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Authority to destroy public records

The city of Evanston cannot adopt a public records ordinance which does not provide for application to the Cook County Records Commission for authority to destroy public records. Such an ordinance would be invalid. Section 4 of the Local Records Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 116, sec. 43.101 et seq.) states that public records possessed by any officer or agency cannot be mutilated, destroyed, transferred, removed or otherwise damaged or disposed of except as provided by law. Home rule units are granted broad powers to enact ordinances regulating their own government and affairs under section 6 (a) of article VII of the 1970 Illinois Constitution. But the powers of home rule units relate to their own problems and not to those of the state, and the preservation of local records is a matter of statewide concern. Also, under section 32-8 of the Criminal Code of 1961 it is a Class 4 felony to destroy any public record. (File No. 82-054)

Hazardous waste in deep wells

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is obligated to collect fees for the disposal of hazardous wastes into deep wells. Public Act 82-830 amended the definition of "disposal" in the Environmental Protection Act to include the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of waste or hazardous waste into any well. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 111½, sec. 1003 (e)). Prior to the passage of Public Act 82-830, the definition of "disposal" included the term "injection" of any waste or hazardous waste "into or on any land or water." Thus the amendment simply clarifies an already existing authority. Under the Environmental Protection Act, the IEPA must collect a fee from the owner or operator of each hazardous waste disposal site to provide funds for taking preventive or corrective action at such sites and for research and development (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 111½, sec. 1022.2). (File No. 82-052)

Sludge in landfills

The Wastewater Land Treatment Site Regulation Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 111½, sec. 581 et seq.) does not apply to the disposal of sludge through the method of sanitary landfill. This act applies only to "wastewater land treatment sites"

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and "digested sludge utilization sites." When a site is neither a lagoon nor an irrigation field, and when it is devoted to the disposal rather than the storage or purification of waste, it cannot be considered a "wastewater land treatment site." A landfill site does not fit the definition of a "digested sludge utilization site" because it is not a storage basin, lagoon, drying or application field or any other facility related to the application of digested sludge to land; it is simply a permanent way of disposing of the sludge. (File No. 82-051)

Authority to arrest drunk drivers

Questions arise concerning a law enforcement officer's authority under the state's drunk driving law when a traffic accident occurs near the state line, and the injured driver is transported to a hospital in another state. If the officer makes a valid arrest in Illinois and the injured driver is then taken to the other state and hospitalized, the arresting officer is authorized to request that the driver submit to chemical testing and analysis to determine whether that person is in violation of the "driving under the influence" section of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 95½, sec. 11-501). However, if an Illinois officer interviews the driver after transportation to a hospital in an adjacent state and then finds reasonable cause to believe that the person is under the influence of alcohol or another drug, the officer is without general authority to make a warrantless arrest. (File No. 82-057)

Retroactive adjustment of franchise taxes

Under the Business Corporation Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 32, sec. 157.139) a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Illinois filed its annual report in May 1980, in which it elected to pay its franchise taxes based upon the sum of its entire stated capital and paid-in surplus (the "100 percent basis"). The corporation issued additional shares in February 1981 resulting in an increase in stated capital and paid-in surplus. The corporation submitted an annual report on June 11, 1981, in which it elected to change its franchise tax basis from the 100 percent basis to the "in-State-out-of-State" proportionate basis. The additional franchise taxes due on the February 1981 issuance of additional shares should be calculated on the newly elected proportionate basis. Section 139 (b) of the Business Corporation Act provides for the retroactive adjustment of additional franchise taxes based on a subsequently filed annual report when a corporation has failed to file its annual report within the time prescribed. (File No. 82-056)

Applications for property tax exemptions

A property tax board of review may establish a deadline for filing applications for property tax exemptions, provided it permits a reasonable time for filing. In the absence of such a deadline, application may be filed at any time prior to the adjournment of the board of review. This includes applications for homestead exemptions for persons 65 or older, annual homestead exemptions and homestead improvement exemptions (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 120, sees. 500.1-500.20). There are no deadlines for filing for an exemption on property used as a home by a disabled veteran or his spouse because the exemption is established by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and application to the board of review is unnecessary. (File No. 82-055)

Itemized tax bills

In counties using electronic data processing equipment, the tax bill must state the dollar amount of tax due and the total tax rate for each taxing body, the total amount of tax due, and the amount by which the total tax and the tax due to each taxing body differ from the previous tax bill. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 120, sec. 671). The county collector is not required to itemize the tax rate imposed for each purpose by each taxing body. For example, a tax bill must identify the total tax rate for a road district, but there is no need to itemize each rate for the road and bridge tax, the special road tax and the machinery tax. (File No. 82-046)□

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