Public Act 099-0754
 
SB3284 EnrolledLRB099 18830 AWJ 43215 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
Sections 5-43010, 5-43015, 5-43020, 5-43025, 5-43035, 5-43040,
and 5-43045 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43010)
    Sec. 5-43010. Administrative adjudication of county code
and ordinance violations; definitions.
    (a) Any county may provide by ordinance for a system of
administrative adjudication of county code violations to the
extent permitted by the Illinois Constitution.
    (b) Any county may provide by ordinance for a system of
administrative adjudication of violations of ordinances
enacted by a participating unit of local government only where:
(i) the unit of local government is engaging in governmental
activities or providing services within the boundaries of the
county; (ii) the unit of local government has no system of
administrative adjudication; and (iii) the violation occurred
within the boundaries of the county.
    (c) As used in this Division:
    "Participating unit of local government" means a unit of
local government which has entered into an intergovernmental
agreement or contract with a county for the administrative
adjudication of violations of its ordinances by the county
pursuant to this Division.
    "System A "system of administrative adjudication" means
the adjudication of any violation of a county ordinance or of a
participating unit of local government's ordinance, except for
(i) proceedings not within the statutory or the home rule
authority of counties or a participating unit of local
government; and (ii) any offense under the Illinois Vehicle
Code (or a similar offense that is a traffic regulation
governing the movement of vehicles and except for any
reportable offense under Section 6-204 of the Illinois Vehicle
Code).
    "Unit of local government" has the meaning as defined in
the Illinois Constitution of 1970 and also includes a
not-for-profit corporation organized for the purpose of
conducting public business including, but not limited to, the
Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43015)
    Sec. 5-43015. Administrative adjudication procedures not
exclusive. The adoption by a county of a system of
administrative adjudication does not preclude the county from
using other methods to enforce county ordinances. An
intergovernmental agreement or contract entered into between a
county and participating unit of local government under this
Division does not preclude a participating unit of local
government from using other methods to enforce its ordinances.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43020)
    Sec. 5-43020. Code hearing units; powers of hearing
officers.
    (a) An ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall provide for a
code hearing unit within an existing agency or as a separate
agency in the county government. The ordinance shall establish
the jurisdiction of a code hearing unit that is consistent with
this Division. The "jurisdiction" of a code hearing unit refers
to the particular code violations that it may adjudicate.
    (b) Adjudicatory hearings shall be presided over by hearing
officers. The powers and duties of a hearing officer shall
include:
        (1) hearing testimony and accepting evidence that is
    relevant to the existence of the code violation;
        (2) issuing subpoenas directing witnesses to appear
    and give relevant testimony at the hearing, upon the
    request of the parties or their representatives;
        (3) preserving and authenticating the record of the
    hearing and all exhibits and evidence introduced at the
    hearing;
        (4) issuing a determination, based on the evidence
    presented at the hearing, of whether a code violation
    exists, which shall be in writing and shall include a
    written finding of fact, decision, and order including the
    fine, penalty, or action with which the defendant must
    comply; and
        (5) imposing penalties consistent with applicable code
    provisions and assessing costs upon finding a party liable
    for the charged violation, except, however, that in no
    event shall the hearing officer have authority to: (i)
    impose a penalty of incarceration; or (ii) impose a fine in
    excess of $50,000, or at the option of the county for a
    fine imposed for a violation of a county ordinance or at
    the option of a participating unit of local government for
    a fine imposed for violation of an ordinance of the
    participating unit of local government, such other amount
    not to exceed the maximum amount established by the
    Mandatory Arbitration System as prescribed by the Rules of
    the Illinois Supreme Court from time to time for the
    judicial circuit in which the county is located. The
    maximum monetary fine under this item (5), shall be
    exclusive of costs of enforcement or costs imposed to
    secure compliance with the county's ordinances or
    participating unit of local government's ordinances and
    shall not be applicable to cases to enforce the collection
    of any tax imposed and collected by the county or
    participating unit of local government.
    (c) Prior to conducting administrative adjudication
proceedings, administrative hearing officers shall have
successfully completed a formal training program that includes
the following:
        (1) instruction on the rules of procedure of the
    administrative hearings that they will conduct;
        (2) orientation to each subject area of the code
    violations that they will adjudicate;
        (3) observation of administrative hearings; and
        (4) participation in hypothetical cases, including
    ruling on evidence and issuing final orders.
    In addition, every administrative hearing officer must be
an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois
for at least 3 years.
    (d) A proceeding before a code hearing unit shall be
instituted upon the filing of a written pleading by an
authorized official of the county or participating unit of
local government.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43025)
    Sec. 5-43025. Administrative hearing proceedings.
    (a) Any ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall afford parties
due process of law, including notice and opportunity for
hearing. Parties shall be served with process in a manner
reasonably calculated to give them actual notice, including, as
appropriate, personal service of process upon a party or its
employees or agents; service by mail at a party's address; or
notice that is posted upon the property where the violation is
found when the party is the owner or manager of the property.
In counties with a population under 3,000,000, if the notice
requires the respondent to answer within a certain amount of
time, the county or participating unit of local government must
reply to the answer within the same amount of time afforded to
the respondent.
    (b) Parties shall be given notice of an adjudicatory
hearing that includes the type and nature of the code violation
to be adjudicated, the date and location of the adjudicatory
hearing, the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the
hearing is to be held, and the penalties for failure to appear
at the hearing.
    (c) Parties shall be provided with an opportunity for a
hearing during which they may be represented by counsel,
present witnesses, and cross-examine opposing witnesses.
Parties may request the hearing officer to issue subpoenas to
direct the attendance and testimony of relevant witnesses and
the production of relevant documents. Hearings shall be
scheduled with reasonable promptness, except that for hearings
scheduled in all non-emergency situations, if requested by the
defendant, the defendant shall have at least 15 days after
service of process to prepare for a hearing. For purposes of
this subsection (c), "non-emergency situation" means any
situation that does not reasonably constitute a threat to the
public interest, safety, or welfare. If service is provided by
mail, the 15-day period shall begin to run on the day that the
notice is deposited in the mail.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43035)
    Sec. 5-43035. Enforcement of judgment.
    (a) Any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, or part of
any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, remaining unpaid
after the exhaustion of or the failure to exhaust judicial
review procedures under the Illinois Administrative Review Law
are a debt due and owing the county for a violation of a county
ordinance, or the participating unit of local government for a
violation of a participating unit of local government's
ordinance, and may be collected in accordance with applicable
law.
    (b) After expiration of the period in which judicial review
under the Illinois Administrative Review Law may be sought for
a final determination of a code violation, unless stayed by a
court of competent jurisdiction, the findings, decision, and
order of the hearing officer may be enforced in the same manner
as a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (c) In any case in which a defendant has failed to comply
with a judgment ordering a defendant to correct a code
violation or imposing any fine or other sanction as a result of
a code violation, any expenses incurred by a county for a
violation of a county ordinance, or the participating unit of
local government for a violation of a participating unit of
local government's ordinance, to enforce the judgment,
including, but not limited to, attorney's fees, court costs,
and costs related to property demolition or foreclosure, after
they are fixed by a court of competent jurisdiction or a
hearing officer, shall be a debt due and owing the county for a
violation of a county ordinance, or the participating unit of
local government for a violation of a participating unit of
local government's ordinance, and may be collected in
accordance with applicable law. Prior to any expenses being
fixed by a hearing officer pursuant to this subsection (c), the
county for a violation of a county ordinance, or the
participating unit of local government for a violation of a
participating unit of local government's ordinance, shall
provide notice to the defendant that states that the defendant
shall appear at a hearing before the administrative hearing
officer to determine whether the defendant has failed to comply
with the judgment. The notice shall set the date for the
hearing, which shall not be less than 7 days after the date
that notice is served. If notice is served by mail, the 7-day
period shall begin to run on the date that the notice was
deposited in the mail.
    (c-5) A default in the payment of a fine or penalty or any
installment of a fine or penalty may be collected by any means
authorized for the collection of monetary judgments. The
state's attorney of the county in which the fine or penalty was
imposed may retain attorneys and private collection agents for
the purpose of collecting any default in payment of any fine or
penalty or installment of that fine or penalty. Any fees or
costs incurred by the county or participating unit of local
government with respect to attorneys or private collection
agents retained by the state's attorney under this Section
shall be charged to the offender.
    (d) Upon being recorded in the manner required by Article
XII of the Code of Civil Procedure or by the Uniform Commercial
Code, a lien shall be imposed on the real estate or personal
estate, or both, of the defendant in the amount of any debt due
and owing the county for a violation of a county ordinance, or
the participating unit of local government for a violation of a
participating unit of local government's ordinance, under this
Section. The lien may be enforced in the same manner as a
judgment lien pursuant to a judgment of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
    (e) A hearing officer may set aside any judgment entered by
default and set a new hearing date, upon a petition filed
within 21 days after the issuance of the order of default, if
the hearing officer determines that the petitioner's failure to
appear at the hearing was for good cause or at any time if the
petitioner establishes that the county for a violation of a
county ordinance, or the participating unit of local government
for a violation of a participating unit of local government's
ordinance, did not provide proper service of process. If any
judgment is set aside pursuant to this subsection (e), the
hearing officer shall have authority to enter an order
extinguishing any lien that has been recorded for any debt due
and owing the county for a violation of a county ordinance, or
the participating unit of local government for a violation of a
participating unit of local government's ordinance, as a result
of the vacated default judgment.
(Source: P.A. 99-18, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43040)
    Sec. 5-43040. Impact on existing administrative
adjudication systems. This Division does not affect the
validity of systems of administrative adjudication that were
authorized by State law, including home rule authority, and in
existence before July 29, 2010 (the effective date of Public
Act 96-1386) this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43045)
    Sec. 5-43045. Impact on home rule authority. This Division
does not preempt counties or participating units of local
government from adopting other systems of administrative
adjudication pursuant to their home rule powers.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.)