December27, 2000

PRESIDING JUSTICE SLATER delivered the opinion of the court:

Petitioners filed a petition seeking detachment fromrespondent Morrison Community Hospital District pursuant tosection 10 of the Hospital District Law. 70 ILCS 910/10 (WestSupp. 1999). Respondent objected to the petition on variousgrounds. Following a hearing, the circuit court ruled that thepetition was sufficient and it certified the detachmentproposition to the proper election officials. That decision wasappealed to this court on February 4, 2000, under No. 3--00--0094. During the pendency of that appeal, a majority of thevoters of the territory seeking detachment voted in favor ofdetachment, 712 to 51. Thereafter, petitioners filed a motion todeclare the territory detached. Respondent objected topetitioners' motion on the same grounds that it had objected tothe petition to detach. On May 5, 2000, the circuit courtoverruled respondent's objections and declared the territorydetached. Respondent appealed from that order on June 5, 2000,under No. 3--00--0449. Subsequently, on respondent's motion, thetwo appeals were consolidated by this court.

The Morrison Community Hospital District (the District) wasestablished in 1952. The detached territory became part of theDistrict in 1970 by means of annexation. The detached territoryis located in Whiteside County and consists of a portion ofPortland Township and all of Prophetstown Township, including theCity of Prophetstown. The detached territory is not identical tothe area annexed in 1970; it represents only a portion, orsubset, of that area. The area annexed in 1970 constitutes morethan 25% of the equalized assessed valuation of the District. The detached area contains less than 25% of that valuation. Thebasis for the detachment petition was an amendment to section 10of the Hospital District Law which provides in part:

"[W]ithin 24 months after the effective dateof this amendatory Act of the 91st GeneralAssembly, the legal voters residing within ahospital district may file a petition fordetachment from the hospital district where(i) the territory sought to be detached wasadded to the hospital district by way ofannexation; and (ii) the equalized assessedvaluation of the territory sought to bedetached constitutes less than 25% of theequalized assessed valuation of the hospitaldistrict. The petition must be signed by notless than 5% of the legal voters of theterritory sought to be detached. Detachmentis not permissible if it would destroy thecontiguity of the territory of the District. A hearing shall be held on the petition asnearly as possible as in the case of aformation petition. If upon the hearing, thecourt finds that the petition is sufficient,it shall certify the proposition to theproper election officials, who shall submitthe question to the legal voters of theterritory proposed to be detached at anelection in accordance with the generalelection law." 70 ILCS 90/10 (West Supp.1999) as amended by Pub. Act 91-449,