103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1505

 

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
715 ILCS 5/2.2 new
715 ILCS 5/3.1  from Ch. 100, par. 3.1
715 ILCS 5/5  from Ch. 100, par. 5
715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.
715 ILCS 10/1  from Ch. 100, par. 10
715 ILCS 10/2  from Ch. 100, par. 10.1

    Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that, whenever a municipality, township, or road district with a population of 1,000,000 or less is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the municipality, township, or road district may publish the notice on an official municipal, township, or road district website instead of in a newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal, township, or road district website is also published electronically on a searchable online database website and that website provides independent certification of the publication. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the searchable online database website. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.


LRB103 25460 LNS 51809 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1505LRB103 25460 LNS 51809 b

1    AN ACT concerning notices.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3.1 and 5 and by adding Section 2.2 as
6follows:
 
7    (715 ILCS 5/2.2 new)
8    Sec. 2.2. Municipal electronic publication.
9    (a) Whenever a municipality, township, or road district is
10required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by
11law, order of court, or contract, the municipality, township,
12or road district may publish the notice on an official
13municipal, township, or road district website instead of in a
14newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal,
15township, or road district website is also published
16electronically on a searchable online database website and
17that website provides independent certification of the
18publication.
19    (b) The municipality, township, or road district or the
20host of the website may enter into a service-level agreement
21with an Internet service provider that guarantees the site is
22accessible to the public over the Internet at least 98% of the
23time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

 

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1    (c) The official municipal, township, or road district
2website shall display a link to the searchable online database
3website, which shall contain a list of all current legal
4notices of the municipality, township, or road district, with
5links to or the full text of those notices. The website shall
6contain a search function or other features that improve
7public accessibility to the notices.
8    (d) Whenever an individual is unable to access an
9electronic publication of a notice, the issuing municipality,
10township, or road district shall provide a copy of the notice
11to the individual free of charge at the principal office of the
12municipality, township, or road district.
13    (e) Notices shall remain available on the website at least
14until the last posting date required by law has expired or
15until the event described in a notice has taken place,
16whichever is later.
17    (f) Independent certification of the electronic
18publication shall include a certificate stating the title of
19the notice, the exact day, date, and time of the notice's
20publication, the website address of the searchable online
21database where the notice and archived notices may be accessed
22by the public, and other information as may be available.
23    (g) For purposes of this Section, a searchable online
24database website may be operated or managed by a statewide
25organization of municipalities as authorized by Section 1-8-1
26of the Illinois Municipal Code or townships as authorized by

 

 

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1Section 85-15 of the Township Code at no additional cost to the
2municipality, township, or road district to publish notices
3thereon.
4    (h) This Section does not apply to a municipality with a
5population greater than 1,000,000.
 
6    (715 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
7    Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of
8court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
9notice shall include the printing of such notice in the total
10circulation of each edition on the date of publication of the
11newspaper in which the notice is published; and the newspaper
12publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to
13government, cause the notice to be placed on the statewide
14website established and maintained as a joint venture of the
15majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such
16notices. All notices required for publication by this Act
17shall remain legal and valid for all purposes when any error
18that occurs pursuant to the requirements of this Section for
19placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
20of the printer.
21(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
22    (715 ILCS 5/5)  (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
23    Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
24be published only in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly

 

 

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1provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
2secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
3city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized
4by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county.
5If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the
6city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
7newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
8adjoining county having general circulation within the city or
9town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
10term "newspaper" means a newspaper
11    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
12matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
13matter per page; and
14    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
15conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
16as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
17    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
18issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
19of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
20the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
21advertising; and
22    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
23other announcements and notices, and news and information
24concerning current happenings and passing events of a
25political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
26nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and

 

 

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1    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
2intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
3issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
4publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
5newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
6publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
7consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
8of two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
9published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
10a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to
11the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
12considered as continuously or regularly published although its
13publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
14caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
15owner, publisher, managing editor or other essential employee
16entering the active military service of the United States, if
17the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
18least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
19is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
20or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
21within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
22or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months
23after the termination of the war in connection with which such
24persons entered such military service; and
25    (f) (blank). which has the capability of placing notices
26required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the

 

 

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1statewide website as required by Section 2.1.
2(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
3    (715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.)
4    Section 10. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
5repealing Section 2.1.
 
6    Section 15. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by
7changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 
8    (715 ILCS 10/1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
9    Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
10notice or publication shall be published only in a newspaper
11in this State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper
12    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
13matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
14matter per page; and
15    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
16conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
17as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
18    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
19issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
20of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
21the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
22advertising; and
23    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or

 

 

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1other announcements and notices, and news and information
2concerning current happenings and passing events of a
3political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
4nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
5    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
6intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
7issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
8publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
9newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
10publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
11consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
12of two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
13published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
14a minimum of 50 issues per year for at least one year prior to
15the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
16considered as continuously or regularly published although its
17publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
18caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
19owner, publisher, managing editor or other essential employee
20entering the active military service of the United States, if
21the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
22least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
23is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
24or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
25within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
26or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months

 

 

HB1505- 8 -LRB103 25460 LNS 51809 b

1after the termination of the war in connection with which such
2persons entered such military service; and
3    (f) (blank). which has the capability of placing, at no
4additional cost to government, notices required pursuant to
5this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website
6established and maintained as a joint venture by the majority
7of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.
8(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
9    (715 ILCS 10/2)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
10    Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
11published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
12printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
13edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
14the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
15notice shall, at no additional cost to government, cause the
16notice to be placed on the statewide website established and
17maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
18newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
19required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
20valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
21the requirements of this Section in the requirement for
22placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
23of the printer.
24(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.