35 ILCS 200/ Property Tax Code.

(35 ILCS 200/19-30)

Sec. 19-30. Record keeping after appointment of new collector. The appointed township collector shall keep an account of all collections made by the former collector, so far as he or she can determine. When anyone presents a receipt for taxes paid to the former collector, the appointed collector shall note in the collector's book to whom and when paid.

(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-35)

Sec. 19-35. County collectors. The treasurers of all counties shall be ex-officio county collectors of their counties.

(Source: P.A. 76-2516; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-40)

Sec. 19-40. County collector's bond and oath. Each county collector as soon as elected and qualified and before entering upon the duties of office as collector, in addition to the bond as treasurer, shall furnish a bond in such penalty and with such security as the county board considers sufficient. In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the bond shall be in a penal sum of not less than $1,500,000. The signatures to the bond, signed by a mark, shall be witnessed, but in no other case shall witness be required. The bond shall be substantially in the following form:

Know All Men by These Presents, that we, A. B. collector, and C. D. and E. F. securities, all of the county of .... and State of Illinois, are held and firmly bound unto the People of the State of Illinois, in the penal sum of .... dollars, for the payment of which, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, each of us, our heirs, executors and administrators, successors and assigns, firmly by these presents.

Signed and sealed on (insert date).

The condition of the foregoing bond is such that if the above bound A.B. performs all the duties required to be performed as collector of the taxes in the county of ...., in the State of Illinois, in the time and manner prescribed by law, and when succeeded in office, shall surrender and deliver to his or her successor in office, all books, papers and moneys appertaining to the office, except as hereinafter provided, then the foregoing bond to be void; otherwise to remain in full force.

It is expressly understood and intended that the obligation of the above named sureties shall not extend to any loss sustained by the insolvency, failure or closing of any bank or trust company organized and operating either under the laws of the State of Illinois, or the United States wherein the collector has placed the funds in his or her custody or control, or any part thereof. A. B. ....(SEAL) C. D. ....(SEAL) E. F. ....(SEAL) He or she shall also take and subscribe an oath, to be endorsed on the back of the bond substantially as follows:

I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of county collector according to the best of my ability.

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-45)

Sec. 19-45. Approval of bond. The county collector's bond shall be approved by the county board and recorded on the board's records. The county clerk shall attach his or her certificate to the bond, under the seal of the office, showing that it has been duly approved and recorded. The bond, when approved and recorded, shall, from that time until 2 years after the expiration of the term of office of the collector for or during which the bond is furnished, be a lien against the property of the collector, situated in the county of which such collector is the collector, until he or she has complied with the conditions thereof.

The chairman of the county board, a circuit judge residing in the county and the county clerk also may approve the bond of the county collector, and the bond, when so approved, shall be subject to the same provisions as if approved by the county board.

(Source: P.A. 87-1189; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-50)

Sec. 19-50. Filing of county collector's bond. Tax books or lists shall not be placed in the hands of the county collector until the bond has been approved and recorded as required by Section 19-45. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as relieving the securities of a collector from liabilities incurred under a bond not approved and recorded as required by Section 19-45.

(Source: P.A. 87-1189; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-55)

Sec. 19-55. Sureties on collector's bonds. No chairman of the county board, clerk of the circuit court, county clerk, sheriff, deputy sheriff or coroner shall be permitted to be a surety on the bond of a county, township or deputy collector or county treasurer.

(Source: Laws 1965, p. 631; P.A. 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-60)

Sec. 19-60. Bond as security for taxes collected. The bond of every county or township collector shall be held to be security for the payment by the collector to the county treasurer and the taxing districts and proper authorities, of all taxes, special assessments which are collected or received on their behalf, and of all penalties which are recovered against him.

(Source: P.A. 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-65)

Sec. 19-65. Release of sureties - New bond. A surety on any bond may ask to be released from any further liability at any time after the execution of that bond, if the surety has reason to believe that the officer named in the bond will fail to comply with the conditions thereof. To be released, the surety shall file with the county clerk a notice in writing, verified under oath, setting forth the facts in the case; whereupon the clerk with whom the notice is filed, shall notify the officer to give additional security, equal to the security about to be released by the county board. The notice may be served by the clerk, or by any person appointed by the board or clerk. If the officer so notified does not appear and give additional security within 2 days after notification, the county board may remove him or her from office. The presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, shall appoint some person to fill the vacancy occasioned by the removal, who shall execute bond, qualify and perform the duties required.

(Source: P.A. 78-1128; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-70)

Sec. 19-70. Improper use of funds by collector. If a surety on any collector's bond is satisfied that the collector is making improper use of the funds collected by him or her, or has absconded, or is about to abscond, whereby the surety may become liable to pay any sum of money, the surety may obtain a court order against the goods and chattels of the collector just as he or she would be authorized to do if the collector was personally indebted to the surety. The money collected on that property shall be paid to the appointed county collector for distribution to those taxing districts entitled to the proceeds.

(Source: P.A. 83-346; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-75)

Sec. 19-75. Appointment of deputies; Bond. Collectors may appoint deputies by an instrument in writing, duly signed, and may also revoke any such appointment at their pleasure and may require bonds or other securities from the deputies, to secure themselves. Each deputy shall have the same authority as the collector to collect the taxes levied or assessed within the portion of the taxing district assigned to him or her. Each collector shall be responsible to the taxing districts and taxpayers for all moneys collected and for all actions by any deputy while acting as a deputy, and for any omission of duty. Any bond or security taken from a deputy by a collector, under this Section, shall be available to the collector, his or her representatives and securities, to indemnify them for any loss or damage arising from any act of the deputy.

(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/19-80)

Sec. 19-80. Death of county collector. Upon the death of any county collector during the time the tax books are in his or her hands, and before the time for making settlements, the county clerk shall take charge of the tax books. The clerk shall appoint one or more competent persons to examine the tax books. The appointed persons shall ascertain the amount remaining uncollected, and make out an abstract of the same, except that if there is only a small portion of the taxes collected at the time of the death of the collector, the amount actually collected shall be ascertained, and the same books used in completing the collections.

(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/Art. 20 heading) Article 20. Tax Collection Process

(35 ILCS 200/Art. 20 Div. 1 heading) Division 1. Billing procedures

(35 ILCS 200/20-5)

Sec. 20-5. Mailing or e-mailing tax bill to owner.

(a) Every township collector, and every county collector in cases where there is no township collector, upon receiving the tax book or books, shall prepare tax bills showing each installment of property taxes assessed, which shall be filled out in accordance with Section 20-40. A copy of the bill shall be mailed by the collector, at least 30 days prior to the date upon which unpaid taxes become delinquent, to the owner of the property taxed or to the person in whose name the property is taxed.

(b) The collector may send the bill via e-mail as provided in subsection (b) of Section 20-20. However, no bill shall be sent to a property owner or taxpayer via e-mail unless that owner or taxpayer shall have first made such a request to the collector in writing.

(Source: P.A. 98-628, eff. 1-1-15.)

(35 ILCS 200/20-10)

Sec. 20-10. Mailing to mortgage lender. When the copy of the tax bill is mailed by the collector to the owner or person at or in care of the address of a mortgage lender, the mortgage lender, within 15 days of receiving the copy, shall furnish and mail an additional copy of the bill to each mortgagor of the property at his or her last known address as shown on the records of the mortgage lender. However, if the property referred to in the copy is situated in a county which uses the estimated or accelerated billing methods, only an additional copy of the bill for the final installment of taxes due with respect to the real property shall be furnished and mailed by the mortgage lender to the mortgagor. A copy may be used by the collector in receipting for the tax paid, and a copy or record shall be retained by the collector.

(Source: P.A. 86-957; 87-818; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/20-12)

Sec. 20-12. Duplicate copies of tax bills. The collector, upon approval by the county board, shall assess a fee of up to $5 for each duplicate tax bill provided to any mortgage lender as defined in Section 1-90 who is not the property owner of record. All amounts collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Tax Sale Automation Fund established in Section 21-245 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 91-551, eff. 8-14-99.)

(35 ILCS 200/20-15)

Sec. 20-15. Information on bill or separate statement. There shall be printed on each bill, or on a separate slip which shall be mailed with the bill:

(a) a statement itemizing the rate at which taxes have been extended for each of the taxing districts in the county in whose district the property is located, and in those counties utilizing electronic data processing equipment the dollar amount of tax due from the person assessed allocable to each of those taxing districts, including a separate statement of the dollar amount of tax due which is allocable to a tax levied under the Illinois Local Library Act or to any other tax levied by a municipality or township for public library purposes,

(b) a separate statement for each of the taxing districts of the dollar amount of tax due which is allocable to a tax levied under the Illinois Pension Code or to any other tax levied by a municipality or township for public pension or retirement purposes,

(b-5) a list of each tax increment financing (TIF) district in which the property is located and the dollar amount of tax due that is allocable to the TIF district,

(c) the total tax rate,

(d) the total amount of tax due, and

(e) the amount by which the total tax and the tax allocable to each taxing district differs from the taxpayer's last prior tax bill.

The county treasurer shall ensure that only those taxing districts in which a parcel of property is located shall be listed on the bill for that property.

In all counties the statement shall also provide:

(1) the property index number or other suitable description,

(2) the assessment of the property,

(3) the statutory amount of each homestead exemption applied to the property,

(4) the assessed value of the property after application of all homestead exemptions,

(5) the equalization factors imposed by the county and by the Department, and

(6) the equalized assessment resulting from the application of the equalization factors to the basic assessment.

In all counties which do not classify property for purposes of taxation, for property on which a single family residence is situated the statement shall also include a statement to reflect the fair cash value determined for the property. In all counties which classify property for purposes of taxation in accordance with Section 4 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution, for parcels of residential property in the lowest assessment classification the statement shall also include a statement to reflect the fair cash value determined for the property.

In all counties, the statement must include information that certain taxpayers may be eligible for tax exemptions, abatements, and other assistance programs and that, for more information, taxpayers should consult with the office of their township or county assessor and with the Illinois Department of Revenue.

In counties which use the estimated or accelerated billing methods, these statements shall only be provided with the final installment of taxes due. The provisions of this Section create a mandatory statutory duty. They are not merely directory or discretionary. The failure or neglect of the collector to mail the bill, or the failure of the taxpayer to receive the bill, shall not affect the validity of any tax, or the liability for the payment of any tax.

(Source: P.A. 100-621, eff. 7-20-18; 101-134, eff. 7-26-19.)