Public Act 103-0514
 
HB0219 EnrolledLRB103 03743 LNS 48749 b


  
    AN ACT concerning civil law.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The Wrongful Death Act is amended  by changing 
Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 



    (740 ILCS 180/1)  (from Ch. 70, par. 1)




    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7, 
which has been held
unconstitutional)

    Sec. 1. 
Whenever the death of a person shall be caused
by 
wrongful act, neglect or default, and the act, neglect or 
default is
such as would, if death had not ensued, have 
entitled the party injured to
maintain an action and recover 
damages, including punitive damages when applicable, in 
respect thereof, then and in
every such case the person who or 
company or corporation which would have
been liable if death 
had not ensued, shall be liable to an action for
damages, 
including punitive damages when applicable, notwithstanding 
the death of the person injured, and although the
death shall 
have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to

felony. Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of 
Section 2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 
or 2-213 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees 
Tort Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an 
action for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in 
an action against the State or unit of local government or an 
employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local 
government in his or her official capacity. The changes made 
to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General 
Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. 

(Source: Laws 1853, p. 97.)

 


    (740 ILCS 180/2)  (from Ch. 70, par. 2)




    Sec. 2. (a) Every such action shall be brought by and in 
the names of
the personal representatives of such deceased 
person, and, except as
otherwise hereinafter provided, the 
amount recovered in every such
action shall be for the 
exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and
next of kin of 
such deceased person.  In  every such action the jury
may give 
such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation

with reference to the pecuniary
injuries resulting from such 
death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental 
suffering, and punitive damages when applicable, to
the 
surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person. 
Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of Section 
2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213 
of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort 
Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an action 
for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an 
action against the State or unit of local government or an 
employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local 
government in his or her official capacity. The changes made 
to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General 
Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. 


    (b) The amount recovered in any such action shall be 
distributed by the
court in which the cause is heard or, in the 
case of an agreed
settlement, by the circuit court, to each of 
the surviving spouse and
next of kin of such deceased person in 
the proportion, as determined by
the court, that the 
percentage of dependency of each such person upon
the deceased 
person bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of
all 
such persons upon the deceased person.

    (c) Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or 
next of kin
entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject 
to the following
limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit 
of the following persons, or
any one or more of them:

        (1) to the person or persons furnishing 
    hospitalization or hospital
services in connection with 
    the last illness or injury of the deceased
person, not 
    exceeding $450;

        (2) to the person or persons furnishing medical or 
    surgical services
in connection with such last illness or 
    injury, not exceeding $450;

        (3) to the personal representatives, as such, for the 
    costs and
expenses of administering the estate and 
    prosecuting or compromising the
action, including a 
    reasonable attorney's fee. In any such case the
measure of 
    damages to be recovered shall be the total of the 
    reasonable
value of such hospitalization or hospital 
    service, medical and surgical
services, funeral expenses, 
    and such costs and expenses of
administration, including 
    attorney fees, not exceeding the foregoing
limitations for 
    each class of such expenses and not exceeding $900 plus
a 
    reasonable attorney's fee.

    (d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this 
Section, every such action shall be commenced within 2 years 
after the death
of such person but an action against a 
defendant arising from a crime committed
by the defendant in 
whose name an escrow account was established under the

"Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced 
within 2 years
after the establishment of such account.
    (e) An action may be brought within 5 years after the date 
of the death if the death is the result of violent intentional 
conduct or within one year after the final disposition of the 
criminal case if the defendant is charged with:
        (1) first degree murder under Section 9-1 of the 
    Criminal Code of 2012;
        (2) intentional homicide of an unborn child under 
    Section 9-1.2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
        (3) second degree murder under Section 9-2 of the 
    Criminal Code of 2012;
        (4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child under 
    Section 9-2.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
        (5) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide 
    under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
        (6) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide of 
    an unborn child under Section 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code 
    of 2012; or
        (7) drug-induced homicide under Section 9-3.3 of the 
    Criminal Code of 2012.
    This subsection extends the statute of limitations only 
against the individual who allegedly committed a violent 
intentional act or was the defendant charged with a crime 
listed in this subsection.  It does not extend the statute of 
limitations against any other person or entity. The changes to 
this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General 
Assembly apply to causes of action arising on or after the 
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General 
Assembly.
    (f) For the purposes of this Section
2, next of kin 
includes
an adopting parent and an adopted child, and they 
shall be treated as a
natural parent and a natural child, 
respectively. However, if a person
entitled to recover 
benefits under this Act, is, at the time the cause
of action 
accrued, within the age of 18 years, he or she may cause such

action to be brought within 2 years after attainment of the age 
of 18.

    (g) In any such action to recover damages, it
shall not be 
a defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by
the 
contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on

behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of
damages 
given shall
be reduced in the following manner.

    (h) The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's

contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and 
2-1107.1 of the Code
of Civil Procedure.  Recovery of damages 
shall be barred or diminished
accordingly. The trier of fact 
shall then determine the contributory fault, if
any, of each 
beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:

        (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the 
    contributory fault of a
beneficiary on whose behalf the 
    action is brought is
not more than 50% of the proximate 
    cause of the wrongful death of the
decedent, then the 
    damages allowed to that beneficiary shall be
diminished in 
    proportion to the
contributory fault attributed to that 
    beneficiary.  The amount of the reduction
shall not be

    payable by any defendant.

        (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the 
    contributory fault of a
beneficiary on whose behalf the 
    action is brought is
more than 50% of the proximate cause 
    of the wrongful death of the decedent,
then the 
    beneficiary shall be barred from recovering damages and 
    the amount of
damages which would have been payable to 
    that beneficiary, but for the
beneficiary's contributory 
    fault, shall not inure to the benefit of the
remaining 
    beneficiaries and shall not be payable by any defendant.

    (i) The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine 
the degree of
dependency of each beneficiary upon the 
decedent.  The trial judge shall
calculate the amount of 
damages to be awarded each beneficiary, taking into
account 
any reduction arising from either the decedent's or the 
beneficiary's
contributory fault.

    (j) This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly 
applies to all actions
pending
on or filed after the effective 
date of this amendatory Act.

    (k) This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly 
applies to causes of actions accruing on or  after its 
effective date.
(Source: P.A. 99-587, eff. 1-1-17.)

 
    Section 10. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended  by changing 
Section 27-6 as follows:
 



    (755 ILCS 5/27-6)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 27-6)



    Sec. 27-6. 
Actions which survive.)  In addition to the 
actions which survive
by the common law, the following also 
survive:  actions of replevin,
actions to recover damages, 
including punitive damages when applicable, for an injury to 
the person (except slander
and libel), actions to recover 
damages for an injury to real or personal property
or for the 
detention or conversion of personal property, actions against 
officers
for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of 
themselves or their deputies,
actions for fraud or deceit, and 
actions provided in Section 6-21 of the Liquor Control Act of 
1934
"An Act relating to alcoholic liquors". Nothing in this 
Section affects the applicability of Section 2-1115 of the 
Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213 of the Local 
Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. 
Punitive damages are not available in an action for healing 
art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an action against 
the State or unit of local government or an employee of the 
State or an employee of a unit of local government in his or 
her official capacity. 

(Source: P.A. 82-783.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law. 
  

Effective Date:  8/11/2023