(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-41 heading) Division 5-41.
Administrative Adjudication of
Ordinance Violations
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41003) Sec. 5-41003. Applicability. This Division 5-41 applies to all counties except for the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
(Source: P.A. 96-1386, eff. 7-29-10.) |
(55 ILCS 5/5-41005)
Sec. 5-41005.
Definitions.
In this Division 5-41, unless the context
requires otherwise:
"Code" means any county ordinance that pertains to or regulates
any of the following:
animal
control; the definition, identification, and abatement of public nuisances; the
accumulation, disposal, and transportation of garbage, refuse, and other forms
of solid waste; the construction and maintenance of buildings and structures;
sanitation practices; or zoning.
"Code enforcement officer" means a county employee authorized to issue
citations for county code violations and to conduct inspections of public or
private real property to determine whether code violations exist.
However, nothing in this Division 5-41 shall be construed to allow for
administrative adjudication of an ordinance violation in the case where a State
statute or administrative rule provides for a specific method or procedure to
be followed, other than administrative adjudication, in enforcing a county
ordinance.
"Hearing officer" means a person other than a code enforcement officer
or
law enforcement officer having the following powers and duties:
(1) To preside at an administrative hearing called to | ||
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(2) To hear testimony and accept evidence from the | ||
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(3) To preserve and authenticate the record of the | ||
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(4) To issue and sign written findings and a decision | ||
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(5) To impose penalties consistent with applicable | ||
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"Property owner" means the legal or beneficial owner of an improved or
unimproved parcel of real estate.
"Respondent" means a property owner, waste hauler, or other person charged
with liability for an alleged code violation and the person to whom the notice
of violation is directed.
"Solid waste" means demolition materials, food and industrial
processing wastes, garden trash, land cleaning waste, mixed refuse,
non-combustible refuse, and trash as defined in the Solid Waste
Disposal District Act.
"Waste hauler" means any person owning or controlling any vehicle used to
carry or transport garbage, refuse, or other forms of solid waste.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41010)
Sec. 5-41010. Code hearing unit. The county board in any county
may establish by ordinance a code hearing unit
within an existing code enforcement agency or as a separate and independent
agency in county government.
A county may establish a code hearing unit and administrative adjudication
process only under the provisions of this Division 5-41.
The function of the code hearing unit
shall be to expedite the prosecution and correction of code violations
as provided in this Division 5-41.
(Source: P.A. 95-471, eff. 8-27-07.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41012) Sec. 5-41012. Fine schedule. The county board of any county that establishes a code hearing unit pursuant to this Division 5-41 may, by ordinance, establish a fine schedule for code violations. The fine schedule must include (i) a determinate fine for each code violation that may be voluntarily paid by a respondent prior to his or her hearing date and (ii) the fine that may otherwise be imposed for each code violation. The amount of each fine must be based upon the nature of the offense and the number of previous code violations a respondent was convicted of committing for the same or a related offense.
(Source: P.A. 96-1157, eff. 7-21-10.) |
(55 ILCS 5/5-41015)
Sec. 5-41015.
Hearing procedure not exclusive.
In any county that
establishes a code
hearing unit pursuant to the provisions of this Division 5-41, the county
is not precluded from using other methods to enforce the provisions of its
codes.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41020)
Sec. 5-41020. Instituting proceedings.
(a) When a code enforcement officer observes a
code violation,
the officer
shall note or, in the case of an animal control violation, the code enforcement
officer may respond to the filing of a formal complaint by noting the violation
on a violation notice and report
form, indicating
the following:
the name and address of the respondent, if known; the name,
address, and state vehicle registration number of the waste hauler who
deposited
the waste, if applicable; the type and nature of the violation; the date and
time the violation was observed; the names of witnesses to the violation; and
the address of the location or property where the violation is observed.
(b) The violation notice and report form shall contain a file number, a hearing date, and, if approved by the county board by ordinance, the amount of any fine that may be imposed pursuant to an approved schedule of fines noted by the code enforcement officer in the blank spaces
provided for that purpose on the form. The violation notice and report form shall state that the respondent does not need to appear at the hearing on the date indicated on the form if the respondent pays the determinate fine in the amount set forth in the county's approved fine schedule for the code violation. The respondent must pay the determinate fine at least 5 days before the hearing date indicated on the violation notice and report form. The violation notice and report shall
state that if the respondent does not voluntarily pay the determinate fine in accordance with the schedule of fines or fails to appear at the hearing, if required, on the date indicated, then the failure to pay or appear, if required, may result in
a determination of liability for the cited violation and the imposition of
fines and assessment of costs as provided by the applicable county ordinance.
The violation notice and report shall also state that upon a determination of
liability and the exhaustion
of
or failure to exhaust procedures for judicial
review, any unpaid fines or costs imposed will constitute a debt due and owed
to the county.
(c) A copy of the violation notice and report form shall be served on
the respondent either personally or by first class mail, postage prepaid,
sent to the address of the respondent. If the name of the respondent property
owner cannot be ascertained or if service on the respondent cannot be made by
mail, service may be made on the respondent property owner by posting,
not less than 20 days before the hearing is
scheduled,
a copy of
the violation notice and report form in a prominent place on the property
where the violation is found.
If the violation notice and report form requires the
respondent
to answer within a certain amount of time, the
county must reply to the answer within the same amount of time afforded to
the
respondent.
(d) In lieu of a personal appearance at the hearing, a county board may provide for the voluntary payment of a determinate fine in accordance with a schedule of fines approved by ordinance and as provided in this Division 5-41.
(Source: P.A. 96-1157, eff. 7-21-10.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41025)
Sec. 5-41025.
Subpoenas; default.
(a) At any time prior to the hearing date,
at the request of the code enforcement officer, the
attorney for the county, the respondent, or the attorney for the respondent,
the hearing officer assigned to
hear the case may
issue subpoenas directing witnesses to appear and give testimony at the
hearing.
(b) If
the respondent or the respondent's attorney fails to
appear
on the date set for the hearing,
the hearing officer may find the respondent in default and shall
proceed with the hearing and accept evidence relating to the existence of a
code violation.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41030)
Sec. 5-41030.
Representation at hearings. The case for the county may be presented
by the code enforcement officer or by the State's Attorney. In no
event,
however, may
the case for the county be presented by an employee of the code
hearing unit. The case for the respondent may be presented by the respondent
or the respondent's
attorney. If the respondent is a corporation, it may appear through any
officer, director, manager, or supervisor of the corporation.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41035)
Sec. 5-41035.
Evidence at hearings.
The hearing officer shall preside at the hearing, shall hear testimony, and
shall
accept any evidence relevant to the existence or non-existence of a code
violation on the property indicated. The code enforcement officer's signed
violation notice and report form shall be prima facie evidence of the existence
of the code violation described in the form. The strict rules of evidence
applicable to judicial proceedings do not apply to hearings authorized under
this Division 5-41.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41040)
Sec. 5-41040.
Findings, decision, and order.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the
hearing officer shall make a determination on the basis of the evidence
presented at the hearing as to whether a code violation exists. The
determination shall be in writing and shall be designated as the
hearing officer's
findings,
decision, and order. The findings, decision, and order shall include the
hearing officer's findings of fact, a determination of whether a code violation
exists based on the findings of fact, and an order imposing a fine or other
penalty, directing the respondent to correct the violation, or dismissing the
case if the violation is not proved. If the hearing officer determines
that the respondent is liable for the cited violation, the hearing officer
shall
enter an order imposing sanctions that are provided in the code for the
violations proved, including the imposition of fines and the recovery of the
costs of the proceedings. Costs may be recovered in the same manner as
fines and penalties. A copy of the findings, decision, and order
shall be served by personal service or by any method provided for service of
the violation notice and report form under Section 5-41020. The payment of
any penalty or fine or costs of the proceedings and the disposition of that
money shall be in the manner provided in this Code, unless the county
board provides otherwise when establishing the code hearing unit.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41045)
Sec. 5-41045.
Administrative review.
The findings, decision, and order of
the hearing
officer shall be subject to review in the circuit court of the county.
The Administrative Review Law
and the rules adopted pursuant thereto
shall apply to and govern every action for the judicial review of the final
findings, decision, and order of a hearing officer under this Division 5-41.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41050)
Sec. 5-41050.
Sanctions; transfer or conveyance of property.
The
order to
correct a code violation and the sanctions imposed by a county
against a respondent property owner as the result of a finding of a code
violation under this
Division 5-41
shall attach to the property, subject to the interests of all lien holders of
record, as well as to the owner
of the property, so that the owner cannot avoid the finding of a code violation
against the owner
by conveying or transferring the property to another.
Any subsequent transferee or owner of property takes
the property
subject to the findings,
decision, and order of a hearing officer under this Division 5-41 if a notice
consisting of a copy of the order to correct a code violation and imposing any
sanctions and costs, if applicable, and a description of the real estate
affected that is sufficient
to identify the real estate
has been filed in the
office of the Recorder or the office of the Registrar of Titles by the county
prior to the transfer or conveyance to the subsequent transferee or owner.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41055)
Sec. 5-41055.
Collection of unpaid fines or other sanctions.
(a) Any fine or other sanction or costs imposed, or
any
part of any fine or other
sanction or costs imposed, remaining unpaid after the exhaustion of or failure
to exhaust procedures for judicial review under the Administrative Review Law
is a debt due and owed to the county and, as such, may be collected in
accordance with applicable law. Any subsequent owner or transferee of property
takes subject to this debt if a notice has been filed pursuant to Section
5-41050.
(b) After expiration of the period within which judicial review under the
Administrative Review Law may be sought for a final determination of the
code violation, the county may commence a proceeding in the circuit court of
the
county for purposes of obtaining a judgment on the
hearing officer's
findings, decision, and
order. Nothing in this Section prevents a county from consolidating
multiple findings, decisions, and orders against a person or property in such a
proceeding.
(c) Upon commencement of the action, the county shall file a certified
copy of the findings, decision, and order, which shall be accompanied by a
certification that recites facts sufficient to show that the findings,
decision,
and order were issued in accordance with this
Division 5-41 and the applicable county
ordinance. Service of the summons and a copy of the petition may be by any
method provided by Section 2-203 of the Code of Civil Procedure or by certified
mail, return receipt requested, provided that the total amount of fines
or
other
sanctions and costs imposed by the findings, decision, and order does not
exceed
$5,000.
(d) If the court is satisfied that the findings, decision, and order were
entered within the requirements of this Division 5-41 and the applicable county
ordinance and that the respondent had an opportunity for a hearing under this
Division 5-41 and for judicial review as provided in Section 5-41045:
(1) The court shall render judgment in favor of the | ||
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(2) The court may issue other orders or injunctions, | ||
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(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41060)
Sec. 5-41060.
Adoption of other necessary provisions by county.
Any county establishing a code hearing unit by ordinance under this
Division 5-41 may adopt other provisions necessary and proper to carry into
effect the powers granted and the purposes stated in this Division.
(Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97.)
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41065) (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026) Sec. 5-41065. Mechanics lien demand and referral adjudication. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Division, a county's code hearing unit must adjudicate an expired mechanics lien referred to the unit under Section 3-5010.8. (b) If a county does not have an administrative law judge in its code hearing unit who is familiar with the areas of law relating to mechanics liens, one may be appointed no later than 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly to adjudicate all referrals concerning mechanics liens under Section 3-5010.8. (c) If an administrative law judge familiar with the areas of law relating to mechanics liens has not been appointed as provided subsection (b) when a mechanics lien is referred under Section 3-5010.8 to the code hearing unit, the case shall be removed to the proper circuit court with jurisdiction. (d) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2026. (Source: P.A. 102-671, eff. 11-30-21; 103-563, eff. 11-17-23.) |