Public Act 096-1451
 
HB5290 EnrolledLRB096 14615 AJO 29454 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 2-202 and  by adding Section 2-203.2 as 
follows:
 



    (735 ILCS 5/2-202)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-202)


    Sec. 2-202. Persons authorized to serve process; Place of

service; Failure to make return.
    (a) Process shall be served by a
sheriff, or if the sheriff 
is disqualified, by a coroner of some county of the
State.  A 
sheriff of a county with a population of less than 2,000,000 
1,000,000
may employ civilian personnel to serve process.  In

counties with a population of less than 2,000,000 1,000,000, 
process may
be served, without special appointment, by a person 
who is licensed or
registered as a private detective under the 
Private Detective, Private
Alarm,  Private
Security, 
Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004 or by a 
registered
employee of a private detective
agency certified 
under that Act.  A private detective or licensed
employee must 
supply the sheriff of any county in which he serves process

with a copy of his license or certificate; however, the failure 
of a person
to supply the copy shall not in any way impair the 
validity of process
served by the person. The court may, in its 
discretion upon motion, order
service to be made by a private 
person over 18 years of age and not a party
to the action.
It is 
not necessary that service be made by a sheriff or
coroner of 
the county in which service is made. If served or sought to be

served by a sheriff or coroner, he or she shall endorse his or 
her return
thereon, and if by a private person the return shall 
be by affidavit.

    (a-5) Upon motion and in its discretion, the court may 
appoint as a
special process
server a
private detective agency 
certified under the Private Detective, Private Alarm,
Private

Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.  Under 
the appointment,
any employee of
the
private detective agency 
who is registered under that Act may serve the
process.  The

motion and the order of appointment must contain the number of 
the certificate
issued to
the private detective agency by the 
Department of Professional Regulation under
the
Private 
Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint 
Vendor, and Locksmith Act of
2004.

    (b) Summons may be served upon the defendants wherever they 
may be
found in the State, by any person authorized to serve 
process. An officer
may serve summons in his or her official 
capacity outside his or her county,
but fees for mileage 
outside the county of the officer cannot be taxed
as costs. The 
person serving the process in a foreign county may make
return 
by mail.

    (c) If any sheriff, coroner, or other person to whom any 
process is
delivered, neglects or refuses to make return of the 
same, the plaintiff
may petition the court to enter a rule 
requiring the sheriff, coroner,
or other person, to make return 
of the process on a day to be fixed by
the court, or to show 
cause on that day why that person should not be attached
for 
contempt of the court. The plaintiff shall then cause a written

notice of the rule to be served on the sheriff, coroner, or 
other
person. If good and sufficient cause be not shown to 
excuse the officer
or other person, the court shall adjudge him 
or her guilty of a contempt, and
shall impose punishment as in 
other cases of contempt.

    (d) If process is served by a sheriff or coroner, the court 
may tax
the fee of the sheriff or coroner as costs in the 
proceeding.  If process
is served by a private person or entity, 
the court may establish a fee
therefor and tax such fee as 
costs in the proceedings.

    (e) In addition to the powers stated in Section 8.1a of the 
Housing
Authorities Act, in counties with a population of 
3,000,000 or more
inhabitants,
members of a housing authority 
police force may serve process for forcible
entry and detainer 
actions commenced by that housing authority and may execute

orders of possession for that housing authority.

    (f) In counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more, 
process may be
served, with special appointment by the court,

by a private process server or
a law enforcement agency other 
than the county sheriff
in proceedings instituted under the

Forcible Entry and Detainer Article of this Code as a result of 
a lessor or
lessor's assignee declaring a lease void pursuant 
to Section 11 of the
Controlled Substance and Cannabis Nuisance 
Act.

(Source: P.A. 95-613, eff. 9-11-07.)

 
    (735 ILCS 5/2-203.2  new)
    Sec. 2-203.2. Service on an inmate. For the security of a 
correctional institution
or facility or jail, a process server 
may be refused entry into that correctional institution
or 
facility or jail. Each correctional institution or facility or 
jail shall designate a
representative to accept service from a 
licensed or registered private detective or agency for
purposes 
of effectuating service upon an inmate in the custody of the 
institution, facility,
or jail. With respect to an inmate 
incarcerated in an Illinois Department of Corrections

facility, the process server shall contact the chief 
administrative officer in
advance to arrange and designate the 
time and date, during regularly scheduled business
hours, that 
the facility representative will meet with and accept service 
from the process
server. Service upon a warden's or sheriff's 
representative shall constitute substitute
service and a 
mailing to the inmate of the process shall be completed by the 
server in
accordance with Section 2-202. A warden's or 
sheriff's representative accepting
substitute service shall 
forward the process to the inmate, but if for any reason the 
process
is not forwarded to the inmate, the sheriff, sheriff's 
representative, warden, or warden's
representative shall not 
be responsible for any civil fine or penalty, or have other 
liability.
If for any reason an inmate is not in the 
correctional institution or facility or jail at the
time of the 
service of process, a warden's or sheriff's representative may 
refuse to accept
service for the inmate. If it is determined 
after the process has been left with the
designated 
representative, that the inmate is not present at that 
institution or facility or
jail, the designated representative 
shall promptly return it to the licensed or registered
private 
detective or agency, indicating that the substitute service 
could not be effectuated.
The process server shall promptly 
notify the court of the unsuccessful service.
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.