Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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65 ILCS 5/11-139-8

(65 ILCS 5/11-139-8) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-139-8)

Sec. 11-139-8.

The corporate authorities of any municipality availing
itself of this Division 139 may (1) make, enact, and enforce all needful
rules and regulations for the acquisition, construction, extension,
improvement, management, and maintenance of the combined waterworks and
sewerage system of the municipality and for the use thereof, (2) make,
enact, and enforce all needful rules, regulations, and ordinances for the
care and protection of such a system, which may be conducive to the
preservation of the public health, comfort, and convenience and to
rendering the water supply of the municipality pure and the sewerage
harmless insofar as it is reasonably possible to do so, and (3) charge the
inhabitants thereof a reasonable compensation for the use and service of
the combined waterworks and sewerage system and to establish rates for that
purpose. Separate rates may be fixed for the water and sewer services
respectively or single rates may be fixed for the combined water and sewer
services. Separate rates may be fixed for any water services to any other
municipality and separate sewer rates to any industrial establishment for
the purposes set forth in Section 11-139-2. These rates, whether separate
or combined, shall be sufficient at all times to (1) pay the cost of
operation and maintenance of the combined waterworks and sewerage system,
(2) provide an adequate depreciation fund, and (3) pay the principal of and
interest upon all revenue bonds issued under this Division. Rates shall be
established, revised, and maintained by ordinance and become payable as the
corporate authorities may determine by ordinance.

Whenever a municipality shall issue revenue bonds as provided by this
Division to pay the cost of the extension or improvement of its combined
waterworks and sewerage system or any part thereof to serve a particular
area of the municipality, the municipality may vary its rates to be charged
for the water and sewer services of the system or for either of them
effective upon the issuance of bonds as provided by this division to pay
the cost of the extension or improvement of its combined waterworks or
sewerage system or any part thereof to serve a particular area of a
municipality so that the rates to be charged for services in the particular
area to be served by such extension or improvement shall be calculated to
produce, in addition to the revenues generally to be produced by such
rates, sufficient funds to pay the principal of and interest upon the
revenue bonds issued to pay the cost of such extension or improvement for
that particular area.

Such charges or rates are liens upon the real estate upon or for which
service is supplied whenever the charges or rates become delinquent as
provided by the ordinance of the municipality fixing a delinquency date;
except the charges or rates established by contract for the supply of water
to another municipality. A lien is created under the preceding sentence only if
the municipality sends to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as
referenced by the taxpayer's identification number,  (i) a copy of each
delinquency notice sent to the person who is delinquent in paying the charges
or rates or other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners of record, as
referenced by the taxpayer's identification number,  that the charges or rates
have become delinquent and (ii) a notice that unpaid charges or rates may
create a lien on the real estate under this Section. However, the municipality
has no preference over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee, judgment
creditor, or other lien holder arising prior to the filing of the notice of
such a lien in the office of the recorder of the county in which such real
estate is located, or in the office of the registrar of titles of such county
if the property affected is registered under "An Act concerning land titles",
approved May 1, 1897, as amended. This notice shall consist of a sworn
statement setting out (1) a description of such real
estate sufficient for the identification thereof, (2) the amount of money
due for such service, and (3) the date when such amount became delinquent.
The municipality shall send a copy of the notice of the lien to the owner or owners of
record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification
number. The municipality has the power to foreclose this lien in the same
manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real
estate.

The municipality also has the power, from time to time, to sue the
occupant or user of the real estate in a civil action to recover the money
due for services rendered, plus a reasonable attorney's fee, to be fixed by
the court. Whenever a judgment is entered in such a civil action the
foregoing provisions in this section with respect to filing sworn
statements of such delinquencies in the office of the recorder and
creating a lien against the real estate shall not be effective thereafter
as to charges sued upon and no lien shall exist thereafter against the real
estate for the delinquency. Judgment in such a civil action operates as a
release and waiver of the lien for the amount of the judgment.

(Source: P.A. 87-1197.)