From appropriations for these purposes, the Department may make grants to units of local government as financial assistance for the acquisition of open space and natural lands if the Department determines that the property interests are sufficient to carry out the purposes of this Act.
     The Department shall adopt rules concerning the selection or grant recipients, amount of grant awards, and eligibility requirements. The rules must include the following additional requirements:

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 525 ILCS 33/25

  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14
  • Units of local government: has the meaning established in Section 1 of Article VII of the Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.28

         (1) No more than $2,000,000 may be awarded to any
    
grantee for a single project for any fiscal year.
        (2) Any grant under this Act must be conditioned upon
    
the grantee providing a required match as defined by rule.
        (3) Funds may be used only to purchase interests in
    
land from willing sellers and may not involve the use of eminent domain.
        (4) (Blank).
         (5) All real property acquired with grant funds must
    
be accessible to the public for conservation and recreation purposes, unless the Department determines that public accessibility would be detrimental to the real property or any associated natural resources.
        (6) No real property acquired with grant funds may be
    
sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise encumbered, unless it is used to qualify for a federal program or, subject to Department approval, transferred to the federal government, the State, or a unit of local government for conservation and recreation purposes consistent with this Act.
        (7) All grantees must agree to convey to the State at
    
no charge a conservation easement on the lands to be acquired using the grant funds.
        (8) Grantees must agree to manage lands in accordance
    
with the terms of the grant. Any changes in management must be approved by the Department before implementation.
        (9) The Department is authorized to promulgate, by
    
rule, any other reasonable requirements determined necessary to effectively implement this Act.
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