SB0845 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 08076 HLH 18162 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB0845

Introduced 2/7/2017, by Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/21-150
35 ILCS 200/21-295
35 ILCS 200/21-305
35 ILCS 200/21-310

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, in Cook County, all applications for judgment and order of sale for taxes and special assessments on delinquent properties shall be made (i) by April 1, 2017 for tax year 2015, and (ii) by March 1 of the second calendar year after the applicable tax year for tax year 2016 and thereafter (currently, by May 1, 2016 for tax year 2014, by March 1, 2017 for tax year 2015, and within 90 days after the second installment due date for tax year 2016 and each tax year thereafter). Makes changes concerning the indemnity fee. Provides that the fee shall be adjusted annually beginning on February 1, 2023. Provides that the court may not declare a sale in error solely based on an error of the assessor, chief county assessment officer, board of review, board of appeals, or other county official if the court finds that the error is immaterial. In provisions that require the court to declare a sale in error in the case of a voluntary or involuntary petition under the provisions of the federal Bankruptcy Code of 1978, provides that the petition must be pending on the date of the application for judgment and order of sale or the date of the tax sale. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning revenue.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing Sections 21-150, 21-295, 21-305, and 21-310 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/21-150)

Sec. 21-150. Time of applying for judgment. Except as otherwise provided in this Section or by ordinance or resolution enacted under subsection (c) of Section 21-40, in any county with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, all applications for judgment and order of sale for taxes and special assessments on delinquent properties shall be made within 90 days after the second installment due date. In Cook County, all applications for judgment and order of sale for taxes and special assessments on delinquent properties shall be made (i) by July 1, 2011 for tax year 2009, (ii) by July 1, 2012 for tax year 2010, (iii) by July 1, 2013 for tax year 2011, (iv) by July 1, 2014 for tax year 2012, (v) by July 1, 2015 for tax year 2013, (vi) by May 1, 2016 for tax year 2014, (vii) by April 1, 2017 for tax year 2015, and (viii) by March 1 of the second calendar year after the applicable tax year for tax year 2016 and March 1, 2017 for tax year 2015, and (viii) within 90 days after the second installment due date for tax year 2016 and each tax year thereafter. In those counties which have adopted an ordinance under Section 21-40, the application for judgment and order of sale for delinquent taxes shall be made in December. In the 10 years next following the completion of a general reassessment of property in any county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, made under an order of the Department, applications for judgment and order of sale shall be made as soon as may be and on the day specified in the advertisement required by Section 21-110 and 21-115. If for any cause the court is not held on the day specified, the cause shall stand continued, and it shall be unnecessary to re-advertise the list or notice.

Within 30 days after the day specified for the application for judgment the court shall hear and determine the matter. If judgment is rendered, the sale shall begin on the date within 5 business days specified in the notice as provided in Section 21-115. If the collector is prevented from advertising and obtaining judgment within the time periods specified by this Section, the collector may obtain judgment at any time thereafter; but if the failure arises by the county collector's not complying with any of the requirements of this Code, he or she shall be held on his or her official bond for the full amount of all taxes and special assessments charged against him or her. Any failure on the part of the county collector shall not be allowed as a valid objection to the collection of any tax or assessment, or to entry of a judgment against any delinquent properties included in the application of the county collector.

(Source: P.A. 97-637, eff. 12-16-11; 98-1101, eff. 8-26-14.)

(35 ILCS 200/21-295)

Sec. 21-295. Creation of indemnity fund.

(a) In counties of less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, each person purchasing any property at a sale under this Code shall pay to the County Collector, prior to the issuance of any certificate of purchase, a fee of $20 for each item purchased. A like sum shall be paid for each year that all or a portion of subsequent taxes are paid by the tax purchaser and posted to the tax judgment, sale, redemption and forfeiture record where the underlying certificate of purchase is recorded.

(a-5) In counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, with respect to tax sales commenced on or before February 1, 2023, each person purchasing property at a sale under this Code shall pay to the County Collector a fee of $80 for each item purchased plus an additional sum equal to 5% of taxes, interest, and penalties paid by the purchaser, including the taxes, interest, and penalties paid under Section 21-240. In these counties, with respect to tax sales commenced on or before February 1, 2023, the certificate holder shall also pay to the County Collector a fee of $80 for each year that all or a portion of subsequent taxes are paid by the tax purchaser and posted to the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and forfeiture record, plus an additional sum equal to 5% of all subsequent taxes, interest, and penalties. The additional 5% fees are not required after December 31, 2006. The changes to this subsection made by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly are not a new enactment, but declaratory of existing law.

(a-10) In counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, with respect to tax sales commencing on or after February 1, 2018, each person purchasing property at a sale under this Code shall pay to the County Collector a fee equal to 2.5% of the taxes, interest, and costs paid by the purchaser, as adjusted under this subsection, including the taxes, interest, and costs paid under Section 21-240. This fee shall be in addition to any other fee payable by the tax purchaser under this Code. With respect to those sales, the certificate holder shall pay to the County Collector a fee equal to 2.5% of all subsequent taxes, interest, and costs paid by the tax purchaser and posted to the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and forfeiture record. The fees set forth in this subsection shall be adjusted on July 1, 2023 and automatically adjusted annually on July 1 of each year thereafter to a percentage not greater than 3.5% and not less than 0% of taxes, interest, and costs purchased or paid by the purchaser. That adjusted fee percentage shall be published on the County Collector's website not later than July 1 of each year, effective for tax sales commenced on or after February 1 of the following year. In calendar year 2023 and all subsequent years, the fee percentage, within the limits provided by this subsection, shall be automatically adjusted as follows according to data set forth in the County Collector's most recent independently audited financial statement: (1) if the assets of the Indemnity Fund are less than the judgments outstanding against it as of November 30 of the most recently completed fiscal year, the fee percentage for the following year shall be 3.5%; and (2) if the assets of the Indemnity Fund are equal to or greater than the judgments outstanding against it as of November 30 of the most recently completed fiscal year, the fee percentage for the following year shall be adjusted to the fee percentage which, if multiplied by the total value of taxes sold in the prior year, yields a sum that otherwise would have been sufficient to pay all judgments obtained and anticipated against the Indemnity Fund and filed with the County Clerk on or before November 30 of that prior year, rounded upward to the nearest 0.25%.

(b) The amount paid prior to issuance of the certificate of purchase pursuant to subsection (a), or (a-5), or (a-10) shall be included in the purchase price of the property in the certificate of purchase and all amounts paid under this Section shall be included in the amount required to redeem under Section 21-355. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of Section 21-300, all money received under subsection (a), or (a-5), or (a-10) shall be paid by the Collector to the County Treasurer of the County in which the land is situated, for the purpose of an indemnity fund. The County Treasurer, as trustee of that fund, shall invest all of that fund, principal and income, in his or her hands from time to time, if not immediately required for payments of indemnities under subsection (a) of Section 21-305, in investments permitted by the Illinois State Board of Investment under Article 22A of the Illinois Pension Code. The county collector shall report annually to the county clerk on the condition and income of the fund. The indemnity fund shall be held to satisfy judgments obtained against the County Treasurer, as trustee of the fund. No payment shall be made from the fund, except upon a judgment of the court which ordered the issuance of a tax deed.

(c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly shall apply only to tax sales commenced on or after February 1, 2018.

(Source: P.A. 94-412, eff. 8-2-05.)

(35 ILCS 200/21-305)

Sec. 21-305. Payments from Indemnity Fund.

(a) Any owner of property sold under any provision of this Code who sustains loss or damage by reason of the issuance of a tax deed under Section 21-445 or 22-40 and who is barred or is in any way precluded from bringing an action for the recovery of the property shall have the right to indemnity for the loss or damage sustained, limited as follows:

(1) An owner who resided on property that contained 4 or less dwelling units on the last day of the period of redemption and who is equitably entitled to compensation for the loss or damage sustained has the right to indemnity. An equitable indemnity award shall be limited to the fair cash value of the property as of the date the tax deed was issued less any mortgages or liens on the property, and the award will not exceed $99,000. The Court shall liberally construe this equitable entitlement standard to provide compensation wherever, in the discretion of the Court, the equities warrant the action.

(1.5) An owner who resided on of a property that contained 4 or less dwelling units who requests an award in excess of $99,000 must prove that the loss of his or her property was not attributable to his or her own fault or negligence before a fair cash value an award in excess of $99,000 will be granted.

(2) An owner of property not referenced in paragraph (1) or (1.5) of this subsection who sustains the loss or damage of any property occasioned by reason of the issuance of a tax deed, without fault or negligence of his or her own, may recover has the right to indemnity limited to the lesser of the fair cash value of the property as of the date the tax deed was issued, less any mortgages or liens on the property, or 200% of the median sales price for homes in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area, as established in the most recent Annual Report of a statewide association of real estate agents and reported annually by the county chief financial officer; or, in the event such publication is not available, 150% of the most recent median value of owner occupied housing units in Cook County, as published by the United States Census Bureau and reported annually by the county chief financial officer, less any mortgages or liens on the property. In determining the existence of fault or negligence, the court shall consider whether the owner exercised ordinary reasonable diligence under all of the relevant circumstances.

(3) In determining an award under this Section the fair cash value of property less any mortgages or liens on the property, the fair cash value under paragraph (1), (1.5), or (2) of this subsection, or the median value of a single-family residential property under paragraph (2) of this Section, less any mortgages or liens, shall be reduced by the principal amount of all taxes paid by the tax purchaser or his or her assignee before the issuance of the tax deed.

(4) If an award made under this Section paragraph (1) or (2) is subject to a reduction by the amount of an outstanding mortgage or lien on the property, other than the principal amount of all taxes paid by the tax purchaser or his or her assignee before the issuance of the tax deed and the petitioner would be personally liable to the mortgagee or lienholder for all or part of that reduction amount, the court shall order an additional indemnity award to be paid directly to the mortgagee or lienholder sufficient to discharge the petitioner's personal liability. The court, in its discretion, may order the joinder of the mortgagee or lienholder as an additional party to the indemnity action.

(b) Indemnity fund proceedings; subrogation.

(1) Any person claiming indemnity hereunder shall petition the Court which ordered the tax deed to issue, shall name the County Treasurer, as Trustee of the indemnity fund, as defendant to the petition, and shall ask that judgment be entered against the County Treasurer, as Trustee, in the amount of the indemnity sought. The provisions of the Civil Practice Law shall apply to proceedings under the petition, except that neither the petitioner nor County Treasurer shall be entitled to trial by jury on the issues presented in the petition. The Court shall liberally construe this Section to provide compensation wherever in the discretion of the Court the equities warrant such action.

(2) The County Treasurer, as Trustee of the indemnity fund, shall be subrogated to all parties in whose favor judgment may be rendered against him or her, and by third party complaint may bring in as a defendant any person, other than the tax deed grantee and its successors in title, not a party to the action who is or may be liable to him or her, as subrogee, for all or part of the petitioner's claim against him or her.

(c) Any contract involving the proceeds of a judgment for indemnity under this Section, between the tax deed grantee or its successors in title and the indemnity petitioner or his or her successors, shall be in writing. In any action brought under Section 21-305, the Collector shall be entitled to discovery regarding, but not limited to, the following:

(1) the identity of all persons beneficially interested in the contract, directly or indirectly, including at least the following information: the names and addresses of any natural persons; the place of incorporation of any corporation and the names and addresses of its shareholders unless it is publicly held; the names and addresses of all general and limited partners of any partnership; the names and addresses of all persons having an ownership interest in any entity doing business under an assumed name, and the county in which the assumed business name is registered; and the nature and extent of the interest in the contract of each person identified;

(2) the time period during which the contract was negotiated and agreed upon, from the date of the first direct or indirect contact between any of the contracting parties to the date of its execution;

(3) the name and address of each natural person who took part in negotiating the contract, and the identity and relationship of the party that the person represented in the negotiations; and

(4) the existence of an agreement for payment of attorney's fees by or on behalf of each party.

Any information disclosed during discovery may be subject to protective order as deemed appropriate by the court. The terms of the contract shall not be used as evidence of value.

(d) A petition of indemnity under this Section must be filed within 10 years after the date the tax deed was issued.

(e) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply only to tax sales commenced on or after February 1, 2018.

(Source: P.A. 97-557, eff. 7-1-12.)

(35 ILCS 200/21-310)

Sec. 21-310. Sales in error.

(a) When, upon application of the county collector, the owner of the certificate of purchase, or a municipality which owns or has owned the property ordered sold, it appears to the satisfaction of the court which ordered the property sold that any of the following subsections are applicable, the court shall declare the sale to be a sale in error:

(1) the property was not subject to taxation, or all or any part of the lien of taxes sold has become null and void pursuant to Section 21-95 or unenforceable pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 18-250 or subsection (b) of Section 22-40,

(2) the taxes or special assessments had been paid prior to the sale of the property,

(3) there is a double assessment,

(4) the description is void for uncertainty,

(5) the assessor, chief county assessment officer, board of review, board of appeals, or other county official has made an error (other than an error of judgment as to the value of any property or an error the court finds is immaterial),

(5.5) the owner of the homestead property had tendered timely and full payment to the county collector that the owner reasonably believed was due and owing on the homestead property, and the county collector did not apply the payment to the homestead property; provided that this provision applies only to homeowners, not their agents or third-party payors,

(6) prior to the tax sale a voluntary or involuntary petition has been filed by or against the legal or beneficial owner of the property requesting relief under the provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13, and that petition is pending on the date of the application for judgment and order of sale or the date of the tax sale,

(7) the property is owned by the United States, the State of Illinois, a municipality, or a taxing district, or

(8) the owner of the property is a reservist or guardsperson who is granted an extension of his or her due date under Sections 21-15, 21-20, and 21-25 of this Act.

(b) When, upon application of the owner of the certificate of purchase only, it appears to the satisfaction of the court which ordered the property sold that any of the following subsections are applicable, the court shall declare the sale to be a sale in error:

(1) A voluntary or involuntary petition under the provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 has been filed subsequent to the tax sale and prior to the issuance of the tax deed, and that petition is pending or was terminated no more than 120 days prior to the date on which the petition for sale in error is filed.

(2) The improvements upon the property sold have been substantially destroyed or rendered uninhabitable or otherwise unfit for occupancy subsequent to the tax sale and prior to the issuance of the tax deed.

(3) There is an interest held by the United States in the property sold which could not be extinguished by the tax deed.

(4) The real property contains a hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or underground storage tank that would require cleanup or other removal under any federal, State, or local law, ordinance, or regulation, only if the tax purchaser purchased the property without actual knowledge of the hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or underground storage tank. This paragraph (4) applies only if the owner of the certificate of purchase has made application for a sale in error at any time before the issuance of a tax deed.

(c) When the county collector discovers, prior to the expiration of the period of redemption, that a tax sale should not have occurred for one or more of the reasons set forth in subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(6), or (a)(7) of this Section, the county collector shall notify the last known owner of the certificate of purchase by certified and regular mail, or other means reasonably calculated to provide actual notice, that the county collector intends to declare an administrative sale in error and of the reasons therefor, including documentation sufficient to establish the reason why the sale should not have occurred. The owner of the certificate of purchase may object in writing within 28 days after the date of the mailing by the county collector. If an objection is filed, the county collector shall not administratively declare a sale in error, but may apply to the circuit court for a sale in error as provided in subsection (a) of this Section. Thirty days following the receipt of notice by the last known owner of the certificate of purchase, or within a reasonable time thereafter, the county collector shall make a written declaration, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that the taxes were sold in error and shall deliver a copy thereof to the county clerk within 30 days after the date the declaration is made for entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and forfeiture record pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section. The county collector shall promptly notify the last known owner of the certificate of purchase of the declaration by regular mail and shall promptly pay the amount of the tax sale, together with interest and costs as provided in Section 21-315, upon surrender of the original certificate of purchase.

(d) If a sale is declared to be a sale in error, the county clerk shall make entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption and forfeiture record, that the property was erroneously sold, and the county collector shall, on demand of the owner of the certificate of purchase, refund the amount paid, pay any interest and costs as may be ordered under Sections 21-315 through 21-335, and cancel the certificate so far as it relates to the property. The county collector shall deduct from the accounts of the appropriate taxing bodies their pro rata amounts paid.

(e) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply only to tax sales commenced on or after February 1, 2018.

(Source: P.A. 94-312, eff. 7-25-05; 94-662, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

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