Public Act 103-0061
 
SB0201 EnrolledLRB103 26085 LNS 52440 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 15-1503 and by adding Section 15-1515 as
follows:
 
    (735 ILCS 5/15-1503)  (from Ch. 110, par. 15-1503)
    Sec. 15-1503. Notice of foreclosure.
    (a) A notice of foreclosure, whether the foreclosure is
initiated by complaint or counterclaim, made in accordance
with this Section and recorded in the county in which the
mortgaged real estate is located shall be constructive notice
of the pendency of the foreclosure to every person claiming an
interest in or lien on the mortgaged real estate, whose
interest or lien has not been recorded prior to the recording
of such notice of foreclosure. Such notice of foreclosure must
be executed by any party or any party's attorney and shall
include (i) the names of all plaintiffs and the case number,
(ii) the court in which the action was brought, (iii) the names
of title holders of record, (iv) a legal description of the
real estate sufficient to identify it with reasonable
certainty, (v) a common address or description of the location
of the real estate and (vi) identification of the mortgage
sought to be foreclosed. An incorrect common address or
description of the location, or an immaterial error in the
identification of a plaintiff or title holder of record, shall
not invalidate the lis pendens effect of the notice under this
Section. A notice which complies with this Section shall be
deemed to comply with Section 2-1901 of the Code of Civil
Procedure and shall have the same effect as a notice filed
pursuant to that Section; however, a notice which complies
with Section 2-1901 shall not be constructive notice unless it
also complies with the requirements of this Section.
    (b) (Blank). With respect to residential real estate, a
copy of the notice of foreclosure described in subsection (a)
of Section 15-1503 shall be sent by first class mail, postage
prepaid, to the municipality within the boundary of which the
mortgaged real estate is located, or to the county within the
boundary of which the mortgaged real estate is located if the
mortgaged real estate is located in an unincorporated
territory. A municipality or county must clearly publish on
its website a single address to which such notice shall be
sent. If a municipality or county does not maintain a website,
then the municipality or county must publicly post in its main
office a single address to which such notice shall be sent. In
the event that a municipality or county has not complied with
the publication requirement in this subsection (b), then the
copy of the notice to the municipality or county shall be sent
by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the chairperson of
the county board or county clerk in the case of a county, to
the mayor or city clerk in the case of a city, to the president
of the board of trustees or village clerk in the case of a
village, or to the president or town clerk in the case of a
town. Additionally, if the real estate is located in a city
with a population of more than 2,000,000, regardless of
whether that city has complied with the publication
requirement in this subsection (b), the party must, within 10
days after filing the complaint or counterclaim: (i) send by
first class mail, postage prepaid, a copy of the notice of
foreclosure to the alderperson for the ward in which the real
estate is located and (ii) file an affidavit with the court
attesting to the fact that the notice was sent to the
alderperson for the ward in which the real estate is located.
The failure to send a copy of the notice to the alderperson or
to file an affidavit as required shall result in a stay of the
foreclosure action on a motion of a party or the court. If the
foreclosure action has been stayed by an order of the court,
the plaintiff or the plaintiff's representative shall send the
notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by
private carrier that provides proof of delivery, and tender
the return receipt or the proof of delivery to the court. After
proof of delivery is tendered to the court, the court shall
lift the stay of the foreclosure action.
(Source: P.A. 101-399, eff. 8-16-19; 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)
 
    (735 ILCS 5/15-1515 new)
    Sec. 15-1515. COVID-19 emergency sealing of court file.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "Court file" means the court file created when a
foreclosure action is filed with the court.
    "COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period" means
the period beginning on March 9, 2020, when the Governor
issued the first disaster proclamation for the State to
address the circumstances related to COVID-19 and ending on
December 31, 2021.
    (b) The court may seal the file, upon motion of a
mortgagor, of any foreclosure action filed during the COVID-19
emergency and economic recovery period if the action was not
subject to the moratoria enacted by the Federal National
Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, or the
Department of Veterans Affairs. If an action was filed during
the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period because it
qualified under an exception to one of the above moratoria,
the action is not subject to being sealed under this Section.
If a residential eviction action filed during the COVID-19
emergency and economic recovery period is pending on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly and is not sealed, the court shall order the sealing
of the court file.
    (c) This Section applies to any action to foreclose a
mortgage relating to: (i) residential real estate as defined
in Section 15-1219; and (ii) real estate improved with a
dwelling structure containing dwelling units for 6 or fewer
families living independently of each other in which the
mortgagor is a natural person landlord renting the dwelling
units, even if the mortgagor does not occupy any of the
dwelling units as the mortgagor's personal residence.
    (d) This Section is repealed on June 1, 2025.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.