The circuit court of the county shall set the petition for hearing. The petition shall set forth (1) a description of the territory to be embraced in the proposed museum district, (2) the names of the municipalities located within the area, (3) the name of the proposed museum district, (4) the population of the museum district, and request that the question be submitted to the electors residing within the limits of the proposed museum district whether they will establish a museum district under this Division to be known as .... Historical Museum District. The petitioners in and by the petition shall designate one or more persons to represent them on the petition, and in the proceedings thereon in the circuit court, with authority to amend, to move to dismiss, or to withdraw the petition. The circuit court shall set the petition for hearing within not less than 30 nor more than 40 days after the filing of the petition with the circuit clerk.
Notice shall be given by the circuit court of the time and place where the hearing will be held, by publication on 3 separate days in one or more newspapers having a general circulation within the territory proposed to be incorporated as a museum district, the first of which publications shall be not less than 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing and if there is no such newspaper, then such notice shall be posted in 10 of the most public places in such territory, not less than 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing. This notice shall include a description of the territory as set out in the petition, names of municipalities located therein and the name of the proposed museum district and the question of creating such area into a museum district.
The filing fee on the petition and costs of printing and publication or posting of notices of public hearing thereon shall be paid in advance by the petitioners, and, if a museum district is organized under this Division, they shall be reimbursed out of the funds received by the museum district from taxation or other sources.
Should 2 or more petitions covering in part the same territory be filed prior to the public hearing, such petitions shall be consolidated for public hearing, and hearing upon the first petition which is filed may be continued to permit the giving of notice of any such subsequent petition or petitions. At the public hearing upon such petitions, the petitioners in the petition first filed may move to amend such petition to include any part of the territory described in the subsequent petition or petitions, either as originally filed or as amended. Any such motion shall be allowed by the court. The public hearing shall proceed upon the first petition as originally filed or as so amended, and further proceedings upon any such other petitions subsequently filed shall be stayed and held in abeyance until the termination of all proceedings upon the first petition, or any such petition may be dismissed or withdrawn upon motion of the petitioners therein by their representatives.
If such territory, petition and proceedings meet the requirements of this Division, the court shall in, and by the order finding and determining the sufficiency of the petition and that the territory meets the requirements of this Division or by a separate order, order the proposition submitted to referendum in accordance with the general election law. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the order and the proposition to the appropriate election officials who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law.
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Shall the County Historical Museum District Law be adopted and the .... Historical Museum District be established? If established, the Museum District will have the powers, YES objects and purposes provided ----------------------------------------------------- by the Law, including the power NO to levy a tax of not to exceed .02 per cent of the value of taxable property, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue.
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The court shall cause the order determining and declaring results of the election to be entered of record in the court and a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the circuit clerk of each such other county who shall cause the same to be filed in the records of the court of such county.
55 ILCS 5/5-31004