Public Act 103-0061
 
SB0201 EnrolledLRB103 26085 LNS 52440 b


  
    AN ACT concerning civil law.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended  by 
changing Section 15-1503 and by adding Section 15-1515 as 
follows:
 


    (735 ILCS 5/15-1503)  (from Ch. 110, par. 15-1503)



    Sec. 15-1503. Notice of foreclosure. 
    (a) A notice of foreclosure, whether
the foreclosure is 
initiated by complaint or
counterclaim, made in accordance 
with this Section and recorded in the
county in which the 
mortgaged real estate is located shall be constructive
notice 
of the pendency of the foreclosure to every person claiming an

interest in or lien on the mortgaged real estate, whose 
interest or lien
has not been recorded prior to the recording 
of such notice of foreclosure.
 Such notice of foreclosure must 
be executed by any party or any party's
attorney and shall 
include (i) the names of all plaintiffs and the case
number, 
(ii) the court in which the action was brought, (iii) the names 
of
title holders of record, (iv) a legal description of the 
real estate
sufficient to identify it with reasonable 
certainty, (v) a common address
or description of the location 
of the real estate and (vi) identification
of the mortgage 
sought to be foreclosed.  An incorrect common address or

description of the location, or an immaterial error in the 
identification
of a plaintiff or title holder of record, shall 
not invalidate the lis
pendens effect of the notice under this 
Section.
A notice which complies with this Section shall be 
deemed to comply with
Section 2-1901 of the Code of Civil

Procedure and shall have the same effect as a notice filed 
pursuant to
that Section; however, a notice which complies 
with Section 2-1901 shall
not be constructive notice unless it 
also complies with the requirements of
this Section.

    (b) (Blank).  With respect to residential real estate, a 
copy of the notice of foreclosure described in subsection (a) 
of Section 15-1503 shall be sent by first class mail, postage 
prepaid, to the municipality within the boundary of which the 
mortgaged real estate is located, or to the county within the 
boundary of which the mortgaged real estate is located if the 
mortgaged real estate is located in an unincorporated 
territory. A municipality or county must clearly publish on 
its website a single address to which such notice shall be 
sent. If a municipality or county does not maintain a website, 
then the municipality or county must publicly post in its main 
office a single address to which such notice shall be sent. In 
the event that a municipality or county has not complied with 
the publication requirement in this subsection (b), then the 
copy of the notice to the municipality or county shall be sent 
by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the chairperson of 
the county board or county clerk in the case of a county, to 
the mayor or city clerk in the case of a city, to the president 
of the board of trustees or village clerk in the case of a 
village, or to the president or town clerk in the case of a 
town. Additionally, if the real estate is located in a city 
with a population of more than 2,000,000, regardless of 
whether that city has complied with the publication 
requirement in this subsection (b), the party must, within 10 
days after filing the complaint or counterclaim: (i) send by 
first class mail, postage prepaid, a copy of the notice of 
foreclosure to the alderperson for the ward in which the real 
estate is located and (ii) file an affidavit with the court 
attesting to the fact that the notice was sent to the 
alderperson for the ward in which the real estate is located. 
The failure to send a copy of the notice to the alderperson or 
to file an affidavit as required shall result in a stay of the 
foreclosure action on a motion of a party or the court.  If the 
foreclosure action has been stayed by an order of the court, 
the plaintiff or the plaintiff's representative shall send the 
notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by 
private carrier that provides proof of delivery, and tender 
the return receipt or the proof of delivery to the court.  After 
proof of delivery is tendered to the court, the court shall 
lift the stay of the foreclosure action. 
(Source: P.A. 101-399, eff. 8-16-19; 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)

 
    (735 ILCS 5/15-1515 new)
    Sec. 15-1515. COVID-19 emergency sealing of court file.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "Court file" means the court file created when a 
foreclosure action is filed with the court.
    "COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period" means 
the period beginning on March 9, 2020, when the Governor 
issued the first disaster proclamation for the State to 
address the circumstances related to COVID-19 and ending on 
December 31, 2021.
    (b) The court may seal the file, upon motion of a 
mortgagor, of any foreclosure action filed during the COVID-19 
emergency and economic recovery period if the action was not 
subject to the moratoria enacted by the Federal National 
Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, or the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. If an action was filed during 
the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period because it 
qualified under an exception to one of the above moratoria, 
the action is not subject to being sealed under this Section. 
If a residential eviction action filed during the COVID-19 
emergency and economic recovery period is pending on the 
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General 
Assembly and is not sealed, the court shall order the sealing 
of the court file.
    (c) This Section applies to any action to foreclose a 
mortgage relating to: (i) residential real estate as defined 
in Section 15-1219; and (ii) real estate improved with a 
dwelling structure containing dwelling units for 6 or fewer 
families living independently of each other in which the 
mortgagor is a natural person landlord renting the dwelling 
units, even if the mortgagor does not occupy any of the 
dwelling units as the mortgagor's personal residence.
    (d) This Section is repealed on June 1, 2025.
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.