Public Act 0988 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0546 Re-Enrolled LRB095 09375 JAM 29570 b

Public Act 095-0988

AN ACT concerning government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Notary Public Act is amended by changing Sections 3-101, 3-102, 3-104, and 6-102 as follows:

(5 ILCS 312/3-101) (from Ch. 102, par. 203-101)

Sec. 3-101. Official Seal and Signature.

(a) Each notary public shall, upon receiving the commission from the county clerk, obtain an official rubber stamp seal with which the notary shall authenticate his official acts. The rubber stamp seal shall contain the following information:

(1) (a) the words "Official Seal";

(2) (b) the notary's official name;

(3) (c) the words "Notary Public", "State of Illinois", and "My commission expires____________(commission expiration date)"; and

(4) (d) a serrated or milled edge border in a rectangular form not more than one inch in height by two and one-half inches in length surrounding the information.

(b) At the time of the notarial act, a notary public shall officially sign every notary certificate and affix the rubber stamp seal clearly and legibly using black ink, so that it is capable of photographic reproduction. The illegibility of any of the information required by this Section does not affect the validity of a transaction.

This subsection does not apply on or after July 1, 2013.

(Source: P.A. 84-322.)

(5 ILCS 312/3-102) (from Ch. 102, par. 203-102)

Sec. 3-102. Notarial Record; Residential Real Property Transactions Official Signature.

(a) This Section shall apply to every notarial act in Illinois involving a document of conveyance that transfers or purports to transfer title to residential real property located in Cook County.

(b) As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them:

(1) "Document of Conveyance" shall mean a written instrument that transfers or purports to transfer title effecting a change in ownership to Residential Real Property, excluding:

(i) court-ordered and court-authorized conveyances of Residential Real Property, including without limitation, quit-claim deeds executed pursuant to a marital settlement agreement incorporated into a judgment of dissolution of marriage, and transfers in the administration of a probate estate;

(ii) judicial sale deeds relating to Residential Real Property, including without limitation, sale deeds issued pursuant to proceedings to foreclose a mortgage or execute on a levy to enforce a judgment;

(iii) deeds transferring ownership of Residential Real Property to a trust where the beneficiary is also the grantor;

(iv) deeds from grantors to themselves that are intended to change the nature or type of tenancy by which they own Residential Real Property;

(v) deeds from a grantor to the grantor and another natural person that are intended to establish a tenancy by which the grantor and the other natural person own Residential Real Property;

(vi) deeds executed to the mortgagee in lieu of foreclosure of a mortgage; and

(vii) deeds transferring ownership to a revocable or irrevocable grantor trust where the beneficiary includes the grantor.

(2) "Financial Institution" shall mean a State or federally chartered bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union.

(3) "Notarial Record" shall mean the written document created in conformity with this Section by a notary in connection with Documents of Conveyance.

(4) "Residential Real Property" shall mean a building or buildings located in Cook County, Illinois and containing one to 4 dwelling units or an individual residential condominium unit.

(5) "Title Insurance Agent" shall have the meaning ascribed to it under the Title Insurance Act.

(6) "Title Insurance Company" shall have the meaning ascribed to it under the Title Insurance Act.

(c) A notary appointed and commissioned as a notary in Illinois shall, in addition to compliance with other provisions of this Act, create a Notarial Record of each notarial act performed in connection with a Document of Conveyance. The Notarial Record shall contain:

(1) The date of the notarial act;

(2) The type, title, or a description of the Document of Conveyance being notarized, and the property index number ("PIN") used to identify the Residential Real Property for assessment or taxation purposes and the common street address for the Residential Real Property that is the subject of the Document of Conveyance;

(3) The signature, printed name, and residence street address of each person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act and a certification by the person that the property is Residential Real Property as defined in this Section, which states "The undersigned grantor hereby certifies that the real property identified in this Notarial Record is Residential Real Property as defined in the Illinois Notary Public Act".

(4) A description of the satisfactory evidence reviewed by the notary to determine the identity of the person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act;

(5) The date of notarization, the fee charged for the notarial act, the Notary's home or business phone number, the Notary's residence street address, the Notary's commission expiration date, the correct legal name of the Notary's employer or principal, and the business street address of the Notary's employer or principal; and

(6) The notary public shall require the person signing the Document of Conveyance (including an agent acting on behalf of a principal under a duly executed power of attorney), whose signature is the subject of the notarial act, to place his or her right thumbprint on the Notarial Record. If the right thumbprint is not available, then the notary shall have the party use his or her left thumb, or any available finger, and shall so indicate on the Notarial Record. If the party signing the document is physically unable to provide a thumbprint or fingerprint, the notary shall so indicate on the Notarial Record and shall also provide an explanation of that physical condition. The notary may obtain the thumbprint by any means that reliably captures the image of the finger in a physical or electronic medium.

(d) If a notarial act under this Section is performed by a notary who is a principal, employee, or agent of a Title Insurance Company, Title Insurance Agent, Financial Institution, or attorney at law, the notary shall deliver the original Notarial Record to the notary's employer or principal within 14 days after the performance of the notarial act for retention for a period of 7 years as part of the employer's or principal's business records. In the event of a sale or merger of any of the foregoing entities or persons, the successor or assignee of the entity or person shall assume the responsibility to maintain the Notarial Record for the balance of the 7-year business records retention period. Liquidation or other cessation of activities in the ordinary course of business by any of the foregoing entities or persons shall relieve the entity or person from the obligation to maintain Notarial Records after delivery of Notarial Records to the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois.

(e) If a notarial act is performed by a notary who is not a principal, employee, or agent of a Title Insurance Company, Title Insurance Agent, Financial Institution, or attorney at law, the notary shall deliver the original Notarial Record within 14 days after the performance of the notarial act to the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois for retention for a period of 7 years, accompanied by a filing fee of $5.

(f) The Notarial Record required under subsection (c) of this Section shall be created and maintained for each person whose signature is the subject of a notarial act regarding a Document of Conveyance and shall be in substantially the following form: NOTARIAL RECORD - RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS Date Notarized: Fee: $

The undersigned grantor hereby certifies that the real property identified in this Notarial Record is Residential Real Property as defined in the Illinois Notary Public Act. Grantor's (Signer's) Printed Name:

Grantor's (Signer's) Signature:

Grantor's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State, and Zip:

Type or Name of Document of Conveyance:

PIN No. of Residential Real Property:

Common Street Address of Residential Real Property:

Thumbprint or Fingerprint:

Description of Means of Identification:

Additional Comments:

Name of Notary Printed:

Notary Phone Number:

Commission Expiration Date:

Residential Street Address of Notary, City, State, and Zip:

Name of Notary's Employer or Principal:

Business Street Address of Notary's Employer or Principal, City, State, and Zip:

(g) No copies of the original Notarial Record may be made or retained by the Notary. The Notary's employer or principal may retain copies of the Notarial Records as part of its business records, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality standards.

(h) The failure of a notary to comply with the procedure set forth in this Section shall not affect the validity of the Residential Real Property transaction in connection to which the Document of Conveyance is executed, in the absence of fraud.

(i) The Notarial Record or other medium containing the thumbprint or fingerprint required by subsection (c)(6) shall be made available or disclosed only upon receipt of a subpoena duly authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction. Such Notarial Record or other medium shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and shall not be made available to any other party, other than a party in succession of interest to the party maintaining the Notarial Record or other medium pursuant to subsection (d) or (e).

(j) In the event there is a breach in the security of a Notarial Record maintained pursuant to subsections (d) and (e) by the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois, the Recorder shall notify the person identified as the "signer" in the Notarial Record at the signer's residential street address set forth in the Notarial Record. "Breach" shall mean unauthorized acquisition of the fingerprint data contained in the Notarial Record that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of the fingerprint data maintained by the Recorder. The notification shall be in writing and made in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, consistent with any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the reasonable security, confidentiality, and integrity of the Recorder's data system.

(k) Subsections (a) through (i) shall not apply on and after July 1, 2013.

(l) Beginning July 1, 2013, at At the time of notarization, a notary public shall officially sign every notary certificate and affix the rubber stamp seal clearly and legibly using black ink, so that it is capable of photographic reproduction. The illegibility of any of the information required by this Section does not affect the validity of a transaction.

(Source: P.A. 84-322.)

(5 ILCS 312/3-104) (from Ch. 102, par. 203-104)

Sec. 3-104. Maximum Fee.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, the maximum fee in this State is $1.00 for any notarial act performed and, until July 1, 2013, up to $25 for any notarial act performed pursuant to Section 3-102.

(b) Fees for a notary public, agency, or any other person who is not an attorney or an accredited representative filling out immigration forms shall be limited to the following:

(1) $10 per form completion;

(2) $10 per page for the translation of a non-English language into English where such translation is required for immigration forms;

(3) $1 for notarizing;

(4) $3 to execute any procedures necessary to obtain a document required to complete immigration forms; and

(5) A maximum of $75 for one complete application.

Fees authorized under this subsection shall not include application fees required to be submitted with immigration applications.

Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense committed within 5 years of a previous conviction for the same offense.

(c) Upon his own information or upon complaint of any person, the Attorney General or any State's Attorney, or their designee, may maintain an action for injunctive relief in the court against any notary public or any other person who violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section. These remedies are in addition to, and not in substitution for, other available remedies.

If the Attorney General or any State's Attorney fails to bring an action as provided pursuant to this subsection within 90 days of receipt of a complaint, any person may file a civil action to enforce the provisions of this subsection and maintain an action for injunctive relief.

(d) All notaries public must provide receipts and keep records for fees accepted for services provided. Failure to provide receipts and keep records that can be presented as evidence of no wrongdoing shall be construed as a presumptive admission of allegations raised in complaints against the notary for violations related to accepting prohibited fees.

(Source: P.A. 93-1001, eff. 8-23-04.)

(5 ILCS 312/6-102) (from Ch. 102, par. 206-102)

Sec. 6-102. Notarial Acts. (a) In taking an acknowledgment, the notary public must determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the notary and making the acknowledgment is the person whose true signature is on the instrument.

(b) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the notary public must determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the notary and making the verification is the person whose true signature is on the statement verified.

(c) In witnessing or attesting a signature, the notary public must determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the person appearing before the notary and named therein.

(d) A notary public has satisfactory evidence that a person is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person:

(1) is personally known to the notary;

(2) is identified upon the oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known to the notary; or

(3) is identified on the basis of identification documents. Until July 1, 2013, identification documents are documents that are valid at the time of the notarial act, issued by a state or federal government agency, and bearing the photographic image of the individual's face and signature of the individual.

(Source: P.A. 84-322.)

Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)

Sec. 7. Exemptions.

(1) The following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations adopted under federal or State law.

(b) Information that, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information. The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy. Information exempted under this subsection (b) shall include but is not limited to:

(i) files and personal information maintained with respect to clients, patients, residents, students or other individuals receiving social, medical, educational, vocational, financial, supervisory or custodial care or services directly or indirectly from federal agencies or public bodies;

(ii) personnel files and personal information maintained with respect to employees, appointees or elected officials of any public body or applicants for those positions;

(iii) files and personal information maintained with respect to any applicant, registrant or licensee by any public body cooperating with or engaged in professional or occupational registration, licensure or discipline;

(iv) information required of any taxpayer in connection with the assessment or collection of any tax unless disclosure is otherwise required by State statute;

(v) information revealing the identity of persons who file complaints with or provide information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement or penal agencies; provided, however, that identification of witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident reports, and rescue reports may be provided by agencies of local government, except in a case for which a criminal investigation is ongoing, without constituting a clearly unwarranted per se invasion of personal privacy under this subsection; and

(vi) the names, addresses, or other personal information of participants and registrants in park district, forest preserve district, and conservation district programs; and .

(vii) the Notarial Record or other medium containing the thumbprint or fingerprint required by Section 3-102(c)(6) of the Illinois Notary Public Act.

(c) Records compiled by any public body for administrative enforcement proceedings and any law enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement purposes or for internal matters of a public body, but only to the extent that disclosure would:

(i) interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency;

(ii) interfere with pending administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by any public body;

(iii) deprive a person of a fair trial or an impartial hearing;

(iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a confidential source or confidential information furnished only by the confidential source;

(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative techniques other than those generally used and known or disclose internal documents of correctional agencies related to detection, observation or investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct;

(vi) constitute an invasion of personal privacy under subsection (b) of this Section;

(vii) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel or any other person; or

(viii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation.

(d) Criminal history record information maintained by State or local criminal justice agencies, except the following which shall be open for public inspection and copying:

(i) chronologically maintained arrest information, such as traditional arrest logs or blotters;

(ii) the name of a person in the custody of a law enforcement agency and the charges for which that person is being held;

(iii) court records that are public;

(iv) records that are otherwise available under State or local law; or

(v) records in which the requesting party is the individual identified, except as provided under part (vii) of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this Section.

"Criminal history record information" means data identifiable to an individual and consisting of descriptions or notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, pre-trial proceedings, trials, or other formal events in the criminal justice system or descriptions or notations of criminal charges (including criminal violations of local municipal ordinances) and the nature of any disposition arising therefrom, including sentencing, court or correctional supervision, rehabilitation and release. The term does not apply to statistical records and reports in which individuals are not identified and from which their identities are not ascertainable, or to information that is for criminal investigative or intelligence purposes.

(e) Records that relate to or affect the security of correctional institutions and detention facilities.

(f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

(g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or information are proprietary, privileged or confidential, or where disclosure of the trade secrets or information may cause competitive harm, including:

(i) All information determined to be confidential under Section 4002 of the Technology Advancement and Development Act.

(ii) All trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating a potential investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the aggregate financial performance information of a private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or general partners. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the identity of a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held company may cause competitive harm.

Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be construed to prevent a person or business from consenting to disclosure.

(h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or agreement, including information which if it were disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contractor agreement with the body, until an award or final selection is made. Information prepared by or for the body in preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an award or final selection is made.

(i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss. The exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the general public.

(j) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer an academic examination or determined the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment.

(k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical submissions, and other construction related technical documents for projects not constructed or developed in whole or in part with public funds and the same for projects constructed or developed with public funds, but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise security, including but not limited to water treatment facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings.

(l) Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials.

(m) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the public body makes the minutes available to the public under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.

(n) Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, and materials prepared or compiled with respect to internal audits of public bodies.

(o) Information received by a primary or secondary school, college or university under its procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by their academic peers.

(p) Administrative or technical information associated with automated data processing operations, including but not limited to software, operating protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object modules, load modules, user guides, documentation pertaining to all logical and physical design of computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security of the system or its data or the security of materials exempt under this Section.

(q) Documents or materials relating to collective negotiating matters between public bodies and their employees or representatives, except that any final contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.

(r) Drafts, notes, recommendations and memoranda pertaining to the financing and marketing transactions of the public body. The records of ownership, registration, transfer, and exchange of municipal debt obligations, and of persons to whom payment with respect to these obligations is made.

(s) The records, documents and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated.

(t) Any and all proprietary information and records related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk management association or self-insurance pool or jointly self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.

(u) Information concerning a university's adjudication of student or employee grievance or disciplinary cases, to the extent that disclosure would reveal the identity of the student or employee and information concerning any public body's adjudication of student or employee grievances or disciplinary cases, except for the final outcome of the cases.

(v) Course materials or research materials used by faculty members.

(w) Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of a public body.

(x) Information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State law.

(y) Information the disclosure of which is restricted under Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.

(z) Manuals or instruction to staff that relate to establishment or collection of liability for any State tax or that relate to investigations by a public body to determine violation of any criminal law.

(aa) Applications, related documents, and medical records received by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board and any and all documents or other records prepared by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board or its staff relating to applications it has received.

(bb) Insurance or self insurance (including any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications.

(cc) Information and records held by the Department of Public Health and its authorized representatives relating to known or suspected cases of sexually transmissible disease or any information the disclosure of which is restricted under the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act.

(dd) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing Act.

(ee) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act.

(ff) Security portions of system safety program plans, investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or information compiled, collected, or prepared by or for the Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair County Transit District under the Bi-State Transit Safety Act.

(gg) Information the disclosure of which is restricted and exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act.

(hh) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

(ii) Beginning July 1, 1999, information that would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of secret or confidential information, codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be used to create electronic or digital signatures under the Electronic Commerce Security Act.

(jj) Information contained in a local emergency energy plan submitted to a municipality in accordance with a local emergency energy plan ordinance that is adopted under Section 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(kk) Information and data concerning the distribution of surcharge moneys collected and remitted by wireless carriers under the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act.

(ll) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies or plans that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's population or systems, facilities, or installations, the destruction or contamination of which would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community, but only to the extent that disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement them or the public. Information exempt under this item may include such things as details pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to tactical operations.

(mm) Maps and other records regarding the location or security of a utility's generation, transmission, distribution, storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities.

(nn) Law enforcement officer identification information or driver identification information compiled by a law enforcement agency or the Department of Transportation under Section 11-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

(oo) Records and information provided to a residential health care facility resident sexual assault and death review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team Act.

(pp) Information provided to the predatory lending database created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, except to the extent authorized under that Article.

(qq) Defense budgets and petitions for certification of compensation and expenses for court appointed trial counsel as provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital Crimes Litigation Act. This subsection (qq) shall apply until the conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the prosecution chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior to trial or sentencing.

(2) This Section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-43, eff. 7-1-03; 93-209, eff. 7-18-03; 93-237, eff. 7-22-03; 93-325, eff. 7-23-03, 93-422, eff. 8-5-03; 93-577, eff. 8-21-03; 93-617, eff. 12-9-03; 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-508, eff. 1-1-06; 94-664, eff. 1-1-06; 94-931, eff. 6-26-06; 94-953, eff. 6-27-06; 94-1055, eff. 1-1-07; revised 8-3-06.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1, 2009.