Public Act 096-1386
 
HB6239 EnrolledLRB096 17062 RLJ 32383 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding the
heading of Division 5-43 and Sections 5-41003, 5-43005,
5-43010, 5-43015, 5-43020, 5-43025, 5-43030, 5-43035, 5-43040,
and 5-43045 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-41003 new)
    Sec. 5-41003. Applicability. This Division 5-41 applies to
all counties except for the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane,
Lake, McHenry, and Will.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-43 heading new)
ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION - SPECIFIED COUNTIES

 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43005 new)
    Sec. 5-43005. Applicability. This Division 5-43 applies
only to the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and
Will.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43010 new)
    Sec. 5-43010. Administrative adjudication of county code
violations. Any county may provide by ordinance for a system of
administrative adjudication of county code violations to the
extent permitted by the Illinois Constitution. A "system of
administrative adjudication" means the adjudication of any
violation of a county ordinance, except for (i) proceedings not
within the statutory or the home rule authority of counties;
and (ii) any offense under the Illinois Vehicle Code (or a
similar offense that is a traffic regulation governing the
movement of vehicles and except for any reportable offense
under Section 6-204 of the Illinois Vehicle Code).
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43015 new)
    Sec. 5-43015. Administrative adjudication procedures not
exclusive. The adoption by a county of a system of
administrative adjudication does not preclude the county from
using other methods to enforce county ordinances.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43020 new)
    Sec. 5-43020. Code hearing units; powers of hearing
officers.
    (a) An ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall provide for a
code hearing unit within an existing agency or as a separate
agency in the county government. The ordinance shall establish
the jurisdiction of a code hearing unit that is consistent with
this Division. The "jurisdiction" of a code hearing unit refers
to the particular code violations that it may adjudicate.
    (b) Adjudicatory hearings shall be presided over by hearing
officers. The powers and duties of a hearing officer shall
include:
        (1) hearing testimony and accepting evidence that is
    relevant to the existence of the code violation;
        (2) issuing subpoenas directing witnesses to appear
    and give relevant testimony at the hearing, upon the
    request of the parties or their representatives;
        (3) preserving and authenticating the record of the
    hearing and all exhibits and evidence introduced at the
    hearing;
        (4) issuing a determination, based on the evidence
    presented at the hearing, of whether a code violation
    exists, which shall be in writing and shall include a
    written finding of fact, decision, and order including the
    fine, penalty, or action with which the defendant must
    comply; and
        (5) imposing penalties consistent with applicable code
    provisions and assessing costs upon finding a party liable
    for the charged violation, except, however, that in no
    event shall the hearing officer have authority to (i)
    impose a penalty of incarceration or (ii) impose a fine in
    excess of $50,000, or at the option of the county, such
    other amount not to exceed the maximum amount established
    by the Mandatory Arbitration System as prescribed by the
    Rules of the Illinois Supreme Court from time to time for
    the judicial circuit in which the county is located. The
    maximum monetary fine under this item (5), shall be
    exclusive of costs of enforcement or costs imposed to
    secure compliance with the county's ordinances and shall
    not be applicable to cases to enforce the collection of any
    tax imposed and collected by the county.
    (c) Prior to conducting administrative adjudication
proceedings, administrative hearing officers shall have
successfully completed a formal training program that includes
the following:
        (1) instruction on the rules of procedure of the
    administrative hearings that they will conduct;
        (2) orientation to each subject area of the code
    violations that they will adjudicate;
        (3) observation of administrative hearings; and
        (4) participation in hypothetical cases, including
    ruling on evidence and issuing final orders.
    In addition, every administrative hearing officer must be
an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois
for at least 3 years.
    (d) A proceeding before a code hearing unit shall be
instituted upon the filing of a written pleading by an
authorized official of the county.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43025 new)
    Sec. 5-43025. Administrative hearing proceedings.
    (a) Any ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall afford parties
due process of law, including notice and opportunity for
hearing. Parties shall be served with process in a manner
reasonably calculated to give them actual notice, including, as
appropriate, personal service of process upon a party or its
employees or agents; service by mail at a party's address; or
notice that is posted upon the property where the violation is
found when the party is the owner or manager of the property.
In counties with a population under 3,000,000, if the notice
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.
    (b) Parties shall be given notice of an adjudicatory
hearing that includes the type and nature of the code violation
to be adjudicated, the date and location of the adjudicatory
hearing, the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the
hearing is to be held, and the penalties for failure to appear
at the hearing.
    (c) Parties shall be provided with an opportunity for a
hearing during which they may be represented by counsel,
present witnesses, and cross-examine opposing witnesses.
Parties may request the hearing officer to issue subpoenas to
direct the attendance and testimony of relevant witnesses and
the production of relevant documents. Hearings shall be
scheduled with reasonable promptness, except that for hearings
scheduled in all non-emergency situations, if requested by the
defendant, the defendant shall have at least 15 days after
service of process to prepare for a hearing. For purposes of
this subsection (c), "non-emergency situation" means any
situation that does not reasonably constitute a threat to the
public interest, safety, or welfare. If service is provided by
mail, the 15-day period shall begin to run on the day that the
notice is deposited in the mail.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43030 new)
    Sec. 5-43030. Rules of evidence shall not govern. The
formal and technical rules of evidence do not apply in an
adjudicatory hearing permitted under this Division. Evidence,
including hearsay, may be admitted only if it is of a type
commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the
conduct of their affairs.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43035 new)
    Sec. 5-43035. Enforcement of judgment.
    (a) Any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, or part of
any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, remaining unpaid
after the exhaustion of or the failure to exhaust judicial
review procedures under the Illinois Administrative Review Law
are a debt due and owing the county and may be collected in
accordance with applicable law.
    (b) After expiration of the period in which judicial review
under the Illinois Administrative Review Law may be sought for
a final determination of a code violation, unless stayed by a
court of competent jurisdiction, the findings, decision, and
order of the hearing officer may be enforced in the same manner
as a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (c) In any case in which a defendant has failed to comply
with a judgment ordering a defendant to correct a code
violation or imposing any fine or other sanction as a result of
a code violation, any expenses incurred by a county to enforce
the judgment, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees,
court costs, and costs related to property demolition or
foreclosure, after they are fixed by a court of competent
jurisdiction or a hearing officer, shall be a debt due and
owing the county and may be collected in accordance with
applicable law. Prior to any expenses being fixed by a hearing
officer pursuant to this subsection (c), the county shall
provide notice to the defendant that states that the defendant
shall appear at a hearing before the administrative hearing
officer to determine whether the defendant has failed to comply
with the judgment. The notice shall set the date for the
hearing, which shall not be less than 7 days after the date
that notice is served. If notice is served by mail, the 7-day
period shall begin to run on the date that the notice was
deposited in the mail.
    (d) Upon being recorded in the manner required by Article
XII of the Code of Civil Procedure or by the Uniform Commercial
Code, a lien shall be imposed on the real estate or personal
estate, or both, of the defendant in the amount of any debt due
and owing the county under this Section. The lien may be
enforced in the same manner as a judgment lien pursuant to a
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (e) A hearing officer may set aside any judgment entered by
default and set a new hearing date, upon a petition filed
within 21 days after the issuance of the order of default, if
the hearing officer determines that the petitioner's failure to
appear at the hearing was for good cause or at any time if the
petitioner establishes that the county did not provide proper
service of process. If any judgment is set aside pursuant to
this subsection (e), the hearing officer shall have authority
to enter an order extinguishing any lien that has been recorded
for any debt due and owing the county as a result of the
vacated default judgment.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43040 new)
    Sec. 5-43040. Impact on existing administrative
adjudication systems. This Division does not affect the
validity of systems of administrative adjudication that were
authorized by State law, including home rule authority, and in
existence before the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 96th General Assembly.
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-43045 new)
    Sec. 5-43045. Impact on home rule authority. This Division
does not preempt counties from adopting other systems of
administrative adjudication pursuant to their home rule
powers.
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
changing Sections 6-306.5 and 11-208.3 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-306.5)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-306.5)
    Sec. 6-306.5. Failure to pay fine or penalty for standing,
parking, compliance, or automated traffic law violations;
suspension of driving privileges.
    (a) Upon receipt of a certified report, as prescribed by
subsection (c) of this Section, from any municipality or county
stating that the owner of a registered vehicle has: (1) failed
to pay any fine or penalty due and owing as a result of 10 or
more violations of a municipality's or county's vehicular
standing, parking, or compliance regulations established by
ordinance pursuant to Section 11-208.3 of this Code, or (2)
failed to pay any fine or penalty due and owing as a result of 5
offenses for automated traffic violations as defined in Section
11-208.6 or 11-1201.1, the Secretary of State shall suspend the
driving privileges of such person in accordance with the
procedures set forth in this Section. The Secretary shall also
suspend the driving privileges of an owner of a registered
vehicle upon receipt of a certified report, as prescribed by
subsection (f) of this Section, from any municipality or county
stating that such person has failed to satisfy any fines or
penalties imposed by final judgments for 5 or more automated
traffic law violations or 10 or more violations of local
standing, parking, or compliance regulations after exhaustion
of judicial review procedures.
    (b) Following receipt of the certified report of the
municipality or county as specified in this Section, the
Secretary of State shall notify the person whose name appears
on the certified report that the person's drivers license will
be suspended at the end of a specified period of time unless
the Secretary of State is presented with a notice from the
municipality or county certifying that the fine or penalty due
and owing the municipality or county has been paid or that
inclusion of that person's name on the certified report was in
error. The Secretary's notice shall state in substance the
information contained in the municipality's or county's
certified report to the Secretary, and shall be effective as
specified by subsection (c) of Section 6-211 of this Code.
    (c) The report of the appropriate municipal or county
official notifying the Secretary of State of unpaid fines or
penalties pursuant to this Section shall be certified and shall
contain the following:
        (1) The name, last known address as recorded with the
    Secretary of State, as provided by the lessor of the cited
    vehicle at the time of lease, or as recorded in a United
    States Post Office approved database if any notice sent
    under Section 11-208.3 of this Code is returned as
    undeliverable, and drivers license number of the person who
    failed to pay the fine or penalty and the registration
    number of any vehicle known to be registered to such person
    in this State.
        (2) The name of the municipality or county making the
    report pursuant to this Section.
        (3) A statement that the municipality or county sent a
    notice of impending drivers license suspension as
    prescribed by ordinance enacted pursuant to Section
    11-208.3, to the person named in the report at the address
    recorded with the Secretary of State or at the last address
    known to the lessor of the cited vehicle at the time of
    lease or, if any notice sent under Section 11-208.3 of this
    Code is returned as undeliverable, at the last known
    address recorded in a United States Post Office approved
    database; the date on which such notice was sent; and the
    address to which such notice was sent. In a municipality or
    county with a population of 1,000,000 or more, the report
    shall also include a statement that the alleged violator's
    State vehicle registration number and vehicle make, if
    specified on the automated traffic law violation notice,
    are correct as they appear on the citations.
    (d) Any municipality or county making a certified report to
the Secretary of State pursuant to this Section shall notify
the Secretary of State, in a form prescribed by the Secretary,
whenever a person named in the certified report has paid the
previously reported fine or penalty or whenever the
municipality or county determines that the original report was
in error. A certified copy of such notification shall also be
given upon request and at no additional charge to the person
named therein. Upon receipt of the municipality's or county's
notification or presentation of a certified copy of such
notification, the Secretary of State shall terminate the
suspension.
    (e) Any municipality or county making a certified report to
the Secretary of State pursuant to this Section shall also by
ordinance establish procedures for persons to challenge the
accuracy of the certified report. The ordinance shall also
state the grounds for such a challenge, which may be limited to
(1) the person not having been the owner or lessee of the
vehicle or vehicles receiving 10 or more standing, parking, or
compliance violation notices or 5 or more automated traffic law
violations on the date or dates such notices were issued; and
(2) the person having already paid the fine or penalty for the
10 or more standing, parking, or compliance violations or 5 or
more automated traffic law violations indicated on the
certified report.
    (f) Any municipality or county, other than a municipality
or county establishing vehicular standing, parking, and
compliance regulations pursuant to Section 11-208.3 or
automated traffic law regulations under Section 11-208.6 or
11-1201.1, may also cause a suspension of a person's drivers
license pursuant to this Section. Such municipality or county
may invoke this sanction by making a certified report to the
Secretary of State upon a person's failure to satisfy any fine
or penalty imposed by final judgment for 10 or more violations
of local standing, parking, or compliance regulations or 5 or
more automated traffic law violations after exhaustion of
judicial review procedures, but only if:
        (1) the municipality or county complies with the
    provisions of this Section in all respects except in regard
    to enacting an ordinance pursuant to Section 11-208.3;
        (2) the municipality or county has sent a notice of
    impending drivers license suspension as prescribed by an
    ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection (g) of this
    Section; and
        (3) in municipalities or counties with a population of
    1,000,000 or more, the municipality or county has verified
    that the alleged violator's State vehicle registration
    number and vehicle make are correct as they appear on the
    citations.
    (g) Any municipality or county, other than a municipality
or county establishing standing, parking, and compliance
regulations pursuant to Section 11-208.3 or automated traffic
law regulations under Section 11-208.6 or 11-1201.1, may
provide by ordinance for the sending of a notice of impending
drivers license suspension to the person who has failed to
satisfy any fine or penalty imposed by final judgment for 10 or
more violations of local standing, parking, or compliance
regulations or 5 or more automated traffic law violations after
exhaustion of judicial review procedures. An ordinance so
providing shall specify that the notice sent to the person
liable for any fine or penalty shall state that failure to pay
the fine or penalty owing within 45 days of the notice's date
will result in the municipality or county notifying the
Secretary of State that the person's drivers license is
eligible for suspension pursuant to this Section. The notice of
impending drivers license suspension shall be sent by first
class United States mail, postage prepaid, to the address
recorded with the Secretary of State or at the last address
known to the lessor of the cited vehicle at the time of lease
or, if any notice sent under Section 11-208.3 of this Code is
returned as undeliverable, to the last known address recorded
in a United States Post Office approved database.
    (h) An administrative hearing to contest an impending
suspension or a suspension made pursuant to this Section may be
had upon filing a written request with the Secretary of State.
The filing fee for this hearing shall be $20, to be paid at the
time the request is made. A municipality or county which files
a certified report with the Secretary of State pursuant to this
Section shall reimburse the Secretary for all reasonable costs
incurred by the Secretary as a result of the filing of the
report, including but not limited to the costs of providing the
notice required pursuant to subsection (b) and the costs
incurred by the Secretary in any hearing conducted with respect
to the report pursuant to this subsection and any appeal from
such a hearing.
    (i) The provisions of this Section shall apply on and after
January 1, 1988.
    (j) For purposes of this Section, the term "compliance
violation" is defined as in Section 11-208.3.
(Source: P.A. 96-478, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/11-208.3)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-208.3)
    Sec. 11-208.3. Administrative adjudication of violations
of traffic regulations concerning the standing, parking, or
condition of vehicles and automated traffic law violations.
    (a) Any municipality or county may provide by ordinance for
a system of administrative adjudication of vehicular standing
and parking violations and vehicle compliance violations as
defined in this subsection and automated traffic law violations
as defined in Section 11-208.6 or 11-1201.1. The administrative
system shall have as its purpose the fair and efficient
enforcement of municipal or county regulations through the
administrative adjudication of automated traffic law
violations and violations of municipal or county ordinances
regulating the standing and parking of vehicles, the condition
and use of vehicle equipment, and the display of municipal or
county wheel tax licenses within the municipality's or county's
borders. The administrative system shall only have authority to
adjudicate civil offenses carrying fines not in excess of $500
or requiring the completion of a traffic education program, or
both, that occur after the effective date of the ordinance
adopting such a system under this Section. For purposes of this
Section, "compliance violation" means a violation of a
municipal or county regulation governing the condition or use
of equipment on a vehicle or governing the display of a
municipal or county wheel tax license.
    (b) Any ordinance establishing a system of administrative
adjudication under this Section shall provide for:
        (1) A traffic compliance administrator authorized to
    adopt, distribute and process parking, compliance, and
    automated traffic law violation notices and other notices
    required by this Section, collect money paid as fines and
    penalties for violation of parking and compliance
    ordinances and automated traffic law violations, and
    operate an administrative adjudication system. The traffic
    compliance administrator also may make a certified report
    to the Secretary of State under Section 6-306.5.
        (2) A parking, standing, compliance, or automated
    traffic law violation notice that shall specify the date,
    time, and place of violation of a parking, standing,
    compliance, or automated traffic law regulation; the
    particular regulation violated; any requirement to
    complete a traffic education program; the fine and any
    penalty that may be assessed for late payment or failure to
    complete a required traffic education program, or both,
    when so provided by ordinance; the vehicle make and state
    registration number; and the identification number of the
    person issuing the notice. With regard to automated traffic
    law violations, vehicle make shall be specified on the
    automated traffic law violation notice if the make is
    available and readily discernible. With regard to
    municipalities or counties with a population of 1 million
    or more, it shall be grounds for dismissal of a parking
    violation if the state registration number or vehicle make
    specified is incorrect. The violation notice shall state
    that the completion of any required traffic education
    program, the payment of any indicated fine, and the payment
    of any applicable penalty for late payment or failure to
    complete a required traffic education program, or both,
    shall operate as a final disposition of the violation. The
    notice also shall contain information as to the
    availability of a hearing in which the violation may be
    contested on its merits. The violation notice shall specify
    the time and manner in which a hearing may be had.
        (3) Service of the parking, standing, or compliance
    violation notice by affixing the original or a facsimile of
    the notice to an unlawfully parked vehicle or by handing
    the notice to the operator of a vehicle if he or she is
    present and service of an automated traffic law violation
    notice by mail to the address of the registered owner of
    the cited vehicle as recorded with the Secretary of State
    within 30 days after the Secretary of State notifies the
    municipality or county of the identity of the owner of the
    vehicle, but in no event later than 90 days after the
    violation. A person authorized by ordinance to issue and
    serve parking, standing, and compliance violation notices
    shall certify as to the correctness of the facts entered on
    the violation notice by signing his or her name to the
    notice at the time of service or in the case of a notice
    produced by a computerized device, by signing a single
    certificate to be kept by the traffic compliance
    administrator attesting to the correctness of all notices
    produced by the device while it was under his or her
    control. In the case of an automated traffic law violation,
    the ordinance shall require a determination by a technician
    employed or contracted by the municipality or county that,
    based on inspection of recorded images, the motor vehicle
    was being operated in violation of Section 11-208.6 or
    11-1201.1 or a local ordinance. If the technician
    determines that the vehicle entered the intersection as
    part of a funeral procession or in order to yield the
    right-of-way to an emergency vehicle, a citation shall not
    be issued. The original or a facsimile of the violation
    notice or, in the case of a notice produced by a
    computerized device, a printed record generated by the
    device showing the facts entered on the notice, shall be
    retained by the traffic compliance administrator, and
    shall be a record kept in the ordinary course of business.
    A parking, standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
    violation notice issued, signed and served in accordance
    with this Section, a copy of the notice, or the computer
    generated record shall be prima facie correct and shall be
    prima facie evidence of the correctness of the facts shown
    on the notice. The notice, copy, or computer generated
    record shall be admissible in any subsequent
    administrative or legal proceedings.
        (4) An opportunity for a hearing for the registered
    owner of the vehicle cited in the parking, standing,
    compliance, or automated traffic law violation notice in
    which the owner may contest the merits of the alleged
    violation, and during which formal or technical rules of
    evidence shall not apply; provided, however, that under
    Section 11-1306 of this Code the lessee of a vehicle cited
    in the violation notice likewise shall be provided an
    opportunity for a hearing of the same kind afforded the
    registered owner. The hearings shall be recorded, and the
    person conducting the hearing on behalf of the traffic
    compliance administrator shall be empowered to administer
    oaths and to secure by subpoena both the attendance and
    testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant books
    and papers. Persons appearing at a hearing under this
    Section may be represented by counsel at their expense. The
    ordinance may also provide for internal administrative
    review following the decision of the hearing officer.
        (5) Service of additional notices, sent by first class
    United States mail, postage prepaid, to the address of the
    registered owner of the cited vehicle as recorded with the
    Secretary of State or, if any notice to that address is
    returned as undeliverable, to the last known address
    recorded in a United States Post Office approved database,
    or, under Section 11-1306 of this Code, to the lessee of
    the cited vehicle at the last address known to the lessor
    of the cited vehicle at the time of lease or, if any notice
    to that address is returned as undeliverable, to the last
    known address recorded in a United States Post Office
    approved database. The service shall be deemed complete as
    of the date of deposit in the United States mail. The
    notices shall be in the following sequence and shall
    include but not be limited to the information specified
    herein:
            (i) A second notice of parking, standing, or
        compliance violation. This notice shall specify the
        date and location of the violation cited in the
        parking, standing, or compliance violation notice, the
        particular regulation violated, the vehicle make and
        state registration number, any requirement to complete
        a traffic education program, the fine and any penalty
        that may be assessed for late payment or failure to
        complete a traffic education program, or both, when so
        provided by ordinance, the availability of a hearing in
        which the violation may be contested on its merits, and
        the time and manner in which the hearing may be had.
        The notice of violation shall also state that failure
        to complete a required traffic education program, to
        pay the indicated fine and any applicable penalty, or
        to appear at a hearing on the merits in the time and
        manner specified, will result in a final determination
        of violation liability for the cited violation in the
        amount of the fine or penalty indicated, and that, upon
        the occurrence of a final determination of violation
        liability for the failure, and the exhaustion of, or
        failure to exhaust, available administrative or
        judicial procedures for review, any incomplete traffic
        education program or any unpaid fine or penalty, or
        both, will constitute a debt due and owing the
        municipality or county.
            (ii) A notice of final determination of parking,
        standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
        violation liability. This notice shall be sent
        following a final determination of parking, standing,
        compliance, or automated traffic law violation
        liability and the conclusion of judicial review
        procedures taken under this Section. The notice shall
        state that the incomplete traffic education program or
        the unpaid fine or penalty, or both, is a debt due and
        owing the municipality or county. The notice shall
        contain warnings that failure to complete any required
        traffic education program or to pay any fine or penalty
        due and owing the municipality or county, or both,
        within the time specified may result in the
        municipality's or county's filing of a petition in the
        Circuit Court to have the incomplete traffic education
        program or unpaid fine or penalty, or both, rendered a
        judgment as provided by this Section, or may result in
        suspension of the person's drivers license for failure
        to complete a traffic education program or to pay fines
        or penalties, or both, for 10 or more parking
        violations under Section 6-306.5 or 5 or more automated
        traffic law violations under Section 11-208.6.
        (6) A notice of impending drivers license suspension.
    This notice shall be sent to the person liable for failure
    to complete a required traffic education program or to pay
    any fine or penalty that remains due and owing, or both, on
    10 or more parking violations or 5 or more unpaid automated
    traffic law violations. The notice shall state that failure
    to complete a required traffic education program or to pay
    the fine or penalty owing, or both, within 45 days of the
    notice's date will result in the municipality or county
    notifying the Secretary of State that the person is
    eligible for initiation of suspension proceedings under
    Section 6-306.5 of this Code. The notice shall also state
    that the person may obtain a photostatic copy of an
    original ticket imposing a fine or penalty by sending a
    self addressed, stamped envelope to the municipality or
    county along with a request for the photostatic copy. The
    notice of impending drivers license suspension shall be
    sent by first class United States mail, postage prepaid, to
    the address recorded with the Secretary of State or, if any
    notice to that address is returned as undeliverable, to the
    last known address recorded in a United States Post Office
    approved database.
        (7) Final determinations of violation liability. A
    final determination of violation liability shall occur
    following failure to complete the required traffic
    education program or to pay the fine or penalty, or both,
    after a hearing officer's determination of violation
    liability and the exhaustion of or failure to exhaust any
    administrative review procedures provided by ordinance.
    Where a person fails to appear at a hearing to contest the
    alleged violation in the time and manner specified in a
    prior mailed notice, the hearing officer's determination
    of violation liability shall become final: (A) upon denial
    of a timely petition to set aside that determination, or
    (B) upon expiration of the period for filing the petition
    without a filing having been made.
        (8) A petition to set aside a determination of parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violation
    liability that may be filed by a person owing an unpaid
    fine or penalty. A petition to set aside a determination of
    liability may also be filed by a person required to
    complete a traffic education program. The petition shall be
    filed with and ruled upon by the traffic compliance
    administrator in the manner and within the time specified
    by ordinance. The grounds for the petition may be limited
    to: (A) the person not having been the owner or lessee of
    the cited vehicle on the date the violation notice was
    issued, (B) the person having already completed the
    required traffic education program or paid the fine or
    penalty, or both, for the violation in question, and (C)
    excusable failure to appear at or request a new date for a
    hearing. With regard to municipalities or counties with a
    population of 1 million or more, it shall be grounds for
    dismissal of a parking violation if the state registration
    number, or vehicle make if specified, is incorrect. After
    the determination of parking, standing, compliance, or
    automated traffic law violation liability has been set
    aside upon a showing of just cause, the registered owner
    shall be provided with a hearing on the merits for that
    violation.
        (9) Procedures for non-residents. Procedures by which
    persons who are not residents of the municipality or county
    may contest the merits of the alleged violation without
    attending a hearing.
        (10) A schedule of civil fines for violations of
    vehicular standing, parking, compliance, or automated
    traffic law regulations enacted by ordinance pursuant to
    this Section, and a schedule of penalties for late payment
    of the fines or failure to complete required traffic
    education programs, provided, however, that the total
    amount of the fine and penalty for any one violation shall
    not exceed $250, except as provided in subsection (c) of
    Section 11-1301.3 of this Code.
        (11) Other provisions as are necessary and proper to
    carry into effect the powers granted and purposes stated in
    this Section.
    (c) Any municipality or county establishing vehicular
standing, parking, compliance, or automated traffic law
regulations under this Section may also provide by ordinance
for a program of vehicle immobilization for the purpose of
facilitating enforcement of those regulations. The program of
vehicle immobilization shall provide for immobilizing any
eligible vehicle upon the public way by presence of a restraint
in a manner to prevent operation of the vehicle. Any ordinance
establishing a program of vehicle immobilization under this
Section shall provide:
        (1) Criteria for the designation of vehicles eligible
    for immobilization. A vehicle shall be eligible for
    immobilization when the registered owner of the vehicle has
    accumulated the number of incomplete traffic education
    programs or unpaid final determinations of parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violation
    liability, or both, as determined by ordinance.
        (2) A notice of impending vehicle immobilization and a
    right to a hearing to challenge the validity of the notice
    by disproving liability for the incomplete traffic
    education programs or unpaid final determinations of
    parking, standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
    violation liability, or both, listed on the notice.
        (3) The right to a prompt hearing after a vehicle has
    been immobilized or subsequently towed without the
    completion of the required traffic education program or
    payment of the outstanding fines and penalties on parking,
    standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violations,
    or both, for which final determinations have been issued.
    An order issued after the hearing is a final administrative
    decision within the meaning of Section 3-101 of the Code of
    Civil Procedure.
        (4) A post immobilization and post-towing notice
    advising the registered owner of the vehicle of the right
    to a hearing to challenge the validity of the impoundment.
    (d) Judicial review of final determinations of parking,
standing, compliance, or automated traffic law violations and
final administrative decisions issued after hearings regarding
vehicle immobilization and impoundment made under this Section
shall be subject to the provisions of the Administrative Review
Law.
    (e) Any fine, penalty, incomplete traffic education
program, or part of any fine or any penalty remaining unpaid
after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust,
administrative remedies created under this Section and the
conclusion of any judicial review procedures shall be a debt
due and owing the municipality or county and, as such, may be
collected in accordance with applicable law. Completion of any
required traffic education program and payment in full of any
fine or penalty resulting from a standing, parking, compliance,
or automated traffic law violation shall constitute a final
disposition of that violation.
    (f) After the expiration of the period within which
judicial review may be sought for a final determination of
parking, standing, compliance, or automated traffic law
violation, the municipality or county may commence a proceeding
in the Circuit Court for purposes of obtaining a judgment on
the final determination of violation. Nothing in this Section
shall prevent a municipality or county from consolidating
multiple final determinations of parking, standing,
compliance, or automated traffic law violations against a
person in a proceeding. Upon commencement of the action, the
municipality or county shall file a certified copy or record of
the final determination of parking, standing, compliance, or
automated traffic law violation, which shall be accompanied by
a certification that recites facts sufficient to show that the
final determination of violation was issued in accordance with
this Section and the applicable municipal or 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 and penalties for final
determinations of parking, standing, compliance, or automated
traffic law violations does not exceed $2500. If the court is
satisfied that the final determination of parking, standing,
compliance, or automated traffic law violation was entered in
accordance with the requirements of this Section and the
applicable municipal or county ordinance, and that the
registered owner or the lessee, as the case may be, had an
opportunity for an administrative hearing and for judicial
review as provided in this Section, the court shall render
judgment in favor of the municipality or county and against the
registered owner or the lessee for the amount indicated in the
final determination of parking, standing, compliance, or
automated traffic law violation, plus costs. The judgment shall
have the same effect and may be enforced in the same manner as
other judgments for the recovery of money.
    (g) The fee for participating in a traffic education
program under this Section shall not exceed $25.
    A low-income individual required to complete a traffic
education program under this Section who provides proof of
eligibility for the federal earned income tax credit under
Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code or the Illinois earned
income tax credit under Section 212 of the Illinois Income Tax
Act shall not be required to pay any fee for participating in a
required traffic education program.
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-288, eff. 8-11-09;
96-478, eff. 1-1-10; revised 9-4-09.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance
    55 ILCS 5/5-41010
    55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-43
    heading new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43005 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43010 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43015 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43020 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43025 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43030 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43035 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43040 new
    55 ILCS 5/5-43045 new
    625 ILCS 5/6-306.5from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-306.5
    625 ILCS 5/11-208.3from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-208.3

Effective Date: 7/29/2010