310 ILCS 10/3
The governing body of any city, village or incorporated town having more than 25,000 inhabitants, or of any county of this State, may, by resolution, determine that there is need for a housing authority in the city, village, incorporated town or county. Upon adoption, the resolution shall be forwarded to the Department together with a statement of reasons or findings supporting the resolution. The Department shall thereupon issue a certificate to the presiding officer of the city, village, incorporated town or county for the creation of an authority if it shall find (a) that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwelling accommodations exist in the city, village, incorporated town or county, and (b) that there is a shortage of safe or sanitary and affordable dwelling accommodations in the city, village, incorporated town or county available to persons who lack the amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the Department) to enable them without financial assistance to live in decent, safe and sanitary and affordable dwellings without over-crowding. In determining whether dwelling accommodations are unsafe or unsanitary the Department may take into consideration the degree of over-crowding, the percentage of land coverage, the light, air, space and access available to the inhabitants of such dwelling accommodations, the size and arrangement of the rooms, the sanitary facilities and the extent to which conditions exist in the buildings which endanger life or property by fire or other causes. In making its determination, the Department may also consider whether or not the needs of the applicant are currently being met by an existing housing authority. The Department may also take into consideration whether or not the creation of a new housing authority would be an unnecessary duplication of services.
As soon as possible after the issuance of a certificate by the Department the presiding officer of the city, village, incorporated town or county shall appoint, with the approval of the governing body of the unit of local government, 5 commissioners with initial terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, except as follows:
In cases where a county of more than 500,000 but less than 3 million population is the area of operation of an Authority, the presiding officer of the county board of the county shall appoint 7 commissioners to the housing authority, 2 of whom may be members of that county board. The county members appointed to the Authority under this Section shall serve such term or until termination of their county board service, whichever first occurs. Upon the approval by the governing body of the appointments, the presiding officer shall cause a certificate of such appointments and of its approval thereof to be filed in the office in which deeds of property in the area of operation are recorded, and upon filing the persons so appointed and approved shall be fully constituted an Authority.
At the expiration of the term of each commissioner, and of each succeeding commissioner, or in the event of a vacancy, the presiding officer shall appoint a commissioner, subject to the approval of the governing body as aforesaid, to hold office, in the case of a vacancy for the unexpired term, or in the case of expiration for a term of five years, or until his successor shall have been appointed and qualified. Each appointment shall be effective upon the filing by the presiding officer of a certificate of appointment in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in the County where the Authority is located.
In case a county is the area of operation of an Authority, the area shall not be deemed to include any city, village, or incorporated town within the county within which an Authority at that time exists. If thereafter an Authority is organized with respect to any city, village, or incorporated town within the county, the county Authority shall have no power to initiate any further project within the city, village, or incorporated town. However, if there are any existing projects within the city, village or incorporated town currently owned and operated by the county Authority they shall remain in the county Authority's ownership, custody and control.
Every commissioner shall be a resident of the area of operation of the Authority; provided, that in respect to an Authority created for a county, residence in any city, village or incorporated town within such county shall not be a disqualification for appointment as a Commissioner for such county Authority notwithstanding that such city, village or incorporated town may be excluded from the area of operation of such Authority. Any public officer shall be eligible to serve as a commissioner, and the acceptance of appointment as such shall not terminate nor impair his public office, the provision of any statute to the contrary notwithstanding; but no member of the Department shall be eligible to serve as a commissioner, nor shall more than two public officers be commissioners of the same Authority at one time; Provided, that membership on any Authority at the same time of more than two public officers shall not affect or impair the validity of any Act undertaken or power exercised by the Authority pursuant to Law. The term "public officer" as herein used means a person holding a state or local governmental office required to be filled by the vote of electors, and for which provision is made by law for the payment of annual compensation from public funds.
Except as otherwise provided, all provisions of this Act shall apply to a Housing Authority established for more than one county, and, unless the context shall otherwise indicate, the word county shall be construed also to mean counties. An Authority may subsequently be established separately for any one or more counties, by compliance with the terms of this Act, and, if an Authority is established, it shall take over all property and obligations, within the county or counties, of the Authority previously including it or them within its area of operation, and the Authority shall have no further jurisdiction within the territory of the county or counties, but nothing herein shall affect the power of a Housing Authority to operate outside its area of operation, as provided by Section 30. Subsection (b) of Section 17 shall apply to a Housing Authority created under the provisions of this Section. In all cases in which a Housing Authority embraces the territory of more than one county, each county shall have, within its territory, the powers conferred by Section 29, and by the Housing Cooperation Law.
In addition to the commissioners provided for in this Section, there are created 3 additional commissioner positions for each housing authority of a municipality of more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. Two of these new commissioners, with initial terms of 5 years, shall be appointed from current residents of the housing authority and shall be appointed from a list presented to the appointing authority by official tenants' associations of residents of the housing authority. A tenants' association is "official" if it satisfies the requirements of a Resident Council/Resident Organization/Resident Management Organization established by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The third new commissioner shall be appointed by the appointing authority from the officers of the official tenants' associations of residents of the housing authority. The term of this new commissioner shall commence no later than 90 days after the election of the officers of the official tenants' associations of residents and after appointment by the appointing authority and shall terminate after the appointment of a new commissioner by the appointing authority. This paragraph shall not apply to housing authorities in jurisdictions where no official tenants' associations exist. However, upon the creation of an official association, the new commissioner positions shall be created 6 months thereafter.
Each tenants' association shall determine the method of choosing residents to be recommended for appointment. Tenants' associations may act in unison in recommending residents for appointment.
In units of local government of more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, each tenants' association shall submit not more than 2 residents for consideration. If associations act in unison, they may submit a number representing 2 names for each association. The appointing authority shall make the appointments within 45 days of receiving the recommendations.
A Housing Authority created under the preceding terms of this Section shall be designated as the Housing Authority of the city, village, incorporated town, county, or of the several counties within its area of operation.
Any 2 or more home rule municipalities within the same county may create a housing authority by intergovernmental agreement. The agreement shall be for an indefinite duration. If a housing authority is created by 2 or more home rule municipalities under this paragraph, appointments and confirmation of commissioners to the board and removal of commissioners from the board shall be made as set forth in the agreement. The agreement may include, in addition to other terms and conditions governing the operation of the board, provisions that increase the number of commissioners otherwise authorized by this Act to a number no greater than 9. The agreement also may provide for staggered terms for the commissioners and for the length of the commissioners' initial terms. An intergovernmental agreement between 2 or more home rule municipalities creating a housing authority may include other terms the municipalities deem desirable. The terms may include reporting and oversight requirements binding on the housing authority board agreed upon by the parties. This paragraph shall not be construed as a limitation on home rule municipalities.
310 ILCS 10/3