Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 70 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS
70 ILCS 3210/ - Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Act.

(70 ILCS 3210/1)
Sec. 1.
Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Downstate Illinois
Sports Facilities Authority Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/5)
Sec. 5.
Definitions.
In this Act:
"Assistance Agreement" means one or more legally binding contracts, with
respect to a facility for which the Authority is to provide financial
assistance as provided in this Act, to which the Authority and a governmental
owner of a facility or its tenant, or both, and any other appropriate persons
are parties, which may be in the form of an intergovernmental agreement.
"Authority" means the Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
"Facility" means any of the following:
"Facility" also means the following types of property if that
property is directly related to an item listed in paragraphs (1) or
(2) of this definition:
"Financial Assistance" means the use by the Authority, pursuant to an
assistance agreement, of its powers under the Act, including, without
limitation, the power to borrow money, to issue bonds and notes, to assist a
governmental owner or its tenants, or both, with one or more of the following:
designing, developing, establishing, constructing, erecting, acquiring,
repairing, reconstructing, renovating, remodeling, adding to, extending,
improving, equipping, operating, and maintaining a facility owned or be owned
by
the governmental owner.
"Governmental Owner" means a body politic, public corporation, political
subdivision, unit of local government, or municipality formed under the laws of
the State of Illinois that owns or is to own a facility located within the
corporate limits of the Authority described in Section 50 of this Act and to
which the Authority provides financial assistance.
"Loan agreement" means a legally binding contract between the Authority and
an owner of a facility, pursuant to which the Authority agrees to make loans to
the owner for the purpose of (i) constructing, acquiring, operating, repairing,
rehabilitating, or managing a facility and the site on which a facility is or
is to be located, which facility or site must be located in the State of
Illinois, excluding the City of Chicago, and (ii) infrastructure improvements
related to the facility.
"Management Agreement" means a legally binding contract between the Authority
and a tenant of a facility owned by the Authority, which contains at least the
following provisions:
"Tenant" means any person with which a governmental owner or the Authority
has entered into an agreement for the use by a sports team of any facility.
Such an agreement may be a management agreement or an assistance agreement or
may be a lease of or a license, permit or similar agreement with respect to the
use of a facility by such team for such period as shall be agreed upon by the
person and the governmental owner or the Authority, as the case may be.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/10)
Sec. 10.
Legislative finding and declaration.
The General Assembly finds
that as a result of deteriorating infrastructure and sports facilities there is
a shortage of sports facilities suitable for use by professional, amateur, or
semi-professional sports teams and other musical, theatrical, and other social
organizations.
It is further found that as a result of the costs to repair or replace the
infrastructure and facilities, and as a result of current financing costs,
the private sector, without the assistance contemplated in this Act, is unable
to construct feasibly adequate sports facilities.
It is further found that the creation of modern sports facilities and the
other results contemplated by this Act would stimulate economic activity in the
State of Illinois, including the creation and maintenance of jobs, the creation
of new and lasting infrastructure and other improvements, and the retention of
sports and entertainment events that generate economic activity.
It is further found that sports facilities can be magnets for
substantial interstate tourism resulting in increased retail sales, hotel and
restaurant sales, and entertainment industry sales, all of which increase jobs
and economic growth.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/15)
Sec. 15.
Authority and Board created.
(a) The Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is created as a
political subdivision, unit of local government, body politic, and municipal
corporation.
(b) The governing and administrative powers of the Authority shall be
vested in a body known as the Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities Authority
Board. The Board shall consist of 8 members: a Chair and 7 additional members,
all of whom are appointed by the Governor.
All gubernatorial appointments, including the Chair, shall be subject to
the advice and consent of the Senate, except in the case of
temporary appointments as provided in Section 20. No member shall be
employed by the State or any political subdivision of the State or
by any department or agency of the State or any political subdivision of
the State.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/20)
Sec. 20.
Terms of appointments.
(a) On the effective date of this Act:
(b) At the expiration of the term of any member appointed by
the Governor, the Governor shall appoint the member's successor in the
same manner as appointments for the initial terms. All successors shall hold
office for a term of 3 years from the first day of July of the year in which
they are appointed, except in the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy.
Each member, including the Chair, shall hold office until the expiration of the
member's term and until the member's successor is appointed and qualified.
Nothing shall preclude a member or a Chair from serving consecutive terms.
(c) Vacancies for members and for the Chair shall be filled in the same
manner as original appointments for the balance of the unexpired term.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/25)
Sec. 25.
Actions of the Authority.
(a) Six members of the Authority constitute a quorum for the purpose of
conducting business. Actions of the Authority must receive the affirmative
vote of at least 6 members. The Authority shall determine the times and places
of its meetings. The members of the Authority shall serve without compensation
for service as a member but are entitled to reimbursement of reasonable
expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
(b) The Authority shall annually elect a secretary and a treasurer.
(c) An executive committee appointed by the Governor made up of 4 members,
including the Chair, have the authority to operate the Authority on a
day-to-day basis, with the powers and duties determined by the bylaws of the
Authority.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/30)
Sec. 30.
Executive Director.
The Authority shall appoint an
Executive Director, who is the chief executive officer of the
Authority. In addition to any other duties set forth in this Act, the
Executive Director shall do the following:
(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/35)
Sec. 35.
Powers.
(a) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this Act, the Authority
may do the following:
(b) The Authority may not construct or enter into a contract to construct
more than one new stadium facility and may not enter into assistance agreements
providing for the reconstruction, renovation, remodeling, extension, or
improvement of all or substantially all of more than one existing facility
unless authorized by law.
(c) The Authority may adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out those
powers conferred and perform those duties required by this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/40)
Sec. 40. Duties.
(a) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this Act, subject to
the terms of any agreements with the holders of the Authority's evidences of
indebtedness, the Authority shall do the following:
(b) In a loan agreement for the construction of a new facility, in
connection with prequalification of general contractors for construction of the
facility, the Authority shall require that the owner of the facility require
submission of a commitment detailing how the general contractor will expend 25%
or more of the dollar value of the general contract with one or more minority-owned businesses and 5% or more of the dollar value with one or more women-owned businesses. This commitment may be met by contractor's status as a minority-owned businesses
or women-owned businesses, by a joint venture,
or by subcontracting a portion of the work with or by purchasing materials for
the work from one or more such businesses, or by any combination thereof. Any
contract with the general contractor for construction of the new facility shall
require the general contractor to meet the foregoing obligations and shall
require monthly reporting to the Authority with respect to the status of the
implementation of the contractor's affirmative action plan and compliance with
that plan. This report shall be filed with the General Assembly. The Authority
shall require that the facility owner establish and maintain an affirmative
action program designed to promote equal employment opportunity and that
specifies the goals and methods for increasing participation by minorities and
women in a representative mix of job classifications required to perform the
respective contracts. The Authority shall file a report before March 1 of each
year with the General Assembly detailing its implementation of this subsection.
The terms "minority-owned businesses" and "women-owned businesses" have
the meanings provided in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and
Persons with Disabilities Act.
(c) With respect to a facility owned or to be owned by the Authority, enter
or have entered into a management agreement with a tenant of the Authority to
operate the facility that requires the tenant to operate the facility for a
period at least as long as the term of any bonds issued to finance the
development, establishment, construction, erection, acquisition, repair,
reconstruction, remodeling, adding to, extension, improvement, equipping,
operation, and maintenance of the facility. Such agreement shall contain
appropriate and reasonable provisions with respect to termination, default, and
legal remedies.

(Source: P.A. 100-391, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/45)
Sec. 45.
Reporting.
Promptly following entering into a management
agreement, an
assistance agreement, or a loan agreement involving a new facility or facility
site, the Authority shall submit a detailed written report and findings of the
Authority with respect to the proposed management agreement, assistance
agreement, or loan agreement to the General Assembly.
The report and findings of the Authority shall include the following:
(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/50)
Sec. 50.
Territory.
The territory of the Authority is coterminous with the
boundaries of the State of Illinois, excluding the City of Chicago.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/55)
Sec. 55.
Acquisition of property.
The Authority may acquire in its own
name, by gift or purchase, any real or personal property, or interests in real
or personal property, necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate
purposes. The Authority may not acquire property by eminent domain.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/60)
Sec. 60.
Tax exemption.
(a) Neither the Authority nor any governmental owner of a facility or
that governmental owner's tenant shall be required to pay property taxes on any
facility, nor shall the interest of a tenant in any facility either owned by
the Authority or owned by any governmental owner to which the Authority has
provided financial assistance be subject to property taxes.
(b) Bonds issued by the Authority, their transfer, the interest payable on
them, and any income derived from them shall be exempt from income taxes or
from taxation by any political subdivisions, municipal corporations, or public
agencies of any kind of this State. For purposes of Section 250 of the Illinois
Income Tax Act, the exemption of the income from bonds issued by the Authority
shall terminate after all of the bonds have been paid. The amount of such
income that shall be added and then subtracted on the Illinois income tax
return of a taxpayer, pursuant to Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
from federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income in computing
Illinois base income shall be the interest net of any bond premium
amortization.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/65)
Sec. 65.
Conflicts of interest; generally.
(a) No members or employees of the Authority shall be
employed by, be an officer or director of, or have any
ownership interest in any corporation or entity that is a party to a loan
agreement with the Authority under this Act.
(b) No moneys of the Authority shall be deposited in any financial
institution in which any officer, director, or holder of a substantial
proprietary interest is also a member or employee of the Authority.
(c) No real estate to which a member or employee of the Authority holds
legal title or in which such a person has any beneficial interest, including
any interest in a land trust, shall be purchased by the Authority, nor shall
any such property be purchased by a corporation or entity for a
facility to be financed under this Act. Every member and employee of the
Authority shall file annually with the Authority a record of all real estate in
this State to which the person holds legal title or in which the person has any
beneficial interest, including any interest in a land trust. In the event it is
later disclosed that the Authority or other entity has purchased real estate in
which a member or employee had an interest, the purchase shall be voidable by
the Authority and the member or employee involved shall be disqualified from
membership in or employment by the Authority.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/70)
Sec. 70.
Conflicts of interest; contracts.
(a) No member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee of the
Authority shall, in his or her own name or in the name of a nominee, be an
officer or director of or hold an ownership interest of more than 7.5% in any
person, association, trust, corporation, partnership, or other entity that is,
in its own name or in the name of a nominee, a party to a contract or agreement
upon which the member or officer, agent, or employee may be called upon to act
or vote.
(b) With respect to any direct or any indirect interest, other than an
interest prohibited in subsection (a), in a contract or agreement upon which
the member or officer, agent, or employee may be called upon to act or vote, a
member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee
of the Authority shall disclose the same to the secretary of the
Authority before the taking of final action by the Authority concerning the
contract or agreement and shall so disclose the nature and extent of such
interest and his or her acquisition thereof, which disclosures shall be
publicly acknowledged by the Authority and entered upon the minutes of the
Authority. If a member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee of the
Authority holds such an interest, then he or she shall refrain from any further
official involvement in regard to the contract or agreement, from voting on any
matter pertaining to the contract or agreement, and from communicating with
other members of the Authority or its officers, agents, and employees
concerning the contract or agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any contract or agreement entered into in conformity with this subsection
(b) shall not be void or invalid by reason of the interest described in this
subsection, nor shall any person so disclosing the interest and
refraining from further official involvement as provided in this subsection be
guilty of an offense, be removed from office, or be subject to any other
penalty on account of such interest.
(c) Any contract or agreement made in violation of subsection (a)
or (b) of this Section shall be null and void and give rise to no
action against the Authority.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/75)
Sec. 75. Records and reports of the Authority. The secretary shall
keep a record of the proceedings of the Authority. The treasurer of the
Authority shall be custodian of all Authority funds and shall be bonded
in the amount the other members of the Authority may designate. The
accounts and books of the Authority shall be set up and maintained in a
manner approved by the Auditor General, and the Authority shall file
with the Auditor General a certified annual report within 120 days after
the close of its fiscal year. The Authority shall also file with the
Governor, the Secretary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, by March 1
of each year, a written report covering its activities for the previous
fiscal year. So filed, the report shall be a public record and open
for inspection at the offices of the Authority during normal
business hours.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04; 93-1067, eff. 1-15-05.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/85)
Sec. 85.
No impairment of loan agreement.
The State of
Illinois pledges to and agrees with any facility owner under any loan
agreement entered into by the Authority with respect to a
facility that the State will not limit or alter the rights and powers
vested in the Authority by this Act so as to impair the terms of
the loan agreement or in any way impair the rights and remedies
of the owner so long as the owner is not in default under the loan
agreement. In addition, the State pledges to and agrees with the owner that
the
State will not limit the basis on which State funds are to be allocated,
deposited, and paid to the Authority, or the use of those funds, so as to
impair the terms of any such loan agreement. The Authority is
authorized to include this pledge and agreement of the State in the
loan agreement.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/90)
Sec. 90.
Volume cap.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Governor may allocate any volume cap available to the State or any of its
agencies under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including any
amounts carried forward by the State or any of
its agencies with respect to stadiums, to the Downstate Illinois Sports
Facilities Authority, and the Authority may carry forward any amount allocated
to it by the Governor or by any home rule unit.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/100)
Sec. 100.
Bonds and notes.
(a) (1) The Authority may at any time and from time to time
issue bonds and
notes for any corporate purpose, including the establishment of reserves and
the payment of interest and costs of issuance. In this Act the term "bonds"
includes notes of any kind, interim certificates, refunding bonds or any other
evidence of obligation for borrowed money issued under this Section 100. Bonds
may be issued in one or more series and may be payable and secured either on a
parity with or separately from other bonds.
(2) The bonds of any issue shall be payable solely from all or any part
of the property or revenues of the Authority, including, without limitation:
(3) Bonds may be authorized by a resolution of the Authority and may be
secured by a trust agreement by and between the Authority and a corporate
trustee or trustees, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers
of a trust company within or without the State. Bonds may:
(b) Any resolution or trust agreement may contain provisions which shall
be part of the contract with the holders of the bonds as to:
(c) No member of the Authority nor any person executing the bonds shall be
liable personally on the bonds or subject to any personal liability by reason
of the issuance of the bonds.
(d) The Authority may enter into agreements with agents, banks, insurers,
or others for the purpose of enhancing the marketability of or security for its
bonds.
(e) (1) A pledge by the Authority of revenues and receipts as security
for an issue of bonds or for the performance of its obligations under any
management agreement or assistance agreement shall be valid and binding from
the time when the pledge is made.
(f) The Authority may issue bonds to refund, advance refund, or refinance
any of its bonds then outstanding, including the payment of any redemption
premium and any interest accrued or to accrue to the earliest or any subsequent
date of redemption, purchase or maturity of the bonds. Refunding or advance
refunding bonds may be issued for the public purposes of realizing savings in
the effective costs of debt service, directly or through a debt restructuring,
for alleviating impending or actual default, or for paying principal of,
redemption premium, if any, and interest on bonds as they mature or are subject
to redemption, and may be issued in one or more series in an amount in excess
of that of the bonds to be refunded.
(g) At no time shall the total outstanding bonds and notes of the Authority
issued under this Section 100 exceed (i) $40,000,000 in connection with
facilities owned by the Authority; and (ii) $40,000,000 in connection with
facilities owned by a governmental owner other than the Authority. Bonds which
are being paid or retired by issuance, sale or delivery of bonds or notes, and
bonds or notes for which sufficient funds have been deposited with the paying
agent or trustee to provide for payment of principal and interest thereon, and
any redemption premium, as provided in the authorizing resolution, shall not be
considered outstanding for the purposes of this paragraph.
(h) The bonds and notes of the Authority shall not be indebtedness of the
State, or of any political subdivision of the State other than the Authority.
The bonds and notes of the Authority are not general obligations of the State
of Illinois, or of any other political subdivision of the State other than the
Authority, and are not secured by a pledge of the full faith and credit of the
State of Illinois, or of any other political subdivision of the State other
than the Authority, and the holders of bonds and notes of the Authority may not
require the levy or imposition by the State, or any other political subdivision
of the State other than the Authority, of any taxes or, except as provided in
this Act, the application of revenues or funds of the State of Illinois, or any
other political subdivision of the State other than the Authority, to the
payment of bonds and notes of the Authority.
(i) In order to provide for the payment of debt service requirements
(including amounts for reserve funds and to pay the costs of credit
enhancements) on bonds issued pursuant to this Act, the Authority may provide
in any trust agreement securing such bonds for a pledge and assignment of its
right to all amounts to be received from the Illinois Sports Facilities Fund
and for a pledge and assignment (subject to the terms of any management
agreement or assistance agreement) of all taxes and other amounts to be
received under Section 100 of this Act and may further provide written notice
to the State Treasurer and State Comptroller (which notice shall constitute a
direction to those officers) for a direct payment of these amounts to the
trustee for its bondholders.
(j) The State of Illinois pledges to and agrees with the holders of the
bonds and notes of the Authority issued pursuant to this Act that the State
will not limit or alter the rights and powers vested in the Authority by this
Act so as to impair the terms of any contract made by the Authority with such
holders or in any way impair the rights and remedies of such holders until such
bonds and notes, together with interest thereon, with interest on any unpaid
installments of interest, and all costs and expenses in connection with any
action or proceedings by or on behalf of such holders, are fully met and
discharged. In addition, the State pledges to and agrees with the holders of
the bonds and notes of the Authority issued pursuant to this Act that the State
will not limit or alter the basis on which State funds are to be allocated,
deposited and paid to the Authority as provided in this Act, or the use of such
funds, so as to impair the terms of any such contract. The Authority is
authorized to include these pledges and agreements of the State in any contract
with the holders of bonds or notes issued pursuant to this Section.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
(70 ILCS 3210/105)
Sec. 105.
Tax.
The Authority may impose an occupation tax
upon all persons engaged in
the business of renting, leasing, or letting rooms in a hotel, as defined in
the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act, at a rate not to exceed 2% of the
gross rental receipts from the renting, leasing or letting of hotel rooms. The
taxing may be
imposed, however, only if approved by ordinance of the municipality within
which the tax is to be imposed.
The tax imposed by the Authority pursuant to this Section and all civil
penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and
enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The certificate of registration
which is issued by the Department to a lessor under the Hotel Operators'
Occupation Tax Act shall permit such registrant to engage in a business
which is taxable under any ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant to this
Section without registering separately with the Department under such ordinance
or resolution or under this Section. The Department shall have full power
to administer and enforce this Section; to collect all taxes and penalties
due hereunder; to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in the manner
provided in this Section, and to determine all rights to credit memoranda,
arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder.
In the administration of, and compliance with, this Section, the Department
and persons who are subject to this Section shall have the same rights,
remedies, privileges, immunities, powers and duties, and be subject to the
same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties and definitions of
terms, and employ the same modes of procedure, as are prescribed in the
Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act (except where that Act is inconsistent
herewith), as the same is now or may hereafter be amended, as fully as if
the provisions contained in the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act were
set forth herein.
Whenever the Department determines that a refund should be made under this
Section to a claimant instead of issuing a credit memorandum, the Department
shall notify the State Comptroller, who shall cause the warrant to be drawn
for the amount specified, and to the person named, in such notification
from the Department. Such refund shall be paid by the State Treasurer out
of the amounts held by the State Treasurer as trustee for the Authority.
Persons subject to any tax imposed pursuant to authority granted by this
Section may reimburse themselves for their tax liability for such tax by
separately stating such tax as an additional charge, which charge may be
stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax imposed under
the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act.
The Department shall forthwith pay over to the State Treasurer,
ex-officio, as trustee for the Authority, all taxes and penalties collected
hereunder for deposit in a trust fund outside the State Treasury. On or
before the 25th day of each calendar month, the Department shall certify to
the Comptroller the amount to be paid to or on behalf of the Authority from
amounts collected hereunder by the Department, and deposited into such
trust fund during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be
paid to or on behalf of the Authority shall be the amount (not including
credit memoranda) collected hereunder during such second preceding calendar
month by the Department, less an amount equal to the amount of refunds
authorized during such second preceding calendar month by the Department on
behalf of the Authority, and less 4% of such balance, which sum shall be
retained by the State Treasurer to cover the costs incurred by the
Department in administering and enforcing the provisions of this Section,
as provided herein. Each such monthly certification by the Department
shall also certify to the Comptroller the amount to be so retained by the
State Treasurer for payment into the General Revenue Fund of the State
Treasury.
Amounts collected by the Department and paid to the Authority pursuant
to this Section shall be used for the corporate purposes of the Authority.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize the Authority
to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business which under
the constitution of the United States may not be made the subject of taxation
by this State.
An ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing a tax hereunder or
effecting a change in the rate thereof shall be effective on the first day
of the second calendar month next following the month in which the
ordinance or resolution is passed.
If the Authority levies a tax authorized by this Section it shall
transmit to the Department of Revenue not later than 5 days after the
adoption of the ordinance or resolution a certified copy of the ordinance
or resolution imposing such tax whereupon the Department of Revenue shall
proceed to administer and enforce this Section on behalf of the Authority.
Upon a change in rate of a tax levied hereunder, or upon the discontinuance
of the tax, the Authority shall not later than 5 days after the effective
date of the ordinance or resolution discontinuing the tax or effecting a
change in rate transmit to the Department of Revenue a certified copy of
the ordinance or resolution effecting such change or discontinuance.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes