Full Text of HB2832 98th General Assembly
HB2832eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning local government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section | 5 | | 3-5010.5 as follows: | 6 | | (55 ILCS 5/3-5010.5 new) | 7 | | Sec. 3-5010.5. Fraud referral and review. | 8 | | (a) Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that | 9 | | property fraud, including fraudulent filings intended to cloud | 10 | | or fraudulently transfer title to property by recording false | 11 | | or altered documents and deeds, is a rapidly growing problem | 12 | | throughout the State. In order to combat the increase in the | 13 | | number of these filings, a recorder may establish a process to | 14 | | review and refer documents suspected to be fraudulent. | 15 | | (b) Definitions. The terms "recording" and "filing" are | 16 | | used interchangeably in this Section. | 17 | | (c) Establishment and use of a fraud referral and review | 18 | | process. A recorder who establishes a fraud referral and review | 19 | | process under the provisions of this Section may use it to | 20 | | review deeds and instruments and refer any of them to an | 21 | | administrative law judge for review pursuant to subsection (g) | 22 | | of this Section that cause the recorder to reasonably believe | 23 | | that the filing may be fraudulent, unlawfully altered, or |
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| 1 | | intended to unlawfully cloud or transfer the title of any real | 2 | | property. The recorder may enter into an intergovernmental | 3 | | agreement with local law enforcement officials for the purposes | 4 | | of this referral and review. A recorder may request that the | 5 | | Secretary of the Department of Financial and Professional | 6 | | Regulation assist in reviewing possible fraudulent filings. | 7 | | Upon request, the Secretary, or his or her designee, shall | 8 | | assist in identifying the validity of filings. The recorder | 9 | | shall notify the Secretary when a document suspected to be | 10 | | fraudulent is discovered. | 11 | | In counties with a population of less than 3 million, a | 12 | | recorder shall provide public notice 90 days before the | 13 | | establishment of the fraud referral and review process. The | 14 | | notice shall include a statement of the recorder's intent to | 15 | | create a fraud referral and review process and shall be | 16 | | published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county | 17 | | and, if feasible, posted on the recorder's website and at the | 18 | | recorder's office or offices. | 19 | | In determining whether to refer a document to an | 20 | | administrative law judge for review, a recorder may take into | 21 | | consideration any of the following factors: | 22 | | (1) whether the owner of the property or his or her | 23 | | designated representative has reported to the recorder | 24 | | that another individual is attempting or has attempted to | 25 | | record a fraudulent deed or other instrument upon the | 26 | | property; |
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| 1 | | (2) whether a law enforcement official has contacted | 2 | | the recorder indicating that he or she has probable cause | 3 | | to suspect title or recording fraud; | 4 | | (3) whether the filer's name has a copyright attached | 5 | | to it or the property owner's name has nonstandard | 6 | | punctuation attached to it; | 7 | | (4) whether the documents assert fines that do not | 8 | | exist or have no basis under current law or that require | 9 | | payment in gold or silver; | 10 | | (5) whether the documents are maritime liens, or liens | 11 | | under the Federal Maritime Lien Act or the Preferred Ship | 12 | | Mortgage Act, or not authorized by the United States Coast | 13 | | Guard; | 14 | | (6) whether the documents are land patents not | 15 | | authorized and certified by the United States Department of | 16 | | the Interior Bureau of Land Management; | 17 | | (7) whether the documents are representing that the | 18 | | subject of the lien is releasing itself from a lien held by | 19 | | another entity, with no apparent cooperation or | 20 | | authorization provided by the lienholder; | 21 | | (8) whether the documents are protesting or disputing a | 22 | | foreclosure proceeding that are not filed within the | 23 | | foreclosure suit and with the court presiding over the | 24 | | matter; | 25 | | (9) whether the documents are Uniform Commercial Code | 26 | | filings referencing birth certificates or other private |
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| 1 | | records that are not in compliance with Section 9-501 of | 2 | | the Uniform Commercial Code; | 3 | | (10) whether the documents are re-recording deeds to | 4 | | re-notarize or attach notary certification if prior | 5 | | notarization already appears unaltered on the document of | 6 | | record; | 7 | | (11) whether the documents are asserting diplomatic | 8 | | credentials or immunity, non-United States citizenship, or | 9 | | independence from the laws of the United States; | 10 | | (12) whether the documents are claims that a bank | 11 | | cannot hold title after a foreclosure; | 12 | | (13) whether the documents are deeds not properly | 13 | | signed by the last legal owner of record or his or her
| 14 | | court appointed representative or attorney-in-fact under a | 15 | | power of attorney; | 16 | | (14) whether the documents are manipulated or altered | 17 | | federal or State legal or court forms that release a lien; | 18 | | (15) whether a document is not related to a valid | 19 | | existing or potential adverse transaction, existing lien, | 20 | | or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction; | 21 | | (16) a document that is not related to a valid existing | 22 | | or potential commercial or financial transaction, existing | 23 | | agricultural or other lien, or judgment of a court of | 24 | | competent jurisdiction; | 25 | | (17) whether the document is filed with the intent to | 26 | | harass or defraud the person identified in the record or |
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| 1 | | any other person; | 2 | | (18) whether the document is filed with the intent to | 3 | | harass or defraud any member of a governmental office, | 4 | | including, but not limited to, the recorder's office, local | 5 | | government offices, the State of Illinois, or the Federal | 6 | | government; and | 7 | | (19) whether the documents are previous court | 8 | | determinations, including a previous determination by a | 9 | | court of competent jurisdiction that a particular document | 10 | | is fraudulent, invalid, or forged. | 11 | | (d) Determinations. If a recorder determines, after review | 12 | | by legal staff and counsel, that a deed or instrument may be | 13 | | fraudulent, unlawfully altered, or intended to unlawfully | 14 | | cloud or transfer the title of any real property, he or she | 15 | | shall refer the deed or instrument to an administrative law | 16 | | judge for review pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section. | 17 | | The recorder shall place a Notice of Referral in his or her | 18 | | Property Index identifying the document, corresponding | 19 | | document number in question, and the date of referral. The | 20 | | recorder shall also notify the parties set forth in subsection | 21 | | (e) of this Section. The recorder may, at his or her | 22 | | discretion, notify law enforcement officials regarding a | 23 | | filing determined to be fraudulent, unlawfully altered, or | 24 | | intended to unlawfully cloud or transfer the title of any real | 25 | | property. | 26 | | (e) Notice. The recorder shall use county property tax |
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| 1 | | records to identify and provide notice to the last owner of | 2 | | record by telephone, if available, and certified mail both | 3 | | when: (1) a deed or instrument has been referred for review and | 4 | | determination; and (2) a final determination has been made | 5 | | regarding the deed or instrument. | 6 | | (f) Administrative decision. The recorder's decision to | 7 | | add a Notice of Referral and refer a document for review is a | 8 | | final administrative decision that is subject to review by the | 9 | | circuit court of the county where the real property is located | 10 | | under the Administrative Review Law. The standard of review by | 11 | | the circuit court shall be de novo. | 12 | | (g) Referral and review process. The recorder shall bring a | 13 | | case to its county department of administrative hearings and, | 14 | | within 10 business days after receipt, an administrative law | 15 | | judge shall schedule a hearing to occur no later than 30 days | 16 | | after receiving the referral. Notice of the hearing shall be | 17 | | provided by the administrative law judge to the filer, or the | 18 | | party represented by the filer, of the suspected fraudulent | 19 | | document, the legal representative of the recorder of deeds who | 20 | | referred the case, and the last owner of record, as identified | 21 | | in the referral. | 22 | | If a preponderance of the evidence shows the document in | 23 | | question to be fraudulent, the administrative law judge shall | 24 | | rule the document to be fraudulent and forward the judgment to | 25 | | all the parties identified in this subsection. Upon receiving | 26 | | notice of the judgment of fraud, the recorder shall, within 5 |
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| 1 | | business days, record a new document that includes a copy of | 2 | | the judgment in front of the Notice of Referral that shall | 3 | | clearly state that the document in question has been found to | 4 | | be fraudulent and shall not be considered to affect the chain | 5 | | of title of the property in any way. | 6 | | If the administrative law judge finds the document to be | 7 | | legitimate, the recorder shall, within 5 business days after | 8 | | receiving notice, record a copy of the judgment. | 9 | | A decision by an administrative law judge shall not | 10 | | preclude a State's attorney or sheriff from proceeding with a | 11 | | criminal investigation or criminal charges. If a county does | 12 | | not have an administrative law judge that specializes in public | 13 | | records, one shall be appointed within 3 months after the | 14 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General | 15 | | Assembly, or the original case shall be forwarded to the proper | 16 | | circuit court with jurisdiction. | 17 | | (h) Fees. The recorder shall retain any filing fees | 18 | | associated with filing a deed or instrument that is determined | 19 | | to be fraudulent, unlawfully altered, or intended to unlawfully | 20 | | cloud or transfer the title of any real property under this | 21 | | Section. | 22 | | (i) Liability. Neither a recorder nor any of his or her | 23 | | employees or agents shall be subject to personal liability by | 24 | | reason of any error or omission in the performance of any duty | 25 | | under this Section, except in case of willful or wanton | 26 | | conduct. Neither the recorder nor any of his or her employees |
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| 1 | | shall incur liability for the referral or review, or failure to | 2 | | refer or review, a document or instrument under this Section. | 3 | | (j) Applicability. This Section applies only to filings | 4 | | provided to the recorder on and after the effective date of | 5 | | this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. | 6 | | (k) This Section is repealed June 1, 2018.
| 7 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 | | becoming law.
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