(a) In any county having less than 1,000,000 population which is not organized as a forest preserve district and in which the county board has not in any 3 of the past 5 years levied taxes in support of an historical museum as authorized by Division 6-23, at least 1% of the voters may file with the circuit clerk of the county a petition addressed to the circuit court of the county requesting the creation of a county historical museum district, the boundaries of which shall be those of the county. At least 1% of the voters in each county of a group of not more than 5 contiguous counties, each of which has less than 1,000,000 population and none of which is organized as a forest preserve district and in none of which the county board has in any 3 of the past 5 years levied taxes in support of an historical museum as authorized by Division 6-23, may jointly file with the circuit clerk of the county having the largest population a petition addressed to the circuit court of the county having the largest population requesting the creation of an historical museum district, the boundaries of which shall be those of the counties as a whole. If the museum district shall embrace more than one county, the petition shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Illinois State Museum. A museum district composed of a single county shall be designated by the name of the county.
     The circuit court of the county shall set the petition for hearing. The petition shall set forth (1) a description of the territory to be embraced in the proposed museum district, (2) the names of the municipalities located within the area, (3) the name of the proposed museum district, (4) the population of the museum district, and request that the question be submitted to the electors residing within the limits of the proposed museum district whether they will establish a museum district under this Division to be known as …. Historical Museum District. The petitioners in and by the petition shall designate one or more persons to represent them on the petition, and in the proceedings thereon in the circuit court, with authority to amend, to move to dismiss, or to withdraw the petition. The circuit court shall set the petition for hearing within not less than 30 nor more than 40 days after the filing of the petition with the circuit clerk.
     Notice shall be given by the circuit court of the time and place where the hearing will be held, by publication on 3 separate days in one or more newspapers having a general circulation within the territory proposed to be incorporated as a museum district, the first of which publications shall be not less than 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing and if there is no such newspaper, then such notice shall be posted in 10 of the most public places in such territory, not less than 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing. This notice shall include a description of the territory as set out in the petition, names of municipalities located therein and the name of the proposed museum district and the question of creating such area into a museum district.
     The filing fee on the petition and costs of printing and publication or posting of notices of public hearing thereon shall be paid in advance by the petitioners, and, if a museum district is organized under this Division, they shall be reimbursed out of the funds received by the museum district from taxation or other sources.
     (b) The court may continue the hearing on the petition from time to time. During the public hearing the petitioners may move to amend the petition or to dismiss or to withdraw it, and any such motion shall be allowed by the court. If such petition is not dismissed or withdrawn, the court by written order shall find and determine whether such territory meets the requirements of this Division, and the sufficiency of the petition as filed or amended, and of the proceedings thereon.
     Should 2 or more petitions covering in part the same territory be filed prior to the public hearing, such petitions shall be consolidated for public hearing, and hearing upon the first petition which is filed may be continued to permit the giving of notice of any such subsequent petition or petitions. At the public hearing upon such petitions, the petitioners in the petition first filed may move to amend such petition to include any part of the territory described in the subsequent petition or petitions, either as originally filed or as amended. Any such motion shall be allowed by the court. The public hearing shall proceed upon the first petition as originally filed or as so amended, and further proceedings upon any such other petitions subsequently filed shall be stayed and held in abeyance until the termination of all proceedings upon the first petition, or any such petition may be dismissed or withdrawn upon motion of the petitioners therein by their representatives.
     If such territory, petition and proceedings meet the requirements of this Division, the court shall in, and by the order finding and determining the sufficiency of the petition and that the territory meets the requirements of this Division or by a separate order, order the proposition submitted to referendum in accordance with the general election law. The clerk of the circuit court shall certify the order and the proposition to the appropriate election officials who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election in accordance with the general election law.
     (c) In addition to the requirements of the general election law, notice of the referendum shall state briefly the purpose of the referendum and shall include a description of the territory. The notice shall further state that any such museum district upon its establishment shall have the powers, objects and purposes provided by this Division, including the power to levy a tax of not to exceed .02 per cent of value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property within the area of the museum district. Each legal voter residing within the territory shall have a right to cast a ballot at such election. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
————————————————————–
    Shall the County Historical
 Museum District Law be adopted
 and the…. Historical Museum
 District be established?                    YES
 If established, the Museum
 District will have the powers,
 objects and purposes provided          ———————-
 by the Law, including the power
 to levy a tax of not to exceed
 .02 per cent of the value                   NO
 of taxable property, as equalized
 or assessed by the Department of
 Revenue.
 ————————————————————-
     The court shall cause the order determining and declaring results of the election to be entered of record in the court and a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the circuit clerk of each such other county who shall cause the same to be filed in the records of the court of such county.
     (d) If a majority of the voters in any county voting upon the question of the adoption of this Division and the establishment of a museum district shall be favorable, the inhabitants thereof shall be deemed to have accepted the provisions of this Division, and the territory of the approving county or counties shall thenceforth be deemed an organized museum district under this Division, having the name stated in the petition which shall be evidenced by an order to be entered of record by the court.