Public Act 096-0227
 		





HB0146 Enrolled
LRB096 02878 RLJ 12892 b






    AN ACT concerning local government.

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


 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended  by changing Section 
5-39001 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-39001)  (from Ch. 34, par. 5-39001)

    Sec. 5-39001. Establishment and use; fee. The county board 
of any
county may establish and maintain a county law library, 
to be located in
any county building or privately or publicly 
owned building at the county
seat of government.  The term 
"county building" includes premises leased by
the county from a 
public building commission created under the Public
Building 
Commission Act. After August 2, 1976, the county board of any

county may establish and maintain a county law library at the 
county seat
of government and, in addition, branch law 
libraries  in other locations
within that county as the county 
board deems necessary.


    The facilities of those libraries shall be freely available 
to all
licensed Illinois attorneys, judges,  other public 
officers of the county,
and all members of the public, whenever 
the court house is open.


    The expense of establishing and maintaining those 
libraries shall be
borne by the county.  To defray that expense, 
in any county having
established a county law library or 
libraries, the clerk of all
trial courts located at the county 
seat of government shall charge and
collect a county law 
library fee of $2, and the county board may
authorize a county 
law library fee of not to exceed (i) $18 in 2009, (ii) $19 in 
2010, and (iii) $21 in 2011 and thereafter $13,
to be charged 
and collected by the clerks of all trial courts located in
the 
county.
 The fee shall be paid at the time of filing the first 
pleading,
paper, or other appearance filed by each party in all 
civil cases, but no
additional fee shall be required if more 
than one party is represented in a
single pleading, paper, or 
other appearance.


    Each clerk shall commence those charges and collections 
upon
receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county 
board that
the board has acted under this Division to establish 
and
maintain a law library.


    The fees shall be in addition to all other fees and charges 
of the
clerks, assessable as costs, remitted by the clerks 
monthly to the county
treasurer, and retained by the county 
treasurer in a special fund
designated as the County Law 
Library Fund.  Except as otherwise provided in
this paragraph, 
disbursements from the fund
shall be by the county treasurer, 
on order of a majority of the resident
circuit judges of the 
circuit court of the county. In any
county with more than 
2,000,000 inhabitants,
the
county board shall
order 
disbursements from the fund and the presiding officer of the

county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, 
may
appoint a library committee of not less than 9 members, 
who, by majority
vote, may recommend to the county board as to 
disbursements of
the fund and the operation of the library.  In 
single county circuits with
2,000,000 or fewer
inhabitants, 
disbursements from the County Law Library Fund shall be made by

the county treasurer on the order of the chief judge of the 
circuit court of
the county.  In those single county circuits, 
the number of personnel necessary
to
operate and maintain the 
county law library shall be set by and those personnel
shall be 
appointed
by the chief judge.  The county law library personnel 
shall serve at the
pleasure
of the appointing authority.  The 
salaries of those personnel shall be fixed by
the county board 
of the county.
 Orders shall be
pre-audited, funds shall be 
audited by the county auditor, and
a report of the orders and 
funds shall be rendered to
the county board and to the judges.


    Fees shall not be charged in any criminal or quasi-criminal

case, in any matter coming to the clerk on change of venue, or 
in
any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative 
officer,
agency, or body.


(Source: P.A. 93-748, eff. 7-15-04.)

 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.