Whenever any area of contiguous territory shall contain one or more incorporated cities, towns or villages or parts of one or more incorporated cities, towns or villages, and shall be so situated that the construction and maintenance of a plant or plants for the purification and treatment of sewage and the maintenance of one or more outlets for the drainage thereof, after having been so treated and purified by and through such plant or plants will conduce to the preservation of the public health, comfort and convenience, the same may be incorporated as a sanitary district under this Act in the manner following:
Any 100 legal voters, resident within the limits of such proposed sanitary district, may petition the Circuit Court in the county in which the proposed district or the major portion thereof is located, to cause the question to be submitted to the legal voters of such proposed district whether such proposed territory shall be organized as a sanitary district under this Act, such petition shall be addressed to the Circuit Court and shall contain a definite description of the territory to be embraced in such district, and the name of such proposed sanitary district: However, no territory shall be included in any municipal corporation formed hereunder which is not situated within the limits of a city, incorporated town or village, or within 6 miles outside thereof, and no territory shall be included within more than one sanitary district organized under this Act or any other Act, except that territory included within a sanitary district organized under the Metro-East Sanitary District Act of 1974 may also be included within a sanitary district organized under this Act. Upon filing of such petition in the office of the circuit clerk in the county in which such territory or the major portion thereof is situated, it shall be the duty of the Circuit Court to name 3 judges of such Court who shall constitute a board of commissioners which shall have power and authority to consider the boundaries of any such proposed sanitary district, whether the same shall be as described in such petition or otherwise, and the decision of 2 of such commissioners shall be conclusive and not subject to review in any manner, directly or indirectly.
Notice shall be given by such court of the time and place where such commissioners will meet, by a publication inserted in one or more daily or weekly papers published in such proposed district, at least 20 days prior to such meeting and if no such newspaper is published in such proposed district, then by posting at least 5 copies of such notice in such proposed district at least 20 days before such hearing.
At such meeting all persons in such proposed district shall have an opportunity to be heard touching the location and boundary of such proposed district and to make suggestions regarding the same, and such commissioners, after hearing statements, evidence and suggestions, shall fix and determine the limits and boundaries of such proposed district, and for that purpose and to that extent may alter and amend such petition. After such determination by the commissioners or a majority of them, the same shall be incorporated in an order which shall be entered of record in the Circuit Court. Upon the entering of such order, the Circuit Court shall certify the question to the proper election officials who shall submit the question of organization and establishment of the proposed sanitary district as determined by the commissioners, at an election in accordance with the general election law.
Each legal voter resident within such proposed sanitary district shall have the right to cast a ballot at such election. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Sanitary District ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Against Sanitary District ------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Circuit Court shall cause a statement of the result of such election to be entered of record in the Circuit Court. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of incorporation of the proposed sanitary district shall be in favor of the proposed sanitary district, such proposed district shall thenceforth be deemed an organized sanitary district under this Act.
70 ILCS 2405/1