Public Act 097-0549
Public Act 0549 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Public Act 097-0549
| | HB0242 Enrolled | LRB097 06393 KMW 46475 b |
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| 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 changing Section | 5-1121 as follows:
| (55 ILCS 5/5-1121)
| Sec. 5-1121. Demolition, repair, or enclosure.
| (a) The county board of each county may
demolish, repair, | or enclose or cause the demolition, repair, or enclosure of
| dangerous and unsafe buildings or uncompleted and abandoned | buildings within
the territory of the county, but outside the | territory of any municipality, and
may remove or cause the | removal of garbage, debris, and other hazardous,
noxious, or | unhealthy substances or materials from those buildings.
If a | township within the county makes a formal request to the county | board
as provided in Section 85-50 of the Township Code that | the county board
commence specified proceedings under this | Section with respect to property
located within the township | but outside the territory of any municipality,
then, at the | next regular county board meeting occurring at least 10 days
| after the formal request is made to the county board, the | county board shall
either commence the requested proceedings or | decline to do so (either
formally or by failing to commence the |
| proceedings within 60 days after act on the request) and shall | notify the township
board making the request of the county | board's decision.
In any
county having adopted, by referendum | or otherwise, a county health department
as provided by | Division 5-25 of the Counties Code or its predecessor, the
| county board of any such county may upon a formal request by | the city, village,
or incorporated town demolish, repair or | cause the demolition or repair of
dangerous and unsafe | buildings or uncompleted and abandoned buildings within
the | territory of any city, village, or incorporated town having a | population of
less than 50,000.
| The county board shall apply to the circuit court of the | county
in which the building is located (i) for an order | authorizing action to
be taken with respect to a building if | the owner or owners of the building,
including the lien holders | of record, after at least 15 days' written
notice by mail to do | so, have failed to commence proceedings to put the
building in | a safe
condition or to demolish it or (ii) for an order | requiring the owner or
owners of record to demolish, repair, or | enclose the building or to remove
garbage, debris, and other | hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or
materials from | the building. It is not a defense to the cause of action
that | the building is boarded up or otherwise enclosed, although the | court
may order the defendant to have the building boarded up | or otherwise
enclosed. Where, upon diligent search, the | identity or whereabouts of the
owner or owners of the building, |
| including the lien holders of record,
is not ascertainable, | notice mailed to the person or persons in whose name
the real | estate was last assessed and the posting of such notice upon | the
premises sought to be demolished or repaired is sufficient | notice under this
Section.
| The hearing upon the application to the circuit court shall | be expedited
by the court and shall be given precedence over | all other suits.
| The cost of the demolition, repair, enclosure, or removal | incurred by
the county, by an intervenor, or by a lien holder | of record,
including court costs, attorney's fees, and other | costs related to the
enforcement of this Section, is | recoverable from the owner or owners of
the real estate or the | previous owner or both if the property was transferred
during | the 15 day notice period and is a lien on the real estate; the | lien is
superior to all prior existing liens and encumbrances, | except taxes, if, within
180 days after the repair, demolition, | enclosure, or removal, the county,
the lien holder of record, | or the intervenor who incurred the cost and expense
shall file | a notice of lien for the cost and expense incurred in the | office of
the recorder in the county in which the real estate | is located or in the office
of the registrar of titles of the | county if the real estate affected is
registered under the | Registered Titles (Torrens) Act.
| The notice must consist of a sworn statement setting out | (1) a
description of the real estate sufficient for its |
| identification, (2)
the amount of money representing the cost | and expense incurred, and (3) the
date or dates when the cost | and expense was incurred by the county,
the lien holder of | record, or the intervenor. Upon payment of the cost and
expense | by the owner of or persons interested in the property after the
| notice of lien has been filed, the lien shall be released by | the
county, the person in whose name the lien has been filed, | or the
assignee of the lien, and the release may be filed of | record as in the case
of filing notice of lien. Unless the lien | is enforced under subsection (b),
the lien may be enforced by | foreclosure proceedings as in the case of
mortgage foreclosures | under Article XV of the Code of Civil Procedure or
mechanics' | lien foreclosures. An action to foreclose this lien
may be | commenced at any time after the date of filing of the notice of
| lien. The costs of foreclosure incurred by the county, | including
court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, advances to | preserve the property,
and other costs related to the | enforcement of this subsection, plus
statutory interest, are a | lien on the real estate and are recoverable by
the county from | the owner or owners of the real estate.
| All liens arising under this subsection (a) shall be | assignable.
The assignee of the lien shall have the same power | to enforce the lien
as the assigning party, except that the | lien may not be
enforced under subsection (b).
| If the appropriate official of any county determines that | any
dangerous and unsafe building or uncompleted and abandoned |
| building within
its territory fulfills the requirements for an | action by the county
under the Abandoned Housing Rehabilitation | Act, the county may
petition under that Act in a proceeding | brought under this subsection.
| (b) In any case where a county has obtained a lien under
| subsection (a), the county may enforce the lien under
this | subsection (b) in the same proceeding in which the lien is | authorized.
| A county desiring to enforce a lien under this subsection | (b) shall
petition the court to retain jurisdiction for | foreclosure proceedings under
this subsection. Notice of the | petition shall be served, by certified or
registered mail, on | all persons who were served notice under subsection (a).
The | court shall conduct a hearing on the petition not less than 15
| days after the notice is served. If the court determines that | the
requirements of this subsection (b) have been satisfied, it | shall grant the
petition and retain jurisdiction over the | matter until the foreclosure
proceeding is completed. The costs | of foreclosure incurred by the
county, including court costs, | reasonable attorneys' fees, advances
to preserve the property, | and other costs related to the enforcement of
this subsection, | plus statutory interest, are a lien on the real estate and
are | recoverable by the county from the owner or owners of the real
| estate. If the court denies the petition, the county may | enforce the
lien in a separate action as provided in subsection | (a).
|
| All persons designated in Section 15-1501 of the Code of | Civil Procedure
as necessary parties in a mortgage foreclosure | action shall be joined as
parties before issuance of an order | of foreclosure. Persons designated
in Section 15-1501 of the | Code of Civil Procedure as permissible parties
may also be | joined as parties in the action.
| The provisions of Article XV of the Code of Civil Procedure | applicable to
mortgage foreclosures shall apply to the | foreclosure of a lien under
this subsection (b), except to the | extent that those provisions are
inconsistent with this | subsection. For purposes of foreclosures
of liens under this | subsection, however, the redemption period described in
| subsection (b) of Section 15-1603 of the Code of Civil | Procedure shall end
60 days after the date of entry of the | order of foreclosure.
| (c) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the | county
board of any county may petition the circuit court to | have
property declared abandoned under this subsection (c) if:
| (1) the property has been tax delinquent for 2 or more | years or bills
for water service for the property have been | outstanding for 2 or more years;
| (2) the property is unoccupied by persons legally in | possession; and
| (3) the property contains a dangerous or unsafe | building.
| All persons having an interest of record in the property, |
| including tax
purchasers and beneficial owners of any Illinois | land trust having title to
the property, shall be named as | defendants in the petition and shall be
served with process. In | addition, service shall be had under Section
2-206 of the Code | of Civil Procedure as in other cases affecting property.
| The county, however, may proceed under this subsection in a
| proceeding brought under subsection (a). Notice of the petition
| shall be served by certified or registered mail on all persons | who were
served notice under subsection (a).
| If the county proves that the conditions described in this
| subsection exist and the owner of record of the property does | not enter
an appearance in the action, or, if title to the | property is held by an
Illinois land trust, if neither the | owner of record nor the owner of the
beneficial interest of the | trust enters an appearance, the court
shall declare the | property abandoned.
| If that determination is made, notice shall be sent by | certified or
registered mail to all persons having an interest | of record in the
property, including tax purchasers and | beneficial owners of any Illinois
land trust having title to | the property, stating that title to the
property will be | transferred to the county unless, within 30 days of
the notice, | the owner of record enters an appearance in the action, or
| unless any other person having an interest in the property | files with the
court a request to demolish the dangerous or | unsafe building or to put the
building in safe condition.
|
| If the owner of record enters an appearance in the action | within the 30
day period, the court shall vacate its order | declaring the property
abandoned. In that case, the county may | amend its complaint in order
to initiate proceedings under | subsection (a).
| If a request to demolish or repair the building is filed | within the 30
day period, the court shall grant permission to | the requesting party to
demolish the building within 30 days or | to restore the building to safe
condition within 60 days after | the request is granted. An extension of
that period for up to | 60 additional days may be given for good cause. If
more than | one person with an interest in the property files a timely
| request, preference shall be given to the person with the lien | or other
interest of the highest priority.
| If the requesting party proves to the court that the | building has been
demolished or put in a safe condition within | the period of time granted by
the court, the court shall issue | a quitclaim judicial deed for the
property to the requesting | party, conveying only the interest of the owner
of record, upon | proof of payment to the county of all costs incurred
by the | county in connection with the action, including but not
limited | to court costs, attorney's fees, administrative costs, the
| costs, if any, associated with building enclosure or removal, | and receiver's
certificates. The interest in the property so | conveyed shall be subject to
all liens and encumbrances on the | property. In addition, if the interest is
conveyed to a person |
| holding a certificate of purchase for the property
under the | Property Tax Code, the conveyance shall
be subject to the | rights of redemption of all persons entitled to redeem under
| that Act, including the original owner of record.
| If no person with an interest in the property files a | timely request or
if the requesting party fails to demolish the | building or put the building
in safe condition within the time | specified by the court, the county
may petition the court to | issue a judicial deed for the property to the
county. A | conveyance by judicial deed shall operate to extinguish
all | existing ownership interests in, liens on, and other interest | in the
property, including tax liens.
| (d) Each county may use the provisions of this subsection | to expedite the
removal of certain buildings that are a | continuing hazard to the community in
which they are located.
| If a residential building is 2 stories or less in height as | defined by the
county's building code, and the official | designated to be
in charge of enforcing the county's building | code determines that the
building is open and vacant and an | immediate and continuing hazard to the
community in which the | building is located, then the official shall be
authorized to | post a notice not less than 2 feet by 2 feet in size on the
| front of the building. The notice shall be dated as of the date | of the
posting and shall state that unless the building is | demolished, repaired,
or enclosed, and unless any garbage, | debris, and other hazardous, noxious,
or unhealthy substances |
| or materials are removed so that an immediate and
continuing | hazard to the community no longer exists, then the building may
| be demolished, repaired, or enclosed, or any garbage, debris, | and other
hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or | materials may be removed, by
the county.
| Not later than 30 days following the posting of the notice, | the
county shall do both of the following:
| (1) Cause to be sent, by certified mail, return receipt | requested,
a notice to all owners of
record of the | property, the beneficial owners of any Illinois land trust
| having title to the property, and all lienholders of record | in the property,
stating the intent of the county to | demolish,
repair, or enclose the building or remove any | garbage, debris, or other
hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy | substances or materials if that action is
not taken by the | owner or owners.
| (2) Cause to be published, in a newspaper published or | circulated in the
county where the building is located, a | notice setting forth (i)
the permanent tax index number and | the address of the building, (ii) a
statement that the | property is open and vacant and constitutes an immediate | and
continuing hazard to the community, and (iii) a | statement that the county
intends to demolish, repair, or | enclose the building or remove any garbage,
debris, or | other hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or | materials if
the owner or owners or lienholders of record |
| fail to do so. This notice shall
be published for 3 | consecutive days.
| A person objecting to the proposed actions of the county | board may
file his or her objection in an appropriate form in a | court of competent
jurisdiction.
| If the building is not demolished, repaired, or enclosed, | or the garbage,
debris, or other hazardous, noxious, or | unhealthy substances or materials are
not removed, within 30 | days of mailing the notice to the owners of record,
the | beneficial owners of any Illinois land trust having title to | the
property, and all lienholders of record in the property, or
| within 30 days of the last day of publication of the notice, | whichever is
later, the county board shall have the power to | demolish, repair, or
enclose the building or to remove any | garbage, debris, or other hazardous,
noxious, or unhealthy | substances or materials.
| The county may proceed to demolish, repair, or enclose a | building
or remove any garbage, debris, or other hazardous, | noxious, or unhealthy
substances or materials under this | subsection within a 120-day period
following the date of the | mailing of the notice if the appropriate official
determines | that the demolition, repair, enclosure, or removal of any | garbage,
debris, or other hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy | substances or materials is
necessary to remedy the immediate | and continuing hazard. If, however, before
the county proceeds | with any of the actions authorized by this
subsection, any |
| person has sought a hearing under this subsection before a
| court and has served a copy of the complaint on the chief | executive officer of
the county, then the county shall not | proceed with the demolition,
repair, enclosure, or removal of | garbage, debris, or other substances until the
court determines | that that action is necessary to remedy the hazard and issues
| an order authorizing the county to do so.
| Following the demolition, repair, or enclosure of a | building, or the
removal of garbage, debris, or other | hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy
substances or materials under | this subsection, the county may file a
notice of lien against | the real estate for the cost of the demolition,
repair, | enclosure, or removal within 180 days after the repair, | demolition,
enclosure, or removal occurred, for the cost and | expense incurred, in the
office of the recorder in the county | in which the real estate is located or
in the office of the | registrar of titles of the county if the real estate
affected | is registered under the Registered Titles (Torrens) Act. The
| notice of lien shall consist of a sworn statement setting forth | (i) a
description of the real estate, such as the address or | other description of
the property, sufficient for its | identification; (ii) the expenses incurred
by the county in | undertaking the remedial actions authorized under
this | subsection; (iii) the date or dates the expenses were incurred | by
the county; (iv) a statement by the official
responsible for | enforcing the building code that the building was open and
|
| vacant and constituted an immediate and continuing hazard
to | the community; (v) a statement by the official that the
| required sign was posted on the building, that notice was sent | by certified
mail to the owners of record, and that notice was | published in accordance
with this subsection; and (vi) a | statement as to when and where the notice
was published. The | lien authorized by this subsection may thereafter be
released | or enforced by the county as provided in subsection (a).
| (e) In any case where a county has obtained a lien under | subsection (a),
the county may also bring an action for a money | judgment against the owner or
owners of the real estate in the | amount of the lien in the same manner as
provided for bringing | causes of action in Article II of the Code of Civil
Procedure | and, upon obtaining a judgment, file a judgment lien against | all of
the real estate of the owner or owners and enforce that | lien as provided for in
Article XII of the Code of Civil | Procedure.
| (Source: P.A. 91-533, eff. 8-13-99; 91-561, eff. 1-1-00; | 92-347, eff.
8-15-01.)
| Section 10. The Township Code is amended by changing | Section 85-10 as follows:
| (60 ILCS 1/85-10)
| Sec. 85-10. Township corporate powers.
| (a) Every township has the corporate capacity to exercise |
| the
powers granted to it, or necessarily implied, and no
| others. Every township has the powers specified in this | Section.
| (b) A township may sue and be sued.
| (c) A township may acquire (by purchase, gift, or legacy) | and hold property,
both real and personal, for the use of its | inhabitants and may sell and
convey that property. A township | may purchase any real estate or personal
property for public | purposes under contracts providing for payment in
installments | over a period of time of not more than 20 years in the case of
| real estate and not more than 10 years in the case of personal | property.
A township may finance the purchase of any real | estate or personal property
for public purpose under finance | contracts providing for payment in
installments over a period | of time of not more than 20 years in the case of
real estate and | not more than 10 years in the case of personal property.
A | township may construct a township hall under contracts | providing for payment
over a period of time of not more than 20 | 10 years. The interest on the unpaid
balance shall not exceed | that permitted in the Bond Authorization Act.
| (d) A township may make all contracts necessary in the | exercise of the
township's powers.
| (e) A township may expend or contract for the expenditure | of any federal
funds made available to the township by law for | any purpose for which taxes
imposed upon township property or | property within the township may be expended.
|
| (f) A township may acquire (singly or jointly with a | municipality or
municipalities) land or any interest in land | located within its township
limits. The township may acquire | the land or interest by gift, purchase, or
otherwise, but not | by condemnation. A township may (singly or jointly) improve
or | arrange for the improvement of the land for industrial or | commercial
purposes and may donate and convey the land or | interest in land so acquired
and so improved to the Illinois | Finance Authority.
| (g) (Blank)
| (h) It is the policy of this State that all powers granted | either expressly
or by necessary implication by this Code, any | other Illinois statute, or the
Illinois Constitution to | townships may be exercised by those
townships notwithstanding | effects on competition. It is the intention of the
General | Assembly that the "State action exemption" to the application | of
federal antitrust statutes be fully available to townships | to the extent
their activities are authorized by law as stated | in this Code.
| (i) A township may receive funds under the federal Housing | and
Community Development Act of 1974 and may expend or | contract for the
expenditure of those funds and other township | funds for the
activities specified in Section 105 of that Act. | The powers granted under this
subsection (i) are in addition to | powers otherwise possessed by a township and
shall not be | construed as a limitation of those other powers.
|
| (j) A township may establish reasonable fees for recreation | and
instructional programs sponsored by the township.
| (Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04; 93-743, eff. 7-15-04.)
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | becoming law.
|
Effective Date: 8/25/2011
|
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