Illinois Statutes Chapter 70. Special Districts § 605/8-6. Annexation--Hearing--Order--Appeals

§ 8-6. Annexation--Hearing--Order--Appeals. Any owner of land lying in the territory sought to be annexed may file objections to the petition at or prior to the time fixed for hearing and, after filing such objections may be heard with reference thereto and introduce evidence thereon. At the hearing, the court shall determine whether the lands sought to be annexed are connected with a district drain or have been or will be benefited or protected by any work of the district done or ordered to be done and, if the petition was filed by the landowners, whether the lands sought to be annexed are within the same natural drainage basin or involved in the same system of drainage as lands within the district and whether the petition is signed by the requisite number of owners owning the required proportion of the area sought to be annexed. If the court finds for the petitioners, it shall order the lands annexed to the district. The order of annexation shall include a description of the territory annexed and a description of the boundaries of that territory. The order shall be final and separate or joint appeals may be taken by the parties affected thereby, as in other civil cases. The taking of an appeal or the reversal of the order upon any such appeal shall not impair or invalidate such annexation as to lands not involved in the appeal, unless the reversal of the order by the reviewing court as to the owners so appealing would work a substantial hardship on the owners or some of the owners not appealing and the appeal has been made to operate as a stay of the enforcement of the judgment. When any such an appeal is taken, the commissioners or any landowner not appealing may, within 15 days after the notice of appeal has been made to operate as a stay of the enforcement of the judgment, move the trial court to stay the proceedings as to the owners of the lands not appealing, pending the determination of the appeal, upon the grounds that the reversal of the order by the reviewing court as to the owners appealing would work a substantial hardship on all or some of the owners not appealing. In the event the proceedings are so stayed and the order appealed from is thereafter affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, then, upon the receipt of final process from the reviewing court the trial court shall vacate the stay and the proceedings shall thereafter continue in the same manner as though no appeal had been taken. In the event the proceedings are so stayed and the order appealed from is reversed then, upon the receipt of final process from the reviewing court the trial court may modify or vacate the original order as to the lands not appealing as justice may require under the circumstances.