1. (a) Public graveyards in this State, not under the control of any corporation sole, organization or society, and located within the limits of townships or counties not under township organization, shall and may be controlled or vacated by the corporate authorities of such township or county in such manner as such authorities may deem proper, and in the case of townships, such control may be vested in 3 trustees. If a township board has vested control of a public graveyard in 3 trustees in accordance with this Section, it may, by resolution, divest the trustees of control of the public graveyard and assume control of the public graveyard.

2. (b) Vacancies created by the expiration occurring at any time after the effective date of the amendatory Act of the Seventy-eighth General Assembly and after this amendatory Act of the 83rd General Assembly of the terms of cemetery trustees of a township (except a township coterminous with a municipality) or of a county not under township organization elected under this Act shall be filled only by appointment. Such appointment shall be made by the county board of any county not under township organization or by the Township Board of Trustees in counties under township organization, as the case may be, for a term of 6 years. Until the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1983, in a township coterminous with a municipality, cemetery trustees shall continue to be elected by ballot, with one trustee elected in each odd-numbered year, in accordance with the provisions of the general election law, for a term of 6 years and until their respective successors are elected and qualified. After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1983, in a township coterminous with a municipality, cemetery trustees shall be appointed by the governing authority of the municipality with one trustee appointed in each odd-numbered year for a term of 6 years and until his or her respective successors are appointed and qualified.

   Such trustees may be paid such compensation, not to exceed $1,000 per year, as may be fixed by the Township Board of Trustees.

3. (c) Not more than one of the trustees shall be from any one city or village or incorporated town or section of land within such township unless such city, village, incorporated town or section of land shall have more than 50% of the population of the township according to the last preceding Federal census in which are included 2 or more cities, villages, incorporated towns or sections of land.

(from Ch. 21, par. 13)

(Source: P.A. 94-24, eff. 6-14-05; 95-981, eff. 9-22-08.)