Section 20 ILCS 3501/820-20 - Powers and Duties; Illinois Local Government Financing Assistance ProgramThe Authority has the power:
(a) To purchase from time to time pursuant to negotiated sale or to otherwise acquire from time to time any local government securities issued by one or more units of local government upon such terms and conditions as the Authority may prescribe;(b) To issue bonds in one or more series pursuant to one or more resolutions of the Authority for any purpose authorized under this Article, including without limitation purchasing or acquiring local government securities, providing for the payment of any interest deemed necessary on such bonds, paying for the cost of issuance of such bonds, providing for the payment of the cost of any guarantees, letters of credit, insurance contracts or other similar credit support or liquidity instruments, or providing for the funding of any reserves deemed necessary in connection with such bonds and refunding or advance refunding of any such bonds and the interest and any premium thereon, pursuant to this Act;(c) To provide for the funding of any reserves or other funds or accounts deemed necessary by the Authority in connection with any bonds issued by the Authority or local government securities purchased or otherwise acquired by the Authority;(d) To pledge any local government security, including any payments thereon, and any other funds of the Authority or funds made available to the Authority which may be applied to such purpose, as security for any bonds or any guarantees, letters of credit, insurance contracts or similar credit support or liquidity instruments securing the bonds;(e) To enter into agreements or contracts with third parties, whether public or private, including without limitation the United States of America, the State, or any department or agency thereof to obtain any appropriations, grants, loans or guarantees which are deemed necessary or desirable by the Authority. Any such guarantee, agreement or contract may contain terms and provisions necessary or desirable in connection with the program, subject to the requirements established by this Article;(f) To charge reasonable fees to defray the cost of obtaining letters of credit, insurance contracts or other similar documents, and to charge such other reasonable fees to defray the cost of trustees, depositories, paying agents, bond registrars, escrow agents and other administrative expenses. Any such fees shall be payable by units of local government whose local government securities are purchased or otherwise acquired by the Authority pursuant to this Article, in such amounts and at such times as the Authority shall determine, and the amount of the fees need not be uniform among the various units of local government whose local government securities are purchased or otherwise acquired by the Authority pursuant to this Article;(g) To obtain and maintain guarantees, letters of credit, insurance contracts or similar credit support or liquidity instruments which are deemed necessary or desirable in connection with any bonds or other obligations of the Authority or any local government securities;(h) To establish application fees and other service fees and prescribe application, notification, contract, agreement, security and insurance forms and rules and regulations it deems necessary or appropriate;(i) To provide technical assistance, at the request of any unit of local government, with respect to the financing or refinancing for any public purpose. In fulfillment of this purpose, the Authority may request assistance from the Department as necessary; any unit of local government that is experiencing either a financial emergency as defined in the Local Government Financial Planning and Supervision Act or a condition of fiscal crisis evidenced by an impaired ability to obtain financing for its public purpose projects from traditional financial channels or impaired ability to fully fund its obligations to fire, police and municipal employee pension funds, or to bond payments or reserves, may request technical assistance from the Authority in the form of a diagnostic evaluation of its financial condition;(j) To purchase any obligations of the Authority issued pursuant to this Article;(k) To sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of local government securities purchased or otherwise acquired by the Authority pursuant to this Article, including without limitation, the sale, transfer or other disposition of undivided fractionalized interests in the right to receive payments of principal and premium, if any, or the right to receive payments of interest or the right to receive payments of principal of and premium, if any, and interest on pools of such local government securities;(l) To acquire, purchase, lease, sell, transfer and otherwise dispose of real and personal property, or any interest therein, and to issue its bonds and enter into leases, contracts and other agreements with units of local government in connection with such acquisitions, purchases, leases, sales and other dispositions of such real and personal property;(m) To make loans to banks, savings and loans and other financial institutions for the purpose of purchasing or otherwise acquiring local government securities, and to issue its bonds, and enter into agreements and contracts in connection with such loans;(n) To enter into agreements or contracts with any person necessary or appropriate to place the payment obligations of the Authority under any of its bonds in whole or in part on any interest rate basis, cash flow basis, or other basis desired by the Authority, including without limitation agreements or contracts commonly known as "interest rate swap agreements", "forward payment conversion agreements", and "futures", or agreements or contracts to exchange cash flows or a series of payments, or agreements or contracts, including without limitation agreements or contracts commonly known as "options", "puts" or "calls", to hedge payment, rate spread, or similar exposure; provided, that any such agreement or contract shall not constitute an obligation for borrowed money, and shall not be taken into account under Section 845-5 of this Act or any other debt limit of the Authority or the State of Illinois;(o) To make and enter into all other agreements and contracts and execute all instruments necessary or incidental to performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this Article;(p) To contract for and finance the costs of energy audits, project-specific engineering and design specifications, and any other related analyses preliminary to an energy conservation project; and, to contract for and finance the cost of project monitoring and data collection to verify post-installation energy consumption and energy-related operating costs. Any such contract shall be executed only after it has been jointly negotiated by the Authority and the Department; and(q) To exercise such other powers as are necessary or incidental to the foregoing.Added by P.A. 093-0205, § 820-20, eff. 1/1/2004.