(815 ILCS 390/22) (from Ch. 21, par. 222)
Sec. 22. Cemetery Consumer Protection Fund.
(a) Every seller engaging in pre-need sales shall
pay to the
Comptroller $5 for each said contract entered into, to be paid into a special
income earning fund hereby created in the State Treasury, known as the Cemetery
Consumer Protection Fund. The above said fees shall
be remitted to the
Comptroller semi-annually within 30 days after the end of June and December
for all contracts that have been entered in such 6 month period.
(b) All monies paid into the fund together with all accumulated
undistributed
income thereon shall be held as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
fund shall be used solely for the purpose of providing restitution to consumers
who have suffered pecuniary loss arising out of pre-need sales, to help pay expenses of cemeteries or mausoleums in court-ordered receivership, to satisfy Receiver's fees, or to administer the Comptroller's program for the purpose of cleaning up abandoned or neglected cemeteries located in Illinois.
(c) Restitution or reimbursement for pre-need merchandise or services shall not exceed the reasonable average regional cost of the contracted merchandise at current prices.
(d) Whenever restitution is paid by the fund, the fund shall be
subrogated to the amount of such restitution, and the Comptroller shall
request the Attorney General to engage in all reasonable post judgment
collection steps to collect said restitution from the judgment debtor and
reimburse the fund.
(e) (Blank).
(f) The fund may not be allocated for any purpose other than that specified
in this Act.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the payment of
restitution from the fund shall be a matter of grace and not of
right and
no purchaser shall have any vested rights in the fund as a
beneficiary or
otherwise.
Prior to seeking restitution from the fund, a purchaser
or beneficiary seeking payment of restitution shall apply
for restitution on a form provided by the Comptroller. The
form shall include any information the Comptroller may
reasonably require in order for the Comptroller to determine that
restitution or reimbursement for cemetery
merchandise or services is appropriate.
(h) Annually, the status of the fund shall be reviewed by the
Comptroller, and if she or he determines that the fund together with all
accumulated income earned thereon, equals or exceeds $10,000,000 and that
the total number of outstanding claims filed against the fund is less than
10% of the fund's current balance, then payments to the fund pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall be
suspended until such time as the fund's balance drops below $10,000,000 or
the total number of outstanding claims filed against the fund is more than
10% of the fund's current balance, but on such suspension, the fund shall
not be considered inactive.
(Source: P.A. 103-253, eff. 6-30-23.)
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