A. An employing unit not otherwise subject to this Act, which files with the Director its written election to become an employer for not less than two calendar years, shall, with the written approval of the election by the Director, become an employer to the same extent as all other employers, as of the date stated in the approval, and shall cease to be subject to this Act as of January 1 of any calendar year subsequent to such two calendar years, only if prior to February 1 of that year it has filed with the Director a written notice to that effect. The Director shall approve any election so filed if he finds that the employment record of the applicant has not been or is not likely to be such as will unduly threaten the full payment of benefits when due under this Act.
     B. Any employing unit for which services that do not constitute employment are performed may file with the Director a written election that all such services performed by individuals in its employ in one or more distinct establishments or places of business shall be deemed to constitute employment for all the purposes of this Act for not less than two calendar years. Upon the written approval of the election by the Director, the services shall be deemed to constitute employment from and after the date stated in the approval. The services shall cease to be deemed employment as of January 1 of any calendar year subsequent to such two calendar years, only if prior to February 1 of that year the employing unit has filed with the Director a written notice to that effect. The basis for the approval by the Director of the election under this subsection shall be the same as that provided under subsection A of this Section.
     C. Subsections A and B shall not apply to a political subdivision or a municipal corporation, or an instrumentality of one or more of the foregoing or of this State and one or more of the foregoing, and subsection B shall not apply to this State or any of its instrumentalities, except that a political subdivision or municipal corporation of this State may file with the Director a written election that it be an employer with respect to the services (except any services enumerated in Section 211.3) performed prior to January 1, 1978, by individuals in its employ in all of the hospitals and institutions of higher education operated by it and that such services be employment for all the purposes of this Act for not less than two calendar years. The effective date of the written election shall be any date after December 31, 1971, designated by the employing unit, provided that the date shall not be prior to January 1 of the calendar year in which the written election has been filed. The services described in this subsection shall cease to be employment and the employing unit shall cease to be an employer as of January 1 of any calendar year subsequent to the two calendar years hereinabove mentioned only if, prior to February 1 of that year, it files with the Director a written notice to that effect.
     1. With respect to the effective period of its election to be an employer, the political subdivision or municipal corporation (unless it elects to make payments under the provisions of paragraph 2) shall make payments in lieu of contributions the amounts of which shall be determined, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1400 and 1500, in the same manner and on the same basis as the amounts are determined for employers who incur liability for the payment of contributions. All of the provisions of this Act applicable to employers who incur liability for the payment of contributions shall apply to a political subdivision or municipal corporation which becomes subject to the making of payments in lieu of contributions under this paragraph.
     2. In lieu of the payments required by paragraph 1, a political subdivision or municipal corporation which has elected to be an employer may elect to make payments in lieu of contributions: with respect to benefit years beginning prior to July 1, 1989, in amounts equal to the amounts of regular benefits and one-half the extended benefits (defined in Section 409) paid to individuals for any weeks which begin on or after the effective date of the election to make such payments, on the basis of wages for insured work paid to them by the political subdivision or municipal corporation during their respective base periods; and, with respect to benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 1989, in amounts equal to the amounts specified in the third and fourth sentences of subsection B of Section 1405 paid to individuals where such political subdivision or municipal corporation was the last employer of the individual as provided in Section 1502.1 with respect to a benefit year beginning during the effective period of the election. An election to make payments pursuant to this paragraph shall be made in accordance with and subject to the provisions of subsection A of Section 1404, applicable to elections by nonprofit organizations. All of the provisions of Section 1404 (except subsection E), applicable to payments in lieu of contributions by nonprofit organizations, shall be applicable to payments in lieu of contributions by a political subdivision or municipal corporation pursuant to this paragraph. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “contributions” (relating to payments determined pursuant to Sections 1400 and 1500) which appears in Section 1404 means the payments in lieu of contributions required by paragraph 1 of this subsection; and the term “incurred liability” for the payment of contributions, or any variant thereof, which appears in Section 1404 means “became liable” for the payments in lieu of contributions required by paragraph 1 of this subsection, or a like variant thereof, as the case may be.