Section 70 ILCS 1863/7 - Rights and PowersThe Port District shall have the following rights and powers:
(a) to issue permits for the construction of all harbors, wharves, piers, dolphins, booms, weirs, breakwaters, bulkheads, jetties, bridges, or other structures of any kind over, under, in, or within 40 feet of any navigable waters within the District; for the excavation or deposit of rock, earth, sand, or other material; or for any matter of any kind or description in those waters; (b) to prevent or remove obstructions, including the removal of wrecks; (c) to locate and establish dock lines and shore or harbor lines; (d) to acquire, own, construct, sell, lease, operate, and maintain port and harbor, water, and land terminal facilities and, subject to the provisions of Section 8, to operate or contract for the operation of those facilities, and to fix and collect just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory charges, rentals, or fees for the use of those facilities. The charges, rentals, or fees so collected shall be made available to defray the reasonable expenses of the District and to pay the principal of and interest on any revenue bonds issued by the District; (e) to enter into any agreement or contract with any airport for the use of airport facilities to the extent necessary to carry out any of the purposes of the District; (f) to locate, establish, and maintain a public airport, public airports, and public airport facilities within its corporate limits or within or upon any body of water adjacent thereto, and to construct, develop, expand, extend, and improve any such airport or airport facilities; (g) to operate, maintain, manage, lease, or sublease for any period not exceeding 99 years, and to make and enter into contracts for the use, operation, or management of, and to provide rules and regulations for, the operation, management, or use of any public airport or public airport facility; (h) to fix, charge, and collect reasonable rentals, tolls, fees, and charges for the use of any public airport, or any part thereof, or any public airport facility; (i) to establish, maintain, extend, and improve roadways and approaches by land, water, or air to any such airport and to contract or otherwise provide, by condemnation if necessary, for the removal of any airport hazard or the removal or relocation of all private structures, railways, mains, pipes, conduits, wires, poles, and all other facilities and equipment which may interfere with the location, expansion, development, or improvement of airports or with the safe approach thereto or take off there from by aircraft, and to pay the cost of removal or relocation; and, subject to the Airport Zoning Act, to adopt, administer and enforce airport zoning regulations for territory which is within its corporate limits or which extends not more than 2 miles beyond its corporate limits; (j) To the extent authorized by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, to enter into any agreements with any other public agency of this State, including other port districts; (k) To the extent authorized by any interstate compact, to enter into agreements with any other state or unit of local government of any other state; and (l) To enter into contracts dealing in any manner with the objects and purposes of this Act. (m) To police its physical property only and all waterways and to exercise police powers in respect thereto or in respect to the enforcement of any rule or regulation provided by the ordinances of the District and to employ and commission police officers and other qualified persons to enforce the same. The use of any such public airport or public airport facility of the District shall be subject to the reasonable regulation and control of the District and upon such reasonable terms and conditions as shall be established by its Board. A regulatory ordinance of the District adopted under any provision of this Section may provide for a suspension or revocation of any rights or privileges within the control of the District for a violation of any such regulatory ordinance. Nothing in this Section or in other provisions of this Act shall be construed to authorize the Board to establish or enforce any regulation or rule in respect to aviation, or the operation or maintenance of any airport facility within its jurisdiction, which is in conflict with any federal or State law or regulation applicable to the same subject matter; (n) To establish, employ, and provide a fire protection unit within the physical property of the District; (o) To acquire, own, sell, convey, construct, lease for any period not exceeding 99 years, manage, operate, expand, develop, and maintain any telephone system, including, but not limited to, all equipment, materials, and facilities necessary or incidental to that telephone or other communication system, for use, at the option of the District and upon payment of a reasonable fee set by the District, of any tenant or occupant situated on any former military base owned or leased by the District or which is located within its jurisdictional boundaries; (p) To acquire, operate, maintain, manage, lease, or sublease for any period not exceeding 99 years any former military base owned or leased by the District and within its jurisdictional boundaries, to make and enter into any contract for the use, operation, or management of any former military base owned or leased by the District and located within its jurisdictional boundaries, and to provide rules and regulations for the development, redevelopment, and expansion of any former military base owned or leased by the District or which is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the District; (q) To acquire, locate, establish, re-establish, expand or renew, construct or reconstruct, operate, and maintain any facility, building, structure, or improvement for a use or a purpose consistent with any use or purpose of any former military base owned or leased by the District or which is located within its jurisdictional boundaries; (r) To cause to be incorporated one or more subsidiary business corporations, wholly owned by the District, to own, operate, maintain, and manage facilities and services related to any telephone or other communication system, pursuant to paragraph (o) of this Section. A subsidiary corporation formed pursuant to this paragraph shall (i) be deemed a telecommunications carrier, as that term is defined in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, (ii) have the right to apply to the Illinois Commerce Commission for a Certificate of Service Authority or a Certificate of Interexchange Service Authority, and (iii) have the powers necessary to carry out lawful orders of the Illinois Commerce Commission; (s) To acquire, improve, develop, or redevelop any former military base situated within the boundaries of the District, in Carroll County, Jo Daviess County, or both, and acquired by the District from the federal government, acting by and through the United States Maritime Administration, pursuant to any plan for redevelopment, development, or improvement of that military base by the District that is approved by the United States Maritime Administration under the terms and conditions of conveyance of the former military base to the District by the federal government.Added by P.A. 096-0636,§ 7, eff. 8/24/2009.