225 ILCS 429/103

(225 ILCS 429/103)

Sec. 103. Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Fund.

(a) A special income-earning fund is hereby created in the State Treasury, known as the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Fund. This Fund is not subject to appropriation by the Illinois General Assembly.

(b) All moneys paid into the Fund together with all accumulated, undistributed income thereon shall be held as a special Fund in the State Treasury. All interest earned on the Fund is non-distributable and shall be returned to the Fund, and shall be invested and re-invested in the Fund by the Treasurer or his or her designee. The Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of providing restitution to consumers who have suffered monetary loss arising out of a transaction regulated by this Act.

(c) The Fund shall be applied only to restitution when restitution has been ordered by the Secretary. Restitution shall not exceed the amount actually lost by the consumer. The Fund shall not be used for the payment of any attorney or other fees.

(d) The Fund shall be subrogated to the amount of the restitution, and the Secretary shall request the Attorney General to engage in all reasonable collection steps to collect restitution from the party responsible for the loss and reimburse the Fund.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section, the payment of restitution from the Fund shall be a matter of grace and not right, and no consumer shall have any vested rights in the Fund as a beneficiary or otherwise. Before seeking restitution from the Fund, the consumer or beneficiary seeking payment of restitution shall apply for restitution on a form provided by the Secretary. The form shall include any information the Secretary may reasonably require in order to determine that restitution is appropriate. All documentation required by the Secretary, including the form, is subject to audit. Distributions from the Fund shall be made solely at the discretion of the Secretary, except that no payments or distributions may be made under any circumstance if the Fund is depleted.

(f) All deposits to this Fund shall be made pursuant to Section 83 of this Act.

(g) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the Fund is not subject to administrative charges or charge-backs that would in any way transfer moneys from the Fund into any other fund of the State.

(Source: P.A. 96-1420, eff. 8-3-10.)