Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Initiation of Enterprise Zones by Municipality or County. (a) No area may be designated as an enterprise zone except pursuant to an initiating ordinance adopted in accordance with this Section. (b) A county or municipality may by ordinance designate an area within its jurisdiction as an enterprise zone, subject to the certification of the Department in accordance with this Act, if: (i) the area is qualified in accordance with Section 4; and (ii) the county or municipality has conducted at least one public hearing within the proposed zone area on the question of whether to create the zone, what local plans, tax incentives and other programs should be established in connection with the zone, and what the boundaries of the zone should be; public notice of such hearing shall be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the zone area, not more than 20 days nor less than 5 days before the hearing. (c) An ordinance designating an area as an enterprise zone shall set forth: (i) a precise description of the area comprising the zone, either in the form of a legal description or by reference to roadways, lakes and waterways, and township, county boundaries; (ii) a finding that the zone area meets the qualifications of Section 4; (iii) provisions for any tax incentives or reimbursement for taxes, which pursuant to state and federal law apply to business enterprises within the zone at the election of the designating county or municipality, and which are not applicable throughout the county or municipality; (iv) a designation of the area as an enterprise zone, subject to the approval of the Department in accordance with this Act; (v) the duration or term of the enterprise zone. (d) This Section does not prohibit a municipality or county from extending additional tax incentives or reimbursement for business enterprises in Enterprise Zones or throughout their territory by separate ordinance. (e) No county or municipality located within the Metro East Mass Transit District which adopts an ordinance designating an area within the District as an Enterprise Zone shall provide for any exemption, deduction, credit, refund or abatement of any taxes imposed by the Metro East Mass Transit District Board of Trustees under Section 5.01 of the "Local Mass Transit District Act", approved July 21, 1959, as amended. (f) The Department shall encourage applications from all areas of the State and shall actively solicit applications from those counties with populations of less than 300,000. (Source: P.A. 85-870.)