date of that payment, whether the payment is made at or after maturity. Any person may at any time pay the whole assessment against any lot, block, tract, or parcel of land, or any installment thereof, with interest as provided in this Section up to the date of payment. The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall proceed to collect the warrants by mailing a written notice to the address of the party who last paid the general taxes on the respective lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land in the list that the tax list is in his possession for collection. All money collected shall be immediately paid over by that officer to the township. (k) The township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax) shall maintain as a permanent public record a list containing at least the following information: (1) A description of all lots, blocks, tracts, and

parcels subject to the special tax.

(2) The amount of the special tax assessed against

each lot, block, tract, and parcel.

(3) The installments that have been received by the

collecting officer.

(l) Upon failure to collect the special tax as provided in this Section, the township collector (or the officer designated to collect the tax), on or before the first day of August in each year, shall make a written report of this special tax to the officer of the county authorized by law to apply for judgment against and sell lands for taxes due. This report shall also contain an enumeration of (i) all the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land upon which the special tax remains unpaid, (ii) the names of the respective owners of those lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels so far as the names are known to the collecting officer, (iii) the amount due and unpaid upon each lot, block, tract, or parcel, and (iv) a copy of the resolution or ordinance ordering the installation, construction, or repair. This report shall be accompanied by the oath of the officer that the list is a correct return of the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land on which the special tax levied by authority of the township for the cost or partial cost, as the case may be, of the sidewalk or device specified in that ordinance remains due and unpaid and that the amounts stated as due and unpaid have not been collected either in whole or in part. This report, when made as required in this subsection, is prima facie evidence that all the forms and requirements of the law in relation to making that return have been complied with and that the special tax, as mentioned in the report, is due and unpaid. (m) When the specified officer of the county receives the report, he or she shall at once proceed to obtain judgment against the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels of land enumerated in the report for the special tax remaining due and unpaid in the same manner as provided by law for obtaining judgment against land for taxes due and unpaid under the Property Tax Code and in the same manner shall proceed to sell the lots, blocks, tracts, or parcels for the special tax due and unpaid. In obtaining this judgment and making this sale, the specified officer shall be subject to applicable provisions of the Property Tax Code. The Property Tax Code shall also apply to the execution of certificates of sales and deeds and to the force and effect of these sales and deeds. All other laws in relation to the enforcement and collection of taxes and redemption from tax sales shall apply to proceedings to collect the special tax. (Source: P.A. 90-438, eff. 1-1-98.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-20) Sec. 235-20. General assistance tax. (a) The township board may raise money by taxation deemed necessary to be expended to provide general assistance in the township to persons needing that assistance as provided in the Illinois Public Aid Code, including persons eligible for assistance under the Military Veterans Assistance Act, where that duty is provided by law. The tax for each fiscal year shall not be more than 0.10% of value, or more than an amount approved at a referendum held under this Section, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, and shall in no case exceed the amount needed in the township for general assistance. The board may decrease the maximum tax rate by ordinance. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the board desires to increase the maximum tax rate, it shall order a referendum on that proposition to be held at an election in accordance with the general election law. The board shall certify the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition is in favor of the proposition, the board may annually levy the tax at a rate not exceeding the higher rate approved by the voters at the election. If, however, the board has decreased the maximum tax rate under subsection (a), then it may, at any time after the decrease, increase the maximum tax rate, by ordinance, to a rate less than or equal to the maximum tax rate immediately prior to the board's ordinance to decrease the rate. (c) If a city, village, or incorporated town having a population of more than 500,000 is located within or partially within a township, then the entire amount of the tax levied by the township for the purpose of providing general assistance under this Section on property lying within that city, village, or incorporated town, less the amount allowed for collecting the tax, shall be paid over by the treasurer of the township to the treasurer of the city, village, or incorporated town to be appropriated and used by the city, village, or incorporated town for the relief and support of persons needing general assistance residing in that portion of the city, village, or incorporated town located within the township in accordance with the Illinois Public Aid Code. (d) Any taxes levied for general assistance before or after this Section takes effect may also be used for the payment of warrants issued against and in anticipation of those taxes and accrued interest on those warrants and may also be used to pay the cost of administering that assistance. (e) In any township with a population of less than 500,000 that receives no State funding for the general assistance program and that has not issued anticipation warrants or otherwise borrowed monies for the administration of the general assistance program during the township's previous 3 fiscal years of operation, a one time transfer of monies from the township's general assistance fund may be made to the general township fund pursuant to action by the township board. This transfer may occur only to the extent that the amount of monies remaining in the general assistance fund after the transfer is equal to the greater of (i) the amount of the township's expenditures in the previous fiscal year for general assistance or (ii) an amount equal to either 0.10% of the last known total equalized value of all taxable property in the township, or 100% of the highest amount levied for general assistance purposes in any of the three previous fiscal years. The transfer shall be completed no later than one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly. No township that has certified a new levy or an increase in the levy under this Section during calendar year 2002 may transfer monies under this subsection. No action on the transfer of monies under this subsection shall be taken by the township board except at a township board meeting. No monies transferred under this subsection shall be considered in determining whether the township qualifies for State funds to supplement local funds for public aid purposes under Section 12-21.13 of the Illinois Public Aid Code. (e-5) The township board of Gray Township in White County may approve by resolution or ordinance transfers of monies from the township's general assistance fund to the general township fund no later than one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly if:(1) the township receives no State funding for the

general assistance program;

(2) the township has not issued anticipation warrants

or otherwise borrowed monies for the administration of the general assistance program during the township's previous 3 fiscal years of operation;

(3) the amount of monies remaining in the general

assistance fund after the transfer is equal to the greater of (i) the amount of the township's expenditures in the previous fiscal year for general assistance or (ii) an amount equal to either 0.10% of the last known total equalized value of all taxable property in the township, or 100% of the highest amount levied for general assistance purposes in any of the three previous fiscal years; and

(4) the township that has not certified a new levy or

an increase in the levy under this Section during calendar year 2015.

No monies transferred under this subsection shall be considered in determining whether the township qualifies for State funds to supplement local funds for public aid purposes under Section 12-21.13 of the Illinois Public Aid Code. (Source: P.A. 99-248, eff. 1-1-16.)

(60 ILCS 1/235-25) Sec. 235-25. Tentative budget and appropriation ordinance and tax for road purposes. In each road district comprised of a single township, the township board shall adopt a tentative budget and appropriation ordinance for road purposes and shall levy the amount determined by the highway commissioner and certify to the county clerk the amount necessary to be raised by taxation for road purposes as provided in Section 6-501 of the Illinois Highway Code. (Source: P.A. 88-62.)