Legal/Legislative Scene

Legislative Conference highlights June activities

By Peter M. Murphy
Legal/Legislative Counsel

Peter M. Murphy

Don't miss this year's Legislative Conference to be held on Wednesday, June 11. The day's educational programs featuring the State's political leaders will be followed by a reception honoring the members of the 84th General Assembly. The importance of this election-year event means that all park districts should be represented in Springfield.

IAPD plays pivitol role in seeking solution for crisis

Appointed as a special representative by House Speaker Michael Madigan to the Local Government Insurance Task Force, the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) continues to strive for a solution to the problems of unavailable and unaffordable liability insurance.

In addition to seeking modification of the comparative fault system and the elimination of joint and several liability, local governments join the Illinois Coalition on the Insurance Crisis (ICIC) in proposing amendments to the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Introduced as Senate Bill 1844 and House Bill 3203, these bills provide local governments with the following assistance by:

• requiring that buying insurance will not result in waiving immunities under the Act.

• providing that punitive damages will not be recoverable in suits against local governments or their employees.

• providing immunity from liability for people injured while participating in hazardous recreational activities, such as body contact sports, on public property.

• placing maximum dollar limits on judgments that can be obtained against park districts.

• removing liability for the maintenance of property unless the local government had actual knowledge of an unsafe condition and did not use its discretion as to whether measures should be taken to correct the situation.

• reducing the time in which notice of intent to sue must be given to a park, forest preserve or conservation district from one year to six months.

Senate action

At this writing, only the Senate has acted to send insurance legislation to the floor for continued debate. However, the Senate Insurance Committee sent only two bills dealing with tort reform to the full Senate for consideration. The first addresses the collateral source issue (Senate Bill 2260) and the second concerns modified comparative fault (Senate Bill 2263).

In addition to these two measures, more than a dozen bills regulating the insurance industry were sent to the Senate for debate. Included was the ICIC proposal, Senate Bill 1176, requiring 60 days advance notice prior to cancellation or a premium increase of 25 percent or more. No consensus has been reached among members of the Senate as to what type of liability insurance will finally prevail.

Keeping in touch with lawmakers

Please continue to contact your State legislators to urge their support in seeking a legislative solution to the insurance crisis. Your continued communication is particularly important since legislators feel the problem has lessened. For park, forest preserve and conservation districts just the opposite is true, as more of these agencies are cancelled everyday!

Remember, calls to State Representatives and Senators can be placed through the Capitol operator at (217) 782-2000.

Keep your eye on ...

House Bill 2912 which eliminates various exclusions from the definition of a day care center and defines a part day child care facility as one operated by a governmental body rather than by a church, religious organization or social service agency.

House Bill 3299 providing that any unoccupied territory with no assessed valuation that is within a municipality and is owned by a park district which is nearly coterminous with an adjoining municipality, may be excluded from the former municipality by ordinance of the latter municipality.

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House Bill 3411 providing that no territory within the corporate limits of a municipality which, as an incident of its government and under the Illinois Municipal Code or under its home rule powers, is operating and maintaining a system of one or more parks with a total combined area of 50 acres or more within its corporate limits may be annexed to any park district.

Applications for State Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grants and federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (L&WCF) grants will be accepted by the Illinois Department of Conservation (DOC) from local government units between July 1 and Sept. 1.

Application may be made for either program, or for both, using the same forms. Formerly, applications for L&WCF grants were due by July 1 and the deadline for OSLAD grants was Oct. 1.

Both programs are administered by the DOC and provide up to 50 percent reimbursement of local agencies' eligible costs for recreational land acquisition and development projects.

Criteria for the new OSLAD and long-established L&WCF grant programs are identical. They include: demonstrated need for the project or facility; the project's placement among statewide outdoor recreation priorities identified in Illinois' Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), site characteristics and overall development plan, local ability and incentive to carry out the project, the government unit's record in maintaining its other facilities, and the degree of local planning exhibited in the project.

Your legislative program is paying dividends!

Park, forest preserve and conservation districts statewide are among the recipients of $10 million in Build Illinois grant funds to expand community recreational opportunities.

The plan includes $4.6 million in Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grants for the current fiscal year, and $300,000 in federal Land and Water Conservation funds, for 12 local acquisition and 20 recreational development projects.

Another $5 million in grant funding from OSLAD's FY'87 appropriation is being recommended for 10 other acquisition and 27 development projects. The grants are dependent on the General Assembly's approval of the FY'87 appropriation. Congratulations to:

Recipients of grants for FY'86 land acquisition including the:

Arlington Heights Park District, $150,000, for acquisition of nearly nine acres of recreation-ally developed land adjacent to the recently closed Arlington Heights High School, for the creation of Olympic Park.

Village of Bourbonnais, $165,000, to acquire 8.4 acres of land adjacent to the Kankakee River to create a major community park.

Chicago Ridge Park District, $80,000, to acquire a private swimming pool from the not-for-profit Worth Pool Association to provide the first outdoor swimming facility in Chicago Ridge and Worth.

Forest Preserve District of Cook County, $250,000, to acquire 7.2 acres of the Wolf Road Prairie near Westchester.

Crystal Lake Park District, $218,500, to acquire 156 acres of land encompassing locally significant archeological sites that will become part of Crystal Lake Nature Center at Veteran's Park.

Fifty-three Trails Estates Park District, Addison, $198,900, to acquire 15.3 acres for a nature preserve and environmental education center.

Village of Hampton, $74,500, to acquire 31 acres of land along the Mississippi River for a community park.

City of Joliet, $125,000, to acquire approximately two acres to expand Bicentennial Park in downtown Joliet.

McHenry County Conservation District, $145,500, to acquire 204 acres of natural area and associated land for parking, picnicking and sanitary facilities.

Village of Tamms, $25,000, to acquire 17.23 acres for a community park.

Westmont Park District, $91,100, to acquire 7.3 acres for a neighborhood park, nature trails and a small camping area.

Wheeling Park District, $228,000, to acquire six acres of land, formerly part of the Arlington Heights Country Club, for development of a neighborhood park to serve a heavily populated area.

Included in grants for FY'86 development projects are the:

Addison Park District, $150,000, to develop a newly acquired 11.7-acre neighborhood park.

City of Alton, $400,000, two grants of $200,000 each for development of the Gordon F. Moore Community Park. One project will provide ballfields, a fishing pier and boat dock, and the amenities needed in preparation for construction of a beach for swimming. The second project will include completion of the dam and lake, construction of a bathhouse and the beach.

City of Chicago, $100,000, to develop, in conjunction with private organizations, a 2.6-acre park site in the Rogers Park area.

Chicago Park District, $600,000, in three separate grant projects of $200,000 each. The projects include construction of a swimming pool and locker facility at Williams Park; stabilization of the shoreline and development of a public beach and playground at Park Number 459, and construction of a swimming pool and dressing facilities at Seward Park in north central Chicago.

Cook County Forest Preserve District, $200,000, to develop a three-mile segment of bicycle trails through Thorn Creek Preserve.

Geneva Park District, $149,000, to complete the recreational development of Wheeler Community Park.

Glen Ellyn Park District, $98,000, for the rehabilitation and development of a 10-acre neighborhood park.

Park District of Hanover Park, $155,000, for the initial development of the 24-acre Harbor Lake Park.

Kane County Forest Preserve District, $200,000, to develop eight and one-half miles of the Fox River Trail.

Palatine Park District, $197,000, for further development of the Margreth Reimer Reservoir park site and a bike path at Plum Grove Reservoir.

Salt Creek Rural Park District, $200,000, for the initial development of a community park.

Schaumburg Park District, $195,000, to develop the 92-acre Gray Farm-Prairie Park site with recreational facilities.

Springfield Housing Authority, $58,000, to develop a park on an abandoned school site adjacent to low-income housing.

City of Sullivan, $170,000, to develop a 45-acre community park.

Park District of Tinley Park, $52,000, to develop a nine-acre neighborhood park in the southwestern portion of Tinley Park.

Tri-State Park District, $60,000, tor the initial development of a 13-acre park site containing a 10-acre lake.

Wauronda Park District, $196,500, for the initial development of a 40-acre community park.

Recommendations for FY'87 grants for land acquisition include the:

Cary Park District, $80,000; Downers Grove Park District, $300,000; Fox Valley Park District, $118,000; Freeport Park District, $40,000; Village of Hazel Crest, $230,000; Naperville Park District, $300,000; City of Rock Island, $22,000; Sumner Park District, $10,000; Wheaton Park District, $200,000, and the

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 May/June 1986

Forest Preserve District of Will County, $145,000.

Recommendations for FY'87 grants for development include the:

Arlington Heights Park District, $200,000; Buffalo Grove Park District, $200,000; Chicago Park District, three grants of $200,000, $188,000 and $180,000; DuPage County Forest Preserve District, $87,000; City of Edwardsville, $15,000; Village of Farina, $44,000; Grayslake Park District, $65,000; Village of Hardin, $195,000; Village of Hawthorn Woods, $52,000; Hazel Crest Park District, $91,000; Village of Hennepin, $65,000; Hoffman Estates Park District, $149,000; and the Village of Itasca and its park district, $68,000.

Others are the Kankakee Valley Park District, $189,000; Village of Marissa, $20,000; City of Mattoon, $200,000; City of Moline, $200,000; Mt. Prospect Park District, $70,000; City of Peru, $200,000; Village of Sadorus, $51,000; Skokie Park District, $80,000; City of Springfield, $200,000; Urbana Park District, $105,000; Vernon Hills Park District, $175,000, and Winnetka Park District, $189,000.

The Illinois Department of Conservation (DOC) received approximately 125 requests for the FY'86 grants totalling more than $15 million.

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