(35 ILCS 200/21-40)

Sec. 21-40. Ordinance for delayed due date; accrual of interest.

(a) In any county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county board may adopt an ordinance under which 50% of each installment of taxes shall not become delinquent until 60 days after each installment would otherwise become delinquent under Sections 21-15, 21-20, 21-25 or 21-30.

(b) Beginning with installments of taxes and special assessments payable in 1994, in any county that has been designated, in whole or in part, as a disaster area by the President of the United States or the Governor of the State of Illinois due to a disaster that occurred during the calendar year in which the taxes are payable or in the preceding calendar year, the county board may adopt an ordinance or resolution under which interest allowed to be assessed on special assessments or allowed to be assessed under Sections 21-15, 21-20, and 21-25 on delinquent installments of taxes for real property within one or more townships (or congressional townships if the assessor's books are organized by congressional townships) designated by the county board, that have been affected by the disaster does not accrue until the court enters the order for sale of the property. The ordinance or resolution shall provide that a person may pay a delinquent installment of taxes or special assessment without interest being assessed until the last working day before the court enters the order for sale of the property. If adopted, the ordinance or resolution must establish a procedure for affected property owners to make application to a designated county official who shall determine, according to the guidelines in the ordinance or resolution, whether the property is substantially damaged or adversely affected and shall approve damaged or adversely affected property for the delay in accrual of interest specified in the ordinance or resolution. The designated county official shall notify the county collector of the parcel number and the name of the owner of property approved for relief.

(c) (1) The governing authority of any county that has been designated, in whole or in part, as a disaster area by the President of the United States or the Governor of the State of Illinois may adopt an ordinance or resolution modifying the provisions of this Act relating to any specified installment or installments of real property tax or special assessment on real property that is situated within the designated disaster area and that is determined, in the manner provided in the ordinance or resolution, to be substantially damaged or adversely affected as a result of that disaster.

The ordinance or resolution may:

(A) postpone the date on which any specified installment or installments of tax due on that real property in the current year becomes or became delinquent under Section 21-15, 21-20, or 21-25;

(B) exempt any specified installment or installments of tax due on that real property from the interest penalty provided under Section 21-15, 21-20, or 21-25 until the postponed delinquency date established by the ordinance or resolution;

(C) postpone the date on which a special assessment due on that real property in the current year becomes or became delinquent; and exempt a special assessment due on that real property from any interest penalty until the postponed delinquency date established by the ordinance or resolution; and

(D) order the county collector not to give notice of application for judgment for sale under Section 21-110 or 21-120 and not to apply for judgment and order of sale under Section 21-150, until after the postponed delinquency date for the final installment of tax or special assessment due on that real property as established in the ordinance or resolution.

(2) The ordinance or resolution shall establish a procedure for owners of real property situated in the designated disaster area to make application to a designated county official, who shall determine, within the guidelines established by the ordinance or resolution, if the property is substantially damaged or adversely affected and approve the property for relief as specified in the ordinance or resolution adopted under this subsection (c). The designated county official shall notify the county collector of the parcel number and name of the property owner of property approved for relief.

(3) The ordinance or resolution may also direct the county collector to give a credit against a special assessment or the extension of the general corporate levy of the county for the year following the year in which the disaster is declared to the owner of property approved for relief in an amount equal to any interest penalty paid by that owner on any specified installment or installments of tax due on that property in the year the disaster is declared, if that interest penalty was paid before the ordinance or resolution was adopted or before the postponed delinquency dates.

(4) The ordinance or resolution may also direct the county collector to refund any installment or installments, and any special assessment or interest penalties thereon, of tax due, in the year the disaster is declared, on property approved for relief, that have been paid by the holder of a certificate of purchase for a prior year on that property.

(Source: P.A. 88-455; 88-518; 88-660, eff. 9-16-94; 89-89, eff. 6-30-95.)