HB1569ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

Filed: 3/3/2023

10300HB1569ham001 LRB103 05936 LNS 58345 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1569

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1569 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Section 9-121 and by adding Section 9-123 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/9-121)

Sec. 9-121. Impounding Sealing of court file.

(a) Definition. As used in this Section: ,

"Court "court file" means the court file created when an eviction action is filed with the court.

"Impound" and "impoundment" have the same meaning as "impounded" under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 8, as now or hereafter amended.

"Seal" and "sealing", as previously used in this Act, have the same meaning as "impounded" under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 8, as now or hereafter amended.

(b) Discretionary sealing of court file. The court may order that a court file in an eviction action be placed under seal if the court finds that the plaintiff's action is sufficiently without a basis in fact or law, which may include a lack of jurisdiction, that placing the court file under seal is clearly in the interests of justice, or and that the interests of justice those interests are not outweighed by the public's interest in knowing about the record.

(c) Mandatory impoundment sealing of court file. The court file relating to an eviction action brought against a tenant under Section 9-207.5 of this Code or as set forth in subdivision (h)(6) of Section 15-1701 of this Code shall be impounded placed under seal.

(d) In any residential eviction filed 7 or more years prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, the court shall order the court file impounded regardless of the disposition of the case. Thereafter, the court shall undertake a yearly review of all eviction court files and order the court file impounded if the case was filed 7 years prior to that review regardless of the disposition of the case. This Section is operative on and after August 1, 2022.

(e) Except as provided in subsection (g), any person who disseminates a sealed or impounded court file under this Section, or the information contained therein, for commercial purposes shall be liable for a civil penalty of $2,000 or twice the actual and consequential damages sustained, whichever is greater, as well as the costs of the action, including reasonable attorney's fees. A landlord providing or receiving an individual reference about a prospective tenant is not considered a commercial purpose and is not subject to the penalty identified in this subsection.

(f) The Attorney General may enforce a violation of this Section as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and authority granted to the Attorney General by the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be available to the Attorney General for the enforcement of this Section.

(g) Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord from receiving a reference from a previous landlord of a prospective tenant. Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord form providing a reference for a previous or current tenant to a prospective landlord of that tenant.

(Source: P.A. 102-5, eff. 5-17-21.)

(735 ILCS 5/9-123 new)

Sec. 9-123. Notice and dismissal for failure to prosecute after 365 days.

(a) If, at any time after the filing of an eviction action, the plaintiff has not further prosecuted the case for a period of 365 days, the court shall send to the parties written notice:

(1) informing the parties of the date of the most recent action taken by the plaintiff in the case; and

(2) directing the plaintiff to take one of the following actions not later than 10 business days after the date of the notice:

(A) further prosecute the case; or

(B) dismiss the case.

(b) If the plaintiff fails to take an action described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) within the time prescribed by paragraph (2) of subsection (a):

(1) the defendant in the eviction action may file a motion with the court to dismiss the case; or

(2) the court, on the court's own motion, may dismiss the case.

If the court dismisses the case under this subsection on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, the court, in conjunction with its order of dismissal, shall issue an order impounding the court file in accordance with paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 9-121 without further motion of the defendant.

(c) The form of the notice described in subsection (a) may be developed by each judicial circuit in accordance with its practice or the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts may develop a standardized form.

(d) A judicial circuit, in its discretionary control over its records, may adopt a rule to follow this procedure in a shorter amount of time than 365 days.

Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2z.6 as follows:

(815 ILCS 505/2z.6 new)

Sec. 2z.6. Dissemination of a sealed or impounded court file. A private entity or person that violates Section 9-121 of the Code of Civil Procedure commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.".