(20 ILCS 607/Art. 3 heading)
(20 ILCS 607/3-1)
Sec. 3-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as the Brownfields Redevelopment and Intermodal Promotion Act. References in this Article to "this Act" mean this Article.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-5)
Sec. 3-5. Findings. The General Assembly has determined that it is in the interest of the State of Illinois to facilitate remediation and productive re-use of brownfield sites located within specified areas and communities in Illinois; to capitalize on current trends in international trade routes by encouraging the redevelopment of brownfield sites located near existing freight assets into scattered site logistics parks and related facilities and businesses; and furthermore that it is in the interest of the State to encourage the hiring of minority and other historically disadvantaged individuals in new businesses or facilities developed with State assistance, and especially to encourage the hiring of individuals who reside in high-unemployment communities where such businesses or facilities are developed.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-10)
Sec. 3-10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Affected Municipality" means a municipality whose boundaries are partially or completely within the Brownfields Redevelopment Zone and where an Eligible Project will take place.
"Developer Agreement" means the agreement between an eligible developer or eligible employer and the Department under this Act.
"Brownfield" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant; for the purposes of this Act, a property will be considered a brownfield if a prospective purchaser seeking financing from a private financial institution is required by that institution to conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), as defined by ASTM Standard E-1527-05 ("Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process").
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Eligible Developer" means an individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity, currently and actively engaged in the development of logistics, warehousing, distribution, or light manufacturing facilities in North America, including the Managing Partner of the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone, that owns, options, or otherwise directly controls a parcel of land that is included in a South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone Project.
"Eligible employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity that employs or will employ full-time employees at finished facilities on property that is within the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone.
"Employment goal" means the goal of achieving a minimum percentage of labor hours to be performed by employees who are a member of a minority group and who reside in one of the municipalities containing property that is part of the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone.
"Full-time employee" means an individual who is employed for consideration for at least 35 hours each week or who renders any other standard of service generally accepted by industry custom or practice as full-time employment. An individual for whom a W-2 is issued by a Professional Employer Organization is a full-time employee if employed in the service of the eligible employer for consideration for at least 35 hours each week or who renders any other standard of service generally accepted by industry custom or practice as full-time employment.
"Eligible Project" means those projects described in Section 3-35 of this Act.
"Incremental income tax" means the total amount withheld from the compensation of new employees under Article 7 of the Illinois Income Tax Act arising from employment by an eligible employer.
"Infrastructure" means roads and streets, bridges, sidewalks, street lights, water and sewer line extensions or improvements, storm water drainage and retention facilities, gas and electric utility line extensions or improvements, and rail improvements including signalization and siding construction or repair, on publicly owned land or other public improvements that are essential to the development of a Redevelopment Zone Project.
"Intermodal" means a type of international freight system that permits transshipping among sea, highway, rail and air modes of transportation through use of ANSI/International Organization for Standardization containers, line haul assets, and handling equipment.
"Intermodal terminal" means an integrated facility where trailers and containers are transferred between intermodal railcars and highway carriers, including domestic and international container shipments; or an integrated facility where dry or liquid bulk and packaged commodities are transferred between conventional railroad freight cars and highway carriers.
"Managing Partner" means a representative of Cook County appointed by the President of the Board of Commissioners of Cook County or a duly created instrumentality of the County which enters into an agreement with the Department as described in subsection (c) of Section 3-30 of this Act regarding the overall management and use of Increment Funds and which is authorized by the County to undertake, or to enter into Development agreements with third parties to undertake, activities necessary for the redevelopment of parcels designated under this Act as part of a South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone. For the purposes of this definition, a "duly created instrumentality of the county" is a company that:
"Minority" means a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is:
"New employee" means a full-time employee first employed by an eligible employer for a project that is the subject of an agreement between the Managing Partner and an eligible developer or eligible employer and who is hired after the eligible developer enters into the agreement, but does not include:
Notwithstanding item (2) of this definition, an employee may be considered a new employee under the agreement if the employee performs a job that was previously performed by an employee who was: (i) treated under the agreement as a new employee and (ii) promoted by the eligible employer to another job.
"Professional Employer Organization" means an employee leasing company, as defined in Section 206.1(A)(2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act.
"Related member" means a person or entity that, with respect to the eligible employer during any portion of the taxable year, is any one of the following:
"South Suburban Brownfields Advisory Council" or "Advisory Council" means a body comprised of representatives of Affected Municipalities, along with experts appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Governor of Illinois, created to guide development within the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone.
"South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone Project" or "Project" means an Eligible Project, as described in Section 3-35, to coordinate the redevelopment and re-use of industrial sites within the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone in southern Cook County.
"South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone", "Brownfields Redevelopment Zone" or "Zone" means the area fully encompassing all properties, acreage, and structures, including sites that conform to the Environmental Protection Agency definition of Brownfield Industrial Sites, that are zoned for industrial uses by the applicable local zoning agency and which are located within the following South Suburban Cook County municipalities that surround the Canadian National and Union Pacific intermodal freight terminals in Harvey and Dolton, Illinois respectively: Dixmoor, Dolton, East Hazelcrest, Harvey, Hazelcrest, Homewood, Markham, Phoenix, Posen, Riverdale, South Holland and Thornton. The South Suburban Brownfields Advisory Council shall advise the Managing Partner in regard to the selection of Projects. The composition of the Advisory Council is determined as set forth in subsection (a) of Section 3-30 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-15)
Sec. 3-15. South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.
The South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Upon certification of the Department of Revenue following review of the amounts contained in the quarter-annual report required under paragraph 4 of Section 3-50 of this Act and subject to the limits set forth in Section 3-25 of this Act, the Comptroller shall order transferred and the Treasurer shall transfer from the General Revenue Fund to the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund an amount equal to the incremental income tax for the previous month attributable to new employees at finished facilities on property that was redeveloped as part of the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone. These revenues may be used to pay the Managing Partner for its administrative expenses pursuant to Section 3-45 of this Act or to reimburse Eligible Developers or Eligible Employers for the cost of the activities detailed under Section 3-45 of this Act for Projects being undertaken within the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Zone.
(Source: P.A. 101-275, eff. 8-9-19.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-20)
Sec. 3-20. South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund; eligible projects. In State fiscal years 2015 through 2026, all moneys in the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund shall be held solely to fund eligible projects undertaken pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-35 of this Act and performed either directly by Cook County through a development agreement with the Department, by an entity designated by Cook County through a development agreement with the Department to perform specific tasks, or by an Eligible Developer or an Eligible Employer through a development agreement. All Eligible Projects are subject to review and approval by the Managing Partner and by the Department. The life span of the Fund may be extended past 2026 by law.
(Source: P.A. 101-275, eff. 8-9-19; 102-427, eff. 8-20-21.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-25)
Sec. 3-25. Limitation on amounts for eligible projects.
The total amount of tax increment to be transferred to the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund shall not exceed $3,000,000 in each State fiscal year. Any increment generated in a given State fiscal year in excess of $3,000,000 shall be retained by the State. Any revenues in the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund not used in a given fiscal year may be rolled over into subsequent fiscal years. Use of the Fund to pay or reimburse eligible expenses shall not preclude the receipt of benefits from any Enterprise Zone, Tax Increment Finance District, property tax abatement program, or other business development program of a federal, State, or local economic development program that may be available to the project, and any brownfield site included in an agreement with an eligible developer or eligible employer shall remain fully eligible for all State and Federal tax incentives and grants specifically related to brownfield remediation.
(Source: P.A. 100-774, eff. 8-10-18.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-30)
Sec. 3-30. Managing Partner; Advisory Council; responsibilities.
(a) The Managing Partner shall report its recommendations to the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council consists of two members appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois, two members appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and five members selected by the Affected Municipalities to represent them. All members shall serve for a term of 3 years. Upon expiration of each member's term, a successor shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. Vacancies on the Advisory Council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments and any members so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred. The appointments shall be made within 90 days of the effective date of this Act. Five members shall constitute a quorum. The Council shall elect a Chairperson amongst its members by simple majority vote. Members shall serve without compensation and accurate minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall meet no less frequently than quarterly and a meeting may be called by the Chairperson or any four members of the Board. The relationship between the Managing Partner and the Advisory Council shall be set forth in an agreement among the parties.
(b) The Managing Partner is responsible for ensuring that, in consultation with the Advisory
Board, the acreage designated as part of the Zone is redeveloped to simultaneously maximize the following:
(c) In order to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in subsection (b) of this Section, the Managing Partner, subject to the laws and rules of the State and the government of Cook County, has the following powers and duties, which shall collectively comprise its program administration tasks:
(d) The Department shall manage and allocate all South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund revenues subject to the Director's finding that funds are being used to execute the master plan for redevelopment of properties that are part of the Zone.
The Managing Partner may, at its discretion, subject to the laws and rules of the State and the government of Cook County, contract with an entity of its choosing to support these program administration tasks.
(Source: P.A. 100-774, eff. 8-10-18.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-35)
Sec. 3-35. Eligible projects.
Funds may be used only for projects that are necessary for the establishment of a facility classified under the current edition of the Urban Land Institute's "Guide to Classifying Industrial Property" in one of the following primary categories: warehouse distribution, manufacturing (light or metal fabrication), or freight forwarding; where the secondary categories under warehouse distribution include regional, bulk, and rack-supported warehouses as well as both heavy and refrigerated distribution facilities; and where the secondary categories under manufacturing include parts assembly or packaging plants, food processing plants, and metal working plants that fashion complete products or components of machinery, transportation equipment, appliances, or construction elements and where the secondary category under freight forwarding includes truck terminals. Projects must adhere to applicable local and regional zoning regulations. Projects may consist of new construction or expansion of existing facilities so long as the expansion results in the creation of new jobs. Projects must consist of a set of activities undertaken as part of an agreement to bring back into productive use a brownfield property that is part of the Zone, including activities defined as eligible purposes of funds in Section 3-45 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-40)
Sec. 3-40. Prohibited projects. Funds shall not be used to support projects that create the following types of permanent facilities and structures:
Temporary or short-term processing or transfer facilities specifically used as part of an approved environmental remediation plan for a specific site or parcel under an agreement are permitted.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-45)
Sec. 3-45. Eligible activities. Funds held in the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund may be expended for the following purposes:
In agreements with for-profit eligible developers and employers governing redevelopment of privately held land, reimbursements must first and foremost prioritize the activities described in item (A).
(Source: P.A. 100-774, eff. 8-10-18.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-50)
Sec. 3-50. Agreements with Eligible Developers and Affected Municipalities.
Prior to the expenditure of any amounts from the Fund (except for administration costs of the Managing Partner which may be requested periodically), the Department and the Affected Municipality shall enter into an agreement which has been recommended by the Managing Partner with an Eligible Developer or Eligible Employer who is seeking reimbursement under this Act. The agreement must contain all of the following:
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)
(20 ILCS 607/3-55)
Sec. 3-55. Rules.
The Department and the Department of Revenue may promulgate rules necessary to implement this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)