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| 1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | changing Sections 4.5 and 8a as follows:
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| 6 | (225 ILCS 425/4.5)
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| 7 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
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| 8 | Sec. 4.5. Unlicensed practice; violation; civil penalty.
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| 9 | (a) Any person who practices, offers to practice, attempts | ||||||
| 10 | to practice, or
holds oneself out to practice as a collection | ||||||
| 11 | agency without being licensed
under this Act shall, in
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| 12 | addition to any other penalty provided by law, pay a civil | ||||||
| 13 | penalty to the
Department in an amount not to exceed $10,000 | ||||||
| 14 | for each offense as determined by
the Department. The civil | ||||||
| 15 | penalty shall be assessed by the Department after a
hearing is | ||||||
| 16 | held in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Act
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| 17 | regarding the provision of a hearing for the discipline of a | ||||||
| 18 | licensee.
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| 19 | (b) The Department has the authority and power to | ||||||
| 20 | investigate any and all
unlicensed activity. In addition to | ||||||
| 21 | taking any other action provided under this Act, whenever the | ||||||
| 22 | Department has reason to believe a person has violated any | ||||||
| 23 | provision of subsection (a) of this Section, the Department | ||||||
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| 1 | may issue a rule to show cause why an order to cease and desist | ||||||
| 2 | should not be entered against that person. The rule shall | ||||||
| 3 | clearly set forth the grounds relied upon by the Department | ||||||
| 4 | and shall provide a period of 7 days from the date of the rule | ||||||
| 5 | to file an answer to the satisfaction of the Department. | ||||||
| 6 | Failure to answer to the satisfaction of the Department shall | ||||||
| 7 | cause an order to cease and desist to be issued immediately.
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| 8 | (c) The civil penalty shall be paid within 60 days after | ||||||
| 9 | the effective date
of the order imposing the civil penalty. | ||||||
| 10 | The order shall constitute a judgment
and may be filed and | ||||||
| 11 | execution had thereon in the same manner as any judgment
from | ||||||
| 12 | any court of record.
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| 13 | (d) All moneys collected under this Section shall be | ||||||
| 14 | deposited into the Financial Institution General Professions | ||||||
| 15 | Dedicated Fund. | ||||||
| 16 | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
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| 17 | (225 ILCS 425/8a) (from Ch. 111, par. 2011a)
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| 18 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
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| 19 | Sec. 8a. Fees. | ||||||
| 20 | (a) The
fees for the administration and enforcement of | ||||||
| 21 | this Act, including but not
limited to original licensure, | ||||||
| 22 | renewal, and restoration, shall be set by the Department by | ||||||
| 23 | rule. All fees are
nonrefundable.
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| 24 | (b) All fees collected under this Act by the Department | ||||||
| 25 | shall be deposited into the Financial Institution General
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| 1 | Professions Dedicated Fund and shall be appropriated to the | ||||||
| 2 | Department for the
ordinary and contingent expenses of the | ||||||
| 3 | Department in the administration of
this Act. After the | ||||||
| 4 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General | ||||||
| 5 | Assembly, the Department may transfer any fees collected under | ||||||
| 6 | this Act from the General Professions Dedicated Fund to the | ||||||
| 7 | Financial Institution Fund.
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| 8 | (c) The administration fee charged by the multi-state | ||||||
| 9 | licensing system shall be paid directly to the multi-state | ||||||
| 10 | licensing system. | ||||||
| 11 | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15; 100-132, eff. 8-18-17.)
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| 12 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 13 | becoming law. | ||||||