Rep. Litesa E. Wallace
Filed: 4/9/2018
 
 

 

 

 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4968 




2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4968 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 
4    "Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended  by adding 
5Section 27.2c as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 105/27.2c new)
7    Sec. 27.2c. Petition to seal eviction court file. 
8Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the clerks of the 
9circuit court shall not collect a filing fee for a petition 
10filed under subsection (d) of Section 9-121 of the Code of 
11Civil Procedure.
 
12    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended  by 
13changing Section 9-121 as follows:
 
14    (735 ILCS 5/9-121)
 
 
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1    Sec. 9-121. Sealing of court file.
2    (a)    Definition. As used in this Section, "court file"

 means 
3the court file created when an eviction

action is filed with 
4the court.
5    (b)     Discretionary sealing of court file. The court may


6order that a court file in an eviction action

be placed under 
7seal:
8        (1) if the court finds that the plaintiff's

action is 
9    sufficiently without a basis in fact or law, which

may 
10    include a lack of jurisdiction, that placing the court file


11    under seal is clearly in the interests of justice, and that


12    those interests are not outweighed by the public's interest 
13    in

knowing about the record; or .
14        (2) in settlement, by agreement of the parties or if 
15    the court finds that there is a prima facie defense to the 
16    eviction. 
17    (c)       Mandatory sealing of court file. The court file shall 
18be placed under seal if it is:
19        (1) relating to an eviction action brought against a 
20    tenant under Section 9-207.5 of this Code or as set forth 
21    in subdivision (h)(6) of Section 15-1701 of this Code; or 
22    shall be placed under seal.
23        (2) relating to an eviction action that is required to 
24    be sealed under subsection (d).
25    (d) Upon motion or petition, the court shall order the 
26sealing and impoundment of a court file for an eviction action 
 
 
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1in which the court does not find that a tenant or an occupant 
2has materially breached the lease. The records of the circuit 
3court clerk

pertaining to a court file that is ordered sealed 
4and impounded under this subsection shall be impounded until 
5further order of the court upon good cause shown and the name 
6of the petitioner obliterated on the official index required to 
7be kept by the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the 
8Clerks of Courts Act. The circuit court clerk may not collect a 
9filing fee for a petition filed under this subsection.

10(Source: P.A. 100-173, eff. 1-1-18.)".