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92_SB1666eng SB1666 Engrossed LRB9210095SMdvA 1 AN ACT in relation to taxes. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 15-10, 21-310, 21-315, 21-320, 21-325, 21-330, and 6 21-335 and by adding Section 21-251 as follows: 7 (35 ILCS 200/15-10) 8 Sec. 15-10. Exempt property; procedures for 9 certification. All property granted an exemption by the 10 Department pursuant to the requirements of Section 15-5 and 11 described in the Sections following Section 15-30 and 12 preceding Section 16-5, to the extent therein limited, is 13 exempt from taxation. In order to maintain that exempt 14 status, the titleholder or the owner of the beneficial 15 interest of any property that is exempt must file with the 16 chief county assessment officer, on or before January 31 of 17 each year (May 31 in the case of property exempted by Section 18 15-170), an affidavit stating whether there has been any 19 change in the ownership or use of the property or the status 20 of the owner-resident, or that a disabled veteran who 21 qualifies under Section 15-165 owned and used the property as 22 of January 1 of that year. The nature of any change shall be 23 stated in the affidavit. Failure to file an affidavit 24 shall, in the discretion of the assessment officer, 25 constitute cause to terminate the exemption of that property, 26 notwithstanding any other provision of this Code. Owners of 5 27 or more such exempt parcels within a county may file a single 28 annual affidavit in lieu of an affidavit for each parcel. 29 The assessment officer, upon request, shall furnish an 30 affidavit form to the owners, in which the owner may state 31 whether there has been any change in the ownership or use of SB1666 Engrossed -2- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 the property or status of the owner or resident as of January 2 1 of that year. The owner of 5 or more exempt parcels shall 3 list all the properties giving the same information for each 4 parcel as required of owners who file individual affidavits. 5 However, titleholders or owners of the beneficial 6 interest in any property exempted under any of the following 7 provisions are not required to submit an annual filing under 8 this Section: 9 (1) Section 15-45 (burial grounds) in counties of 10 less than 3,000,000 inhabitants and owned by a 11 not-for-profit organization. 12 (2) Section 15-40. 13 (3) Section 15-50 (United States property). 14(4) As is otherwise provided in Sections 15-170 and1515-175 (senior and general homestead exemptions).16 If there is a change in use or ownership, however, notice 17 must be filed pursuant to Section 15-20. 18 Annual application for homestead exemptions shall be 19 filed as provided in Section 15-170 (senior citizens 20 homestead exemption), Section 15-172 (senior citizens 21 assessment freeze homestead exemption), and Section 15-175 22 (general homestead exemption), respectively. 23 (Source: P.A. 92-333, eff. 8-10-01.) 24 (35 ILCS 200/21-251 new) 25 Sec. 21-251. Registry of owners of certificates of 26 purchase. 27 (a) The county clerk of each county shall create and 28 maintain a registry system that permanently records the 29 names, addresses, and telephone numbers of owners or 30 assignees of certificates of purchase issued pursuant to any 31 tax sale conducted under this Code. The registry may consist 32 of a single record or a combination of records maintained in 33 paper or electronic form and may include copies of records SB1666 Engrossed -3- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 kept by the county treasurer for other purposes, all to be 2 used as the county clerk deems appropriate to carry out the 3 purposes of this Section. The information in the registry 4 shall be made available to the public. 5 (b) The county clerk of each county is authorized to 6 promulgate reasonable rules, procedures, and forms for 7 purposes of creating and maintaining the registry and for 8 access to the registry information by members of the public. 9 In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, any owner of 10 a certificate of purchase pursuant to assignment may elect 11 whether to register that assignment as provided in this 12 Section, but all owners of certificates of purchase shall be 13 subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this Section. 14 In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county 15 clerk shall provide by rule whether registration of 16 assignments of certificates of purchase shall be elective or 17 mandatory. 18 (c) The owner of a certificate of purchase pursuant to 19 assignment, in order to register that assignment, shall 20 submit to the county clerk the owner's name, address, and 21 telephone number in accordance with any rules, procedures, 22 and forms promulgated by the clerk. Any registered owner of a 23 certificate of purchase may update the registration at any 24 time without charge by submitting to the county clerk any 25 lawful change of name, address, or telephone number. 26 (d) If notice is required to be given to the owner of 27 the certificate of purchase in any proceeding, whether 28 judicial or administrative, affecting a tax sale conducted 29 under any provision of this Code, the notice may be directed 30 to the most recent owner of the certificate of purchase 31 appearing in the county clerk's registry under this Section. 32 Any notice that has been directed as provided in this Section 33 shall be conclusively presumed to be properly directed to the 34 owner of the certificate of purchase for all purposes related SB1666 Engrossed -4- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 to the proceeding in which the notice is given. No objection 2 or assertion by any assignee of a certificate of purchase in 3 any proceeding shall be heard on grounds that a notice to the 4 tax purchaser was misdirected, unless that assignee's current 5 and lawful name, address, and telephone number were submitted 6 to the county clerk's registry at the time of the notice in 7 question. 8 (e) The county clerk may assess an automation fee of no 9 more than $10 to be paid by the owner of the certificate of 10 purchase for each assignment of the certificate that is 11 registered under this Section. The fee shall be collected in 12 the same manner as other fees and costs and shall be held by 13 the county clerk in a fund for purposes of automating his or 14 her office. The fee provided for under this Section shall not 15 be chargeable to the cost of redemption under Section 21-355 16 nor shall it be posted under Section 21-360 of this Code. 17 (35 ILCS 200/21-310) 18 Sec. 21-310. Sales in error. 19 (a) When, upon application of the county collector, the 20 owner of the certificate of purchase, or a municipality which 21 owns or has owned the property ordered sold, it appears to 22 the satisfaction of the court which ordered the property sold 23 that any of the following subsections are applicable, the 24 court shall declare the sale to be a sale in error: 25 (1) the property was not subject to taxation, or 26 all or any part of the lien of taxes sold has become null 27 and void pursuant to Section 21-95 or unenforceable 28 pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 18-250 or 29 subsection (b) of Section 22-40, 30 (2) the taxes or special assessments had been paid 31 prior to the sale of the property, 32 (3) there is a double assessment, 33 (4) the description is void for uncertainty, SB1666 Engrossed -5- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 (5) the assessor, chief county assessment officer, 2 board of review, board of appeals, or other county 3 official has made an error (other than an error of 4 judgment as to the value of any property), 5 (5.5) the owner of the homestead property had 6 tendered timely and full payment to the county collector 7 that the owner reasonably believed was due and owing on 8 the homestead property, and the county collector did not 9 apply the payment to the homestead property; provided 10 that this provision applies only to homeowners, not their 11 agents or third-party payors, 12 (6) prior to the tax sale a voluntary or 13 involuntary petition has been filed by or against the 14 legal or beneficial owner of the property requesting 15 relief under the provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 16 12, or 13, or 17 (7) the property is owned by the United States, the 18 State of Illinois, a municipality, or a taxing district. 19 (b) When, upon application of the owner of the 20 certificate of purchase only, it appears to the satisfaction 21 of the court which ordered the property sold that any of the 22 following subsections are applicable, the court shall declare 23 the sale to be a sale in error: 24 (1) A voluntary or involuntary petition under the 25 provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 has been 26 filed subsequent to the tax sale and prior to the 27 issuance of the tax deed. 28 (2) The improvements upon the property sold have 29 been substantially destroyed or rendered uninhabitable or 30 otherwise unfit for occupancy subsequent to the tax sale 31 and prior to the issuance of the tax deed. 32 (3) There is an interest held by the United States 33 in the property sold which could not be extinguished by 34 the tax deed. SB1666 Engrossed -6- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 (4) The real property contains a hazardous 2 substance, hazardous waste, or underground storage tank 3 that would require cleanup or other removal under any 4 federal, State, or local law, ordinance, or regulation, 5 only if the tax purchaser purchased the property without 6 actual knowledge of the hazardous substance, hazardous 7 waste, or underground storage tank. This paragraph (4) 8 applies onlyto tax purchases occurring after January 1,91990 andif the owner of the certificate of purchase has 10 made application for a sale in error at any time before 11 the issuance of a tax deed. 12 (c) When the county collector discovers, within one year 13 after the date of sale if taxes were sold at an annual tax 14 sale or within 180 days after the date of sale if taxes were 15 sold at a scavenger tax sale, that a tax sale should not have 16 occurred for one or more of the reasons set forth in 17 subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(6), or (a)(7) of this 18 Section, the county collector shall notify the last known 19 owner of the certificate of purchase by certified and regular 20 mail, or other means reasonably calculated to provide actual 21 notice, that the county collector intends to declare an 22 administrative sale in error and of the reasons therefor, 23 including documentation sufficient to establish the reason 24 why the sale should not have occurred. The owner of the 25 certificate of purchase may object in writing within 28 days 26 after the date of the mailing by the county collector. If an 27 objection is filed, the county collector shall not 28 administratively declare a sale in error, but may apply to 29 the circuit court for a sale in error as provided in 30 subsection (a) of this Section. Thirty days following the 31 receipt of notice by the last known owner of the certificate 32 of purchase, or within a reasonable time thereafter, the 33 county collector shall make a written declaration, based upon 34 clear and convincing evidence, that the taxes were sold in SB1666 Engrossed -7- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 error and shall deliver a copy thereof to the county clerk 2 within 30 days after the date the declaration is made for 3 entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and forfeiture 4 record pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section. The county 5 collector shall promptly notify the last known owner of the 6 certificate of purchase of the declaration by regular mail 7 and shall promptly pay the amount of the tax sale, together 8 with interest and costs as provided in Section 21-315, upon 9 surrender of the original certificate of purchase. 10 (d) If a sale is declared to be a sale in error, the 11 county clerk shall make entry in the tax judgment, sale, 12 redemption and forfeiture record, that the property was 13 erroneously sold, and the county collector shall, on demand 14 of the owner of the certificate of purchase, refund the 15 amount paid, pay any interest and costs as may be ordered 16 under Sections 21-315 through 21-335, and cancel the 17 certificate so far as it relates to the property. The county 18 collector shall deduct from the accounts of the appropriate 19 taxing bodies their pro rata amounts paid. 20 (Source: P.A. 91-177, eff. 1-1-00; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 21 91-924, eff. 1-1-01; 92-224, eff. 1-1-02.) 22 (35 ILCS 200/21-315) 23 Sec. 21-315. Refund of costs; interest on refund. 24 (a) IfThe court which ordersa sale in error under 25 Section 21-310, 22-35, or 22-50 is declared, the amount 26 refunded shall also includeaward a refund ofall costs paid 27 by the owner of the certificate of purchase or his or her 28 assignor which were posted to the tax judgment, sale, 29 redemption and forfeiture record. 30 (b) In those cases which arise solely under grounds set 31 forth in Section 21-310, the amount refundedcourtshall also 32 includeawardinterest on the refund of the amount paid for 33 the certificate of purchase, except as otherwise provided in SB1666 Engrossed -8- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 this Section. Interest shall be awarded and paid to the tax 2 purchaser at the rate of 1% per month from the date of sale 3 to the date of payment, or in an amount equivalent to the 4 penalty interest which would be recovered on a redemption at 5 the time of payment pursuant to the order for sale in error, 6 whichever is less. Interest shall not be paid when the sale 7 in error is made pursuant to paragraph (2) or (4) of 8 subsection (b) of Section 21-310, Section 22-35, Section 9 22-50, any ground not enumerated in Section 21-310, or in any 10 other case where the court determines that the tax purchaser 11 had actual knowledge prior to the sale of the grounds on 12 which the sale is declared to be erroneous. 13 (c) When the county collector files a petition for sale 14 in error under Section 21-310 and mails a notice thereof by 15 certified or registered mail to the last known owner of the 16 certificate of purchasetax purchaser, any interest otherwise 17 payable under this Section shall cease to accrue as of the 18 date the petition is filed, unless the tax purchaser agrees 19 to an order for sale in error upon the presentation of the 20 petition to the court. Notices under this subsection may be 21 mailed to the last knownoriginalowner of the certificate of 22 purchase, or to the latest assignee, if known. When the 23 owner of the certificate of purchase contests the collector's 24 petition solely to determine whether the grounds for sale in 25 error are such as to support a claim for interest, the court 26 may direct that the principal amount of the refund be paid to 27 the owner of the certificate of purchase forthwith. If the 28 court thereafter determines that a claim for interest lies 29 under this Section, it shall award such interest from the 30 date of sale to the date the principal amount was paid. 31 (Source: P.A. 92-224, eff. 1-1-02.) 32 (35 ILCS 200/21-320) 33 Sec. 21-320. Refund of other taxes paid by holder of SB1666 Engrossed -9- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 certificate of purchase. If a sale in error under Section 2 21-310, 22-35, or 22-50 is declared, the amount refunded 3 shall also includeThe court which orders a sale in error4shall order the refund of allother taxes paid or redeemed by 5 the owner of the certificate of purchase or his or her 6 assignor subsequent to the tax sale, together with interest 7 on those other taxes under the same terms as interest is 8 otherwise payable under Section 21-315. The interest under 9 this subsection shall be calculated at the rate of 1% per 10 month from the date the other taxes were paid and not from 11 the date of sale. The collector shall take credit in 12 settlement of his or her accounts for the refund of the other 13 taxes as in other cases of sale in error under Section 14 21-310. 15 (Source: P.A. 92-224, eff. 1-1-02.) 16 (35 ILCS 200/21-325) 17 Sec. 21-325.Orders forPayment of interest - Counties 18 of 3,000,000 or more. In counties with 3,000,000 or more 19 inhabitants, all paymentsorders for paymentof interest or 20 costs under Sections 21-315 and 21-320 and subsection (c) of 21 Section 21-310 shall be paid as provided in Sections 21-330, 22 21-335 and 21-340. In all other counties, the county 23 treasurer may determine in his or her discretion whether 24 payment of interest and costs shall be made as provided in 25 Sections 21-330, 21-335 and 21-340. In the other counties, 26 where the treasurer determines not to make payment as 27 provided in those subsections, the treasurer shall pay any 28 interest or costsawardedunder this Section pro rata from 29 those accounts where the principal refund of the tax sale 30 purchase price under Section 21-310 is taken. 31 (Source: P.A. 86-286; 86-415; 87-669; 88-455.) 32 (35 ILCS 200/21-330) SB1666 Engrossed -10- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 Sec. 21-330. Fund for payment of interest. In counties 2 of under 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county board may impose a 3 fee of up to $60, which shall be paid to the county 4 collector, upon each person purchasing any property at a sale 5 held under this Code, prior to the issuance of any 6 certificate of purchase. Each person purchasing any property 7 at a sale held under this Code in a county with 3,000,000 or 8 more inhabitants shall pay to the county collector, prior to 9 the issuance of any certificate of purchase, a fee of $100 10 for each item purchased. That amount shall be included in 11 the price paid for the certificate of purchase and the amount 12 required to redeem under Section 21-355. 13 All sums of money received under this Section shall be 14 paid by the collector to the county treasurer of the county 15 in which the property is situated for deposit into a special 16 fund. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer, as 17 trustee of the fund, to invest the principal and income of 18 the fund from time to time, if not immediately required for 19 payments under this Section, in investments as are authorized 20 by Sections 3-10009 and 3-11002 of the Counties Code. The 21 fund shall be held to paysatisfy orders for payment of22 interest and costs byobtained againstthe county treasurer 23 as trustee of the fund. No payment shall be made from the 24 fund except by order of the court declaring a sale in error 25 under Section 21-310, 22-35, or 22-50 or by declaration of 26 the county collector under subsection (c) of Section 21-310. 27 Any moneys accumulated in the fund by the county treasurer in 28 excess of $500,000 shall be paid each year prior to the 29 commencement of the annual tax sale, first to satisfy any 30 existing unpaid judgments entered pursuant to Section 21-295, 31 and any funds remaining thereafter shall be paid to the 32 general fund of the county. 33 (Source: P.A. 92-224, eff. 1-1-02.) SB1666 Engrossed -11- LRB9210095SMdvA 1 (35 ILCS 200/21-335) 2 Sec. 21-335. Claims for interest and costs. Any person 3 claiming interest or costs under Sections 21-315 through 4 21-330 shall include the claim in his or her petition for 5 sale in error under Section 21-310, 22-35, or 22-50. Any 6 claim for interest or costs which is not included in the 7 petition is waived., exceptInterest or costs may be 8 awarded, however, to the extent permitted by this Section 9 upon a sale in error petition filed by the county collector 10 or municipality or upon a declaration by the county collector 11 pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 21-310, without 12 requiring a separate filing by the claimant. Any refund of 13order forinterest or costs upon the petition for sale in 14 error or upon a declaration by the county collector pursuant 15 to subsection (c) of Section 21-310 shall be paid bydeemed16to be entered againstthe county treasurer as trustee of the 17 fund created by this Section. The fund shall be the sole 18 source for payment and satisfaction of orders for interest 19 or costs, except as otherwise provided in this subsection. 20 If the court determines that the fund has been depleted and 21 will not be restored in time to pay an award with reasonable 22 promptness, the court may authorize the collector to pay the 23 interest portion of the award pro rata from those accounts 24 where the principal refund of the tax sale purchase price 25 under Section 21-310 is taken. 26 (Source: P.A. 92-224, eff. 1-1-02.) 27 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 28 becoming law.