50 ILCS 50/30

(50 ILCS 50/30)

Sec. 30. Assessments constitute a lien; billing and collecting.

(a) An assessment contract shall be recorded with the county in which the PACE area is located. An assessment imposed under a property assessed clean energy program pursuant to an assessment contract, including any interest on the assessment and any penalty, shall, upon recording of the assessment contract in the county in which the PACE area is located, constitute a lien against the property on which the assessment is imposed until the assessment, including any interest or penalty, is paid in full. The lien of the assessment contract shall run with the property until the assessment is paid in full and a satisfaction or release for the same has been recorded by the governmental unit or its program administrator or program administrators and shall have the same lien priority and status as other property tax and special assessment liens as provided in the Property Tax Code. The governmental unit (or any permitted assignee) shall have all rights and remedies in the case of default or delinquency in the payment of an assessment as it does with respect to delinquent property taxes and other delinquent special assessments as set forth in Article 9 of the Illinois Municipal Code, including the lien, sale, and foreclosure remedies described in that Article. When the assessment, including any interest and penalty, is paid in full, the lien shall be removed and released from the property.

(a-5) The assessment shall be imposed by the governmental unit against each lot, block, tract, and parcel of land set forth in the assessment contract.

(b) (Blank).

(b-5) Assessments created under this Act may be billed and collected as follows:

(1) A county which has established a program may include assessments in the regular property tax bills of the county. The county collector of the county in which a PACE area is located may bill and collect assessments with the regular property tax bills of the county if requested by a municipality within its jurisdiction; no municipality is required to make such a request of its county collector. If the county collector agrees to bill and collect assessments with the regular property tax bills of the county, then the applicable assessment contract shall be filed with the county collector and the annual amount due as set forth in an assessment contract shall become due in installments at the times property taxes shall become due in accordance with each regular property tax bill payable during the year in which such assessment comes due;

(2) If the county collector does not agree to bill and collect assessments with the regular property tax bills of the county or the governmental unit in which the PACE area is located declines to request the county collector to do so, then the governmental unit shall bill and collect the assessments, either directly or as permitted in paragraph (3) of this subsection, and the annual amount due as set forth in an assessment contract shall become due in installments on or about the times property taxes would otherwise become due in accordance with each regular property tax bill payable during the year in which such assessment comes due; or

(3) If a governmental unit is billing and collecting assessments pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, assessment installments may be billed and collected by the governmental unit's program administrator or program administrators or another third party.

The assessment installments for assessments billed as provided for under any paragraph of this subsection shall be payable at the times and in the manner as set forth in the applicable bill.

(c) If a governmental unit, a program administrator, or another third party is billing and collecting assessments pursuant to subsection (b-5), and the applicable assessment becomes delinquent during any year, the applicable collector shall, on or before the date in such year required by the county in which the PACE area is located, make a report in writing to the general office of the county in which the applicable property subject to the assessment is situated and authorized by the general revenue laws of this State to apply for judgment and sell lands for taxes due the county and the State, of the assessments or installments thereof the applicable collector has billed for and not received as required under the applicable bill, including any interest or penalties that may be due as set forth in the applicable assessment contract. This report shall be certified by the applicable collector and shall include statements that (i) the report contains true and correct list of delinquent assessments that the collector has not received as required by the applicable bill and (ii) an itemization of the amount of the delinquent assessment, including interest and penalties, if applicable. The report of the applicable collector, when so made, shall be prima facie evidence that all requirements of the law in relation to making the report have been complied with and that the assessments or the matured installments thereof, and the interest thereon, and the interest accrued on installments not yet matured, mentioned in the report, are due and unpaid. Upon proper filing of such report, at the direction of the governmental unit or its permitted assignee, the county collector shall enforce the collection of the assessments in the manner provided by law.

(d) Payment received by mail and postmarked on or before the required due date is not delinquent. From and after the due date of any installment of an assessment, an additional rate of interest of 1 1/2% per month may be imposed with respect to the delinquent amount of such installment, which shall be payable to the applicable governmental unit or other permitted assignee as set forth in the applicable bill.

(Source: P.A. 100-77, eff. 8-11-17; 100-980, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-169, eff. 7-29-19.)