Division 122. Street Railways  

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-1) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-1)
    Sec. 11-122-1. Subject to the provisions of Section 11-122-6, every city may own, construct, acquire, purchase, maintain, and operate street railways within its corporate limits. For the purpose of this Division 122 the expression "street railways" includes railways above, on, or below the surface of the city streets. But no city shall proceed to operate street railways unless the proposition to operate is first submitted to the electors of the city as a separate proposition and approved by three-fifths of those voting thereon.
    The city council of any city that decides by popular vote, as provided in this Division 122, to operate street railways, has the power to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the operation thereof, including the power to fix and prescribe rates and charges. But these rates and charges shall be high enough (1) to produce a revenue sufficient to bear all costs of maintenance and operation, (2) to meet interest charges on all bonds or certificates issued on account of these railways, and (3) to permit the accumulation of a surplus or sinking fund sufficient to meet all such outstanding bonds or certificates at maturity. Street railways owned and operated by such a city, or owned by the city and leased for operating purposes to a private company, may carry passengers and their ordinary baggage, parcels, packages, and United States mail, and may be utilized for such other purposes as the city council of the city may deem proper. Such street railways may be operated by such motive power as the city council may approve, except steam locomotives.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-2) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-2)
    Sec. 11-122-2. Subject to the provisions of Section 11-122-6, every city may lease street railways, or any part thereof, owned by the city to any company incorporated under the laws of this state for the purpose of operating street railways for any period, not longer than 20 years, on such terms and conditions as the city council deems for the best interests of the public.
    Such a city has the power to incorporate in any grant of the right to construct or operate street railways a reservation of the right on the part of the city to take over all or part of those street railways, at or before the expiration of the grant, upon such terms and conditions as may be provided in the grant. The city also has the power to provide in such a grant that in case the reserved right is not exercised by the city and the city grants a right to another company to operate a street railway in the streets or part of the streets occupied by its grantee under the former grant, the new grantee shall purchase and take over the street railways of the former grantee upon the terms that the city might have taken them over. The city council of the city has the power to make a grant, containing such a reservation, for either the construction or operation or both the construction and operation of a street railway in, upon, and along any of the streets or public ways therein, or portions thereof, in which street railway tracks are already located at the time of the making of the grant, without the petition or consent of any of the owners of the land abutting or fronting upon any street or public way, or portion thereof, covered by the grant.
    No ordinance authorizing a lease for a longer period than 5 years, nor any ordinance renewing any lease, shall go into effect until the expiration of 30 days from and after its publication. The ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. The publication or posting of the ordinance shall be accompanied by a notice of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting the question of authorizing the lease of a street railway for a period longer than 5 years to be submitted to the electors; (2) the time in which such petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the prospective referendum. The city clerk shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one. And if, within that 30 days, there is filed with the city clerk a petition signed by voters in the municipality equal to 10% or more of the registered voters in the municipality, asking that the ordinance be submitted to a popular vote, the ordinance shall not go into effect unless the question of its adoption is first submitted to the electors of the city and approved by a majority of those voting thereon.
    The signatures to the petition need not all be on one paper but each signer shall add to his signature, which shall be in his own handwriting, his place of residence, giving the street and number. One of the signers of each such paper shall make oath before an officer competent to administer oaths, that each signature on the paper is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
    In case of the leasing by any city of any street railway owned by it, the rental reserved shall be based on both the actual value of the tangible property and of the franchise contained in the lease, and the rental shall not be less than a sufficient sum to meet the annual interest upon all outstanding bonds or street railway certificates issued by the city on account of that street railway.
(Source: P.A. 87-767.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-3) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-3)
    Sec. 11-122-3. For the purpose of acquiring street railways either by purchase or construction, as provided for in this Division 122, or for the equipment of any such street railways, any city may borrow money and issue its negotiable bonds therefor, pledging the faith and credit of the city. But no such bonds shall be issued unless the proposition to issue the bonds is first submitted to the electors of the city and approved by two-thirds of those voting thereon, nor shall the bonds be issued in an amount in excess of the cost to the city of the property for which the bonds are issued, ascertained as provided in this Division 122, and 10% of that cost in addition thereto.
    In the exercise of the powers, or any of them, granted by this Division 122, a city has the power to acquire, take, and hold all necessary property, real, personal, or mixed, for the purposes specified in this Division 122, either by purchase or condemnation in the manner provided by law for the taking and condemning of private property for public use. However, in no valuation of street railway property for the purpose of any such acquisition, except of street railways now operated under existing franchises, shall any sum be included as the value of any earning power of that property or of the unexpired portion of any franchise granted by the city.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-4) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-4)
    Sec. 11-122-4. In lieu of issuing bonds pledging the faith and credit of the city, as provided for in Section 11-122-3, any city may issue and dispose of interest bearing certificates, to be known as "street railway certificates," which, under no circumstances, shall be or become an obligation or liability of the city or payable out of any general fund thereof, but shall be payable solely out of a specified portion of the income to be derived from the street railway property for the acquisition of which they were issued. These certificates shall not be issued and secured by any street railway property in an amount in excess of the cost to the city of that property, as provided in this Division 122, and 10% of that cost in addition thereto.
    In order to secure the payment of these street railway certificates and the interest thereon, the city may convey, by way of mortgage or deed of trust, any or all of the street railway property acquired or to be acquired through the issuance thereof. This mortgage or deed of trust shall be executed in such manner as may be directed by the city council and acknowledged and recorded in the manner provided by law for the acknowledgment and recording of mortgages of real estate, and may contain such provisions and conditions not in conflict with the provisions of this Division 122 as may be deemed necessary to fully secure the payment of the street railway certificates described therein. The mortgage or deed of trust may contain the grant of a privilege or right to maintain and operate the street railway property covered thereby, for a period not exceeding 20 years from the date that that property may come into the possession of any person as the result of foreclosure proceedings. This privilege or right may fix the rates of fare which the person securing the privilege or right as the result of foreclosure proceedings shall be entitled to charge in the operation of the property for a period not exceeding 20 years.
    Whenever, and as often as, default is made in the payment of any street railway certificate issued and secured by a mortgage or deed of trust, as provided in this section, or in the payment of the interest thereon when due, and that default has continued for the space of 12 months, after notice thereof has been given to the mayor and the financial officer of the city issuing the certificates, it is lawful for the mortgagee or trustee, upon the request of the holders of a majority in amount of the certificates issued and outstanding under the mortgage or deed of trust, to declare the whole of the principal of all such certificates as may be outstanding, to be at once due and payable, and to proceed to foreclose the mortgage or deed of trust in any court of competent jurisdiction.
    At a foreclosure sale, the mortgagee, or trustee, or the holders of the certificates may become the purchaser or purchasers of the property and the rights and privileges sold, if he or they be the highest bidders. Any street railway acquired under such a foreclosure shall be subject to regulation by the corporate authorities of the city to the same extent as if the right to construct, maintain, and operate that property had been acquired through a direct grant without the intervention of foreclosure proceedings.
    However, no street railway certificates, mortgage, or deed of trust shall ever be issued by any city under the provisions of this Division 122 until the question of the adoption of the ordinance making provision for the issuance thereof has been submitted to a popular vote and approved by a majority of the electors of the city voting upon that question.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-5) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-5)
    Sec. 11-122-5. Every city owning, or owning and operating, street railways, shall keep the books of account for these street railways distinct from other city accounts and in such manner as to show the true and complete financial results of the city ownership, or ownership and operation, as the case may be. These accounts shall be so kept as to show: (1) the actual cost to the city of street railways owned, (2) all costs of maintenance, extension, and improvement, (3) all operating expenses of every description, in case of city operation, (4) the amount set aside for sinking fund purposes, (5) if water or other service is furnished for the use of the street railways without charge, as nearly as possible, the value of this service, and also the value of any similar service rendered by the street railways to any other city department without charge, (6) reasonable allowances for interest, depreciation, and insurance, and (7) estimates of the amount of taxes that would be chargeable against the property if owned by a private corporation. The city council shall print annually for public distribution, a report showing the financial results, in the form specified in this section, of the city ownership, or ownership and operation.
    The accounts of those street railways, shall be examined at least once a year by a licensed Certified Public Accountant permitted to perform audits under the Illinois Public Accounting Act, who shall report to the city council the results of his examination. This accountant shall be selected in such manner as the city council may direct, and he shall receive for his services such compensation, to be paid out of the income from those street railways, as the city council may prescribe.
(Source: P.A. 94-465, eff. 8-4-05.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-6) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-6)
    Sec. 11-122-6. This Division 122 shall be in force in every city in which "An Act to authorize cities to acquire, construct, own, operate and lease street railways, to provide the means therefor, and to provide for the discontinuance of such operation and ownership," approved May 18, 1903, as amended, has been heretofore adopted and was in force immediately prior to January 1, 1942. This Division 122 shall not be in force in any other city until the question of its adoption in such other city has been submitted to the electors of the city and approved by a majority of those voting thereon.
    If the city council in any city has heretofore incorporated or hereafter incorporates in any grant to a private company of the right to construct or operate street railways a provision reserving to the city the right to take over the street railways at or before the expiration of the grant, in case the city later adopted "An Act to authorize cities to acquire, construct, own, operate and lease street railways, to provide the means therefor, and to provide for the discontinuance of such operation and ownership," approved May 18, 1903, as amended, or adopts this Division 122, as the case may be, that provision shall be as valid and effective for all purposes, in case the city later adopts this Division 122 as provided in this section, as if the provision were made a part of a grant after the adoption of this Division 122 by the city.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-7) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-7)
    Sec. 11-122-7. In all cases provided in Sections 11-122-1 through 11-122-6 for the submission of questions or propositions to popular vote, the city council shall pass an ordinance stating the substance of the proposition or question to be voted upon and designating the election at which the question or proposition is to be submitted. The city clerk of the city shall promptly certify the ordinance and the proposition for submission at an election in accordance with the general election law.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-8) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-8)
    Sec. 11-122-8. Any city having a population of less than 500,000 which has constructed, acquired, or purchased street railways under "An Act to authorize cities to acquire, construct, own, operate and lease street railways, to provide the means therefor, and to provide for the discontinuance of such operation and ownership," approved May 18, 1903, as amended, or under this Division 122, by ordinance of the city council may provide for the discontinuance of their operation and maintenance and may provide for the sale or disposal, in such manner as the city council may determine, of the property and equipment so constructed, acquired, or purchased.
    This ordinance shall not become effective until the question of its adoption is certified by the clerk and submitted to a referendum vote of the electors of the city at an election designated in the ordinance. At that election, the ordinance shall be submitted without alteration to the vote of the electors of the city.
    The question shall be in substantially the following form:
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    Shall the ordinance (stating       YES
the nature of the proposed        ----------------------------
ordinance) be adopted?                 NO
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    If a majority of the electors voting on the question of the adoption of the proposed ordinance vote in favor thereof, the ordinance shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the city.
    Prior to the election upon this ordinance, the city clerk shall have the ordinance published at least once in one or more newspapers published in the city, or, if no newspaper is published therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the city. This publication shall be not more than 30 nor less than 15 days in advance of the election.
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

    (65 ILCS 5/11-122-9) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-122-9)
    Sec. 11-122-9. Nothing contained in this Division 122 authorizes any city to make any street railway grant, or to lease any street railway property, for a period exceeding 20 years from the making of the grant or lease. However, when a right to maintain and operate a street railway for a period not exceeding 20 years is contained in a mortgage or deed of trust to secure street railway certificates, and no such right shall be implied, that period shall commence as provided in Section 11-122-4.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 576.)