Public Act 094-0306
 
SB1752 Enrolled LRB094 10620 LCB 40957 b

    AN ACT concerning civil liabilities.
 
    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 Sections 2-1402, 12-803, 12-805, and 12-808 as
follows:
 
    (735 ILCS 5/2-1402)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1402)
    Sec. 2-1402. Supplementary proceedings.
    (a) A judgment creditor, or his or her successor in
interest when that interest is made to appear of record, is
entitled to prosecute supplementary proceedings for the
purposes of examining the judgment debtor or any other person
to discover assets or income of the debtor not exempt from the
enforcement of the judgment, a deduction order or garnishment,
and of compelling the application of non-exempt assets or
income discovered toward the payment of the amount due under
the judgment. A supplementary proceeding shall be commenced by
the service of a citation issued by the clerk. The procedure
for conducting supplementary proceedings shall be prescribed
by rules. It is not a prerequisite to the commencement of a
supplementary proceeding that a certified copy of the judgment
has been returned wholly or partly unsatisfied. All citations
issued by the clerk shall have the following language, or
language substantially similar thereto, stated prominently on
the front, in capital letters: "YOUR FAILURE TO APPEAR IN COURT
AS HEREIN DIRECTED MAY CAUSE YOU TO BE ARRESTED AND BROUGHT
BEFORE THE COURT TO ANSWER TO A CHARGE OF CONTEMPT OF COURT,
WHICH MAY BE PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT IN THE COUNTY JAIL."
The court shall not grant a continuance of the supplementary
proceeding except upon good cause shown.
    (b) Any citation served upon a judgment debtor or any other
person shall include a certification by the attorney for the
judgment creditor or the judgment creditor setting forth the
amount of the judgment, the date of the judgment, or its
revival date, the balance due thereon, the name of the court,
and the number of the case, and a copy of the citation notice
required by this subsection. Whenever a citation is served upon
a person or party other than the judgment debtor, the officer
or person serving the citation shall send to the judgment
debtor, within three business days of the service upon the
cited party, a copy of the citation and the citation notice,
which may be sent by regular first-class mail to the judgment
debtor's last known address. In no event shall a citation
hearing be held sooner than five business days after the
mailing of the citation and citation notice to the judgment
debtor, except by agreement of the parties. The citation notice
need not be mailed to a corporation, partnership, or
association. The citation notice shall be in substantially the
following form:
"CITATION NOTICE
        (Name and address of Court)
        Name of Case: (Name of Judgment Creditor),
            Judgment Creditor v.
            (Name of Judgment Debtor),
            Judgment Debtor.
        Address of Judgment Debtor: (Insert last known
            address)
        Name and address of Attorney for Judgment
            Creditor or of Judgment Creditor (If no
            attorney is listed): (Insert name and address)
        Amount of Judgment: $ (Insert amount)
        Name of Person Receiving Citation: (Insert name)
        Court Date and Time: (Insert return date and time
            specified in citation)
    NOTICE: The court has issued a citation against the person
named above. The citation directs that person to appear in
court to be examined for the purpose of allowing the judgment
creditor to discover income and assets belonging to the
judgment debtor or in which the judgment debtor has an
interest. The citation was issued on the basis of a judgment
against the judgment debtor in favor of the judgment creditor
in the amount stated above. On or after the court date stated
above, the court may compel the application of any discovered
income or assets toward payment on the judgment.
    The amount of income or assets that may be applied toward
the judgment is limited by federal and Illinois law. The
JUDGMENT DEBTOR HAS THE RIGHT TO ASSERT STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS
AGAINST CERTAIN INCOME OR ASSETS OF THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR WHICH
MAY NOT BE USED TO SATISFY THE JUDGMENT IN THE AMOUNT STATED
ABOVE:
        (1) Under Illinois or federal law, the exemptions of
    personal property owned by the debtor include the debtor's
    equity interest, not to exceed $2,000 in value, in any
    personal property as chosen by the debtor; Social Security
    and SSI benefits; public assistance benefits; unemployment
    compensation benefits; worker's compensation benefits;
    veteran's benefits; circuit breaker property tax relief
    benefits; the debtor's equity interest, not to exceed
    $1,200 in value, in any one motor vehicle, and the debtor's
    equity interest, not to exceed $750 in value, in any
    implements, professional books, or tools of the trade of
    the debtor.
        (2) Under Illinois law, every person is entitled to an
    estate in homestead, when it is owned and occupied as a
    residence, to the extent in value of $7,500, which
    homestead is exempt from judgment.
        (3) Under Illinois law, the amount of wages that may be
    applied toward a judgment is limited to the lesser of (i)
    15% of gross weekly wages or (ii) the amount by which
    disposable earnings for a week exceed the total of 45 times
    the federal minimum hourly wage or, under a wage deduction
    summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the Illinois
    minimum hourly wage, whichever is greater.
        (4) Under federal law, the amount of wages that may be
    applied toward a judgment is limited to the lesser of (i)
    25% of disposable earnings for a week or (ii) the amount by
    which disposable earnings for a week exceed 30 times the
    federal minimum hourly wage.
        (5) Pension and retirement benefits and refunds may be
    claimed as exempt under Illinois law.
    The judgment debtor may have other possible exemptions
under the law.
    THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR HAS THE RIGHT AT THE CITATION HEARING
TO DECLARE EXEMPT CERTAIN INCOME OR ASSETS OR BOTH. The
judgment debtor also has the right to seek a declaration at an
earlier date, by notifying the clerk in writing at (insert
address of clerk). When so notified, the Clerk of the Court
will obtain a prompt hearing date from the court and will
provide the necessary forms that must be prepared by the
judgment debtor or the attorney for the judgment debtor and
sent to the judgment creditor and the judgment creditor's
attorney regarding the time and location of the hearing. This
notice may be sent by regular first class mail."
    (c) When assets or income of the judgment debtor not exempt
from the satisfaction of a judgment, a deduction order or
garnishment are discovered, the court may, by appropriate order
or judgment:
        (1) Compel the judgment debtor to deliver up, to be
    applied in satisfaction of the judgment, in whole or in
    part, money, choses in action, property or effects in his
    or her possession or control, so discovered, capable of
    delivery and to which his or her title or right of
    possession is not substantially disputed.
        (2) Compel the judgment debtor to pay to the judgment
    creditor or apply on the judgment, in installments, a
    portion of his or her income, however or whenever earned or
    acquired, as the court may deem proper, having due regard
    for the reasonable requirements of the judgment debtor and
    his or her family, if dependent upon him or her, as well as
    any payments required to be made by prior order of court or
    under wage assignments outstanding; provided that the
    judgment debtor shall not be compelled to pay income which
    would be considered exempt as wages under the Wage
    Deduction Statute. The court may modify an order for
    installment payments, from time to time, upon application
    of either party upon notice to the other.
        (3) Compel any person cited, other than the judgment
    debtor, to deliver up any assets so discovered, to be
    applied in satisfaction of the judgment, in whole or in
    part, when those assets are held under such circumstances
    that in an action by the judgment debtor he or she could
    recover them in specie or obtain a judgment for the
    proceeds or value thereof as for conversion or
    embezzlement.
        (4) Enter any order upon or judgment against the person
    cited that could be entered in any garnishment proceeding.
        (5) Compel any person cited to execute an assignment of
    any chose in action or a conveyance of title to real or
    personal property, in the same manner and to the same
    extent as a court could do in any proceeding by a judgment
    creditor to enforce payment of a judgment or in aid of the
    enforcement of a judgment.
        (6) Authorize the judgment creditor to maintain an
    action against any person or corporation that, it appears
    upon proof satisfactory to the court, is indebted to the
    judgment debtor, for the recovery of the debt, forbid the
    transfer or other disposition of the debt until an action
    can be commenced and prosecuted to judgment, direct that
    the papers or proof in the possession or control of the
    debtor and necessary in the prosecution of the action be
    delivered to the creditor or impounded in court, and
    provide for the disposition of any moneys in excess of the
    sum required to pay the judgment creditor's judgment and
    costs allowed by the court.
    (d) No order or judgment shall be entered under subsection
(c) in favor of the judgment creditor unless there appears of
record a certification of mailing showing that a copy of the
citation and a copy of the citation notice was mailed to the
judgment debtor as required by subsection (b).
    (e) All property ordered to be delivered up shall, except
as otherwise provided in this Section, be delivered to the
sheriff to be collected by the sheriff or sold at public sale
and the proceeds thereof applied towards the payment of costs
and the satisfaction of the judgment.
    (f)  (1) The citation may prohibit the party to whom it is
    directed from making or allowing any transfer or other
    disposition of, or interfering with, any property not
    exempt from the enforcement of a judgment therefrom, a
    deduction order or garnishment, belonging to the judgment
    debtor or to which he or she may be entitled or which may
    thereafter be acquired by or become due to him or her, and
    from paying over or otherwise disposing of any moneys not
    so exempt which are due or to become due to the judgment
    debtor, until the further order of the court or the
    termination of the proceeding, whichever occurs first. The
    third party may not be obliged to withhold the payment of
    any moneys beyond double the amount of the balance due
    sought to be enforced by the judgment creditor. The court
    may punish any party who violates the restraining provision
    of a citation as and for a contempt, or if the party is a
    third party may enter judgment against him or her in the
    amount of the unpaid portion of the judgment and costs
    allowable under this Section, or in the amount of the value
    of the property transferred, whichever is lesser.
        (2) The court may enjoin any person, whether or not a
    party to the supplementary proceeding, from making or
    allowing any transfer or other disposition of, or
    interference with, the property of the judgment debtor not
    exempt from the enforcement of a judgment, a deduction
    order or garnishment, or the property or debt not so exempt
    concerning which any person is required to attend and be
    examined until further direction in the premises. The
    injunction order shall remain in effect until vacated by
    the court or until the proceeding is terminated, whichever
    first occurs.
    (g) If it appears that any property, chose in action,
credit or effect discovered, or any interest therein, is
claimed by any person, the court shall, as in garnishment
proceedings, permit or require the claimant to appear and
maintain his or her right. The rights of the person cited and
the rights of any adverse claimant shall be asserted and
determined pursuant to the law relating to garnishment
proceedings.
    (h) Costs in proceedings authorized by this Section shall
be allowed, assessed and paid in accordance with rules,
provided that if the court determines, in its discretion, that
costs incurred by the judgment creditor were improperly
incurred, those costs shall be paid by the judgment creditor.
    (i) This Section is in addition to and does not affect
enforcement of judgments or proceedings supplementary thereto,
by any other methods now or hereafter provided by law.
    (j) This Section does not grant the power to any court to
order installment or other payments from, or compel the sale,
delivery, surrender, assignment or conveyance of any property
exempt by statute from the enforcement of a judgment thereon, a
deduction order, garnishment, attachment, sequestration,
process or other levy or seizure.
    (k) (Blank).
    (l) At any citation hearing at which the judgment debtor
appears and seeks a declaration that certain of his or her
income or assets are exempt, the court shall proceed to
determine whether the property which the judgment debtor
declares to be exempt is exempt from judgment. At any time
before the return date specified on the citation, the judgment
debtor may request, in writing, a hearing to declare exempt
certain income and assets by notifying the clerk of the court
before that time, using forms as may be provided by the clerk
of the court. The clerk of the court will obtain a prompt
hearing date from the court and will provide the necessary
forms that must be prepared by the judgment debtor or the
attorney for the judgment debtor and sent to the judgment
creditor, or the judgment creditor's attorney, regarding the
time and location of the hearing. This notice may be sent by
regular first class mail. At the hearing, the court shall
immediately, unless for good cause shown that the hearing is to
be continued, shall proceed to determine whether the property
which the judgment debtor declares to be exempt is exempt from
judgment. The restraining provisions of subsection (f) shall
not apply to any property determined by the court to be exempt.
    (m)   The judgment or balance due on the judgment becomes a
lien when a citation is served in accordance with subsection
(a) of this Section. The lien binds nonexempt personal
property, including money, choses in action, and effects of the
judgment debtor as follows:
        (1) When the citation is directed against the judgment
    debtor, upon all personal property belonging to the
    judgment debtor in the possession or control of the
    judgment debtor or which may thereafter be acquired or come
    due to the judgment debtor to the time of the disposition
    of the citation.
        (2) When the citation is directed against a third
    party, upon all personal property belonging to the judgment
    debtor in the possession or control of the third party or
    which thereafter may be acquired or come due the judgment
    debtor and comes into the possession or control of the
    third party to the time of the disposition of the citation.
    The lien established under this Section does not affect the
rights of citation respondents in property prior to the service
of the citation upon them and does not affect the rights of
bona fide purchasers or lenders without notice of the citation.
The lien is effective for the period specified by Supreme Court
Rule.
    This subsection (m), as added by Public Act 88-48, is a
declaration of existing law.
    (n) If any provision of this Act or its application to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity of that
provision or application does not affect the provisions or
applications of the Act that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application.
(Source: P.A. 88-48; 88-299; 88-667, eff. 9-16-94; 88-670, eff.
12-2-94; 89-364, eff. 1-1-96.)
 
    (735 ILCS 5/12-803)  (from Ch. 110, par. 12-803)
    Sec. 12-803. Maximum wages subject to collection. The
maximum wages, salary, commissions and bonuses subject to
collection under a deduction order, for any work week shall not
exceed the lesser of (1) 15% of such gross amount paid for that
week or (2) the amount by which disposable earnings for a week
exceed 45 times the Federal Minimum Hourly Wage prescribed by
Section 206(a)(1) of Title 29 of the United States Code, as
amended, or, under a wage deduction summons served on or after
January 1, 2006, the minimum hourly wage prescribed by Section
4 of the Minimum Wage Law, whichever is greater, in effect at
the time the amounts are payable. This provision (and no other)
applies irrespective of the place where the compensation was
earned or payable and the State where the employee resides. No
amounts required by law to be withheld may be taken from the
amount collected by the creditor. The term "disposable
earnings" means that part of the earnings of any individual
remaining after the deduction from those earnings of any
amounts required by law to be withheld.
(Source: P.A. 87-569.)
 
    (735 ILCS 5/12-805)  (from Ch. 110, par. 12-805)
    Sec. 12-805. Summons; Issuance.
    (a) Upon the filing by a judgment creditor, its attorney or
other designee of (1) an affidavit that the affiant believes
any person is indebted to the judgment debtor for wages due or
to become due, as provided in Part 8 of Article XII of this
Act, and includes the last address of the judgment debtor known
to the affiant as well as the name of the judgment debtor, and
a certification by the judgment creditor or his attorney that,
before filing the affidavit, the wage deduction notice has been
mailed to the judgment debtor by first class mail at the
judgment debtor's last known address, and (2) written
interrogatories to be answered by the employer with respect to
the indebtedness, the clerk of the court in which the judgment
was entered shall issue summons against the person named in the
affidavit as employer commanding the employer to appear in the
court and answer the interrogatories in writing under oath. The
interrogatories shall elicit all the information necessary to
determine the proper amount of non-exempt wages. The
interrogatories shall require that the employer certify that a
copy of the completed interrogatories as specified in
subsection (c) of Section 12-808 has been mailed or hand
delivered to the judgment debtor and shall be in a form
consistent with local court rules. The summons shall further
command federal agency employers, upon effective service of
summons pursuant to 5 USC 5520a, to commence to pay over
deducted wages in accordance with Section 12-808. The summons
shall be in a form consistent with local court rules. The
summons shall be accompanied by a copy of the underlying
judgment or a certification by the clerk of the court that
entered the judgment, or by the attorney for the judgment
creditor, setting forth the date and amount of the judgment,
allowable costs expended, interest accumulated, credits paid
by or on behalf of the judgment debtor and the balance due the
judgment creditor, and one copy of a wage deduction notice in
substantially the following form:
"WAGE DEDUCTION NOTICE
    (Name and address of Court)
    Name of Case:  (Name of Judgment Creditor),
        Judgment Creditor v.
        (Name of Judgment Debtor),
        Judgment Debtor.
    Address of Judgment Debtor:  (Insert last known address)
    Name and Address of Attorney for Judgment
    Creditor or of Judgment Creditor (if no
    attorney is listed):  (Insert name and address)
    Amount of Judgment:  $..........
    Employer:  (Name of Employer)
    Return Date:  (Insert return date specified in summons)
NOTICE: The court shall be asked to issue a wage deduction
summons against the employer named above for wages due or about
to become due to you. The wage deduction summons may be issued
on the basis of a judgment against you in favor of the judgment
creditor in the amount stated above.
    The amount of wages that may be deducted is limited by
federal and Illinois law.
        (1) Under Illinois law, the amount of wages that may be
    deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 15% of gross
    weekly wages or (ii) the amount by which disposable
    earnings for a week exceed the total of 45 times the
    federal minimum hourly wage or, under a wage deduction
    summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the minimum
    hourly wage prescribed by Section 4 of the Minimum Wage
    Law, whichever is greater.
        (2) Under federal law, the amount of wages that may be
    deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 25% of disposable
    earnings for a week or (ii) the amount by which disposable
    earnings for a week exceed 30 times the federal minimum
    hourly wage.
        (3) Pension and retirement benefits and refunds may be
    claimed as exempt from wage deduction under Illinois law.
    You have the right to request a hearing before the court to
dispute the wage deduction because the wages are exempt. To
obtain a hearing in counties with a population of 1,000,000 or
more, you must notify the Clerk of the Court in person and in
writing at (insert address of Clerk) before the Return Date
specified above or appear in court on the date and time on that
Return Date. To obtain a hearing in counties with a population
of less than 1,000,000, you must notify the Clerk of the Court
in writing at (insert address of clerk) on or before the Return
Date specified above. The Clerk of the Court will provide a
hearing date and the necessary forms that must be prepared by
you or your attorney and sent to the judgment creditor and the
employer, or their attorney, regarding the time and location of
the hearing. This notice may be sent by regular first class
mail."
    (b) In a county with a population of less than 1,000,000,
unless otherwise provided by circuit court rule, at the request
of the judgment creditor or his or her attorney and instead of
personal service, service of a summons for a wage deduction may
be made as follows:
        (1) For each employer to be served, the judgment
    creditor or his or her attorney shall pay to the clerk of
    the court a fee of $2, plus the cost of mailing, and
    furnish to the clerk an original and one copy of a summons,
    an original and one copy of the interrogatories and an
    affidavit setting forth the employer's mailing address, an
    original and one copy of the wage deduction notice required
    by subsection (a) of this Section, and a copy of the
    judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of
    this Section. The original judgment shall be retained by
    the clerk.
        (2) The clerk shall mail to the employer, at the
    address appearing in the affidavit, the copy of the
    judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of
    this Section, the summons, the interrogatories, and the
    wage deduction notice required by subsection (a) of this
    Section, by certified or registered mail, return receipt
    requested, showing to whom delivered and the date and
    address of delivery. This Mailing shall be mailed on a
    "restricted delivery" basis when service is directed to a
    natural person. The envelope and return receipt shall bear
    the return address of the clerk, and the return receipt
    shall be stamped with the docket number of the case. The
    receipt for certified or registered mail shall state the
    name and address of the addressee, the date of the mailing,
    shall identify the documents mailed, and shall be attached
    to the original summons.
        (3) The return receipt must be attached to the original
    summons and, if it shows delivery at least 3 days before
    the return date, shall constitute proof of service of any
    documents identified on the return receipt as having been
    mailed.
        (4) The clerk shall note the fact of service in a
    permanent record.
    (c) Instead of personal service, a summons for a wage
deduction may be served and returned in the manner provided by
Supreme Court rule for service, otherwise than by publication,
of a notice for additional relief upon a party in default.
(Source: P.A. 89-28, eff. 6-23-95; 90-677, eff. 1-1-99.)
 
    (735 ILCS 5/12-808)  (from Ch. 110, par. 12-808)
    Sec. 12-808. Duty of employer.
    (a) An employer served as herein provided shall pay the
employee the amount of his or her exempt wages.
    (b) To the extent of the amount due upon the judgment and
costs, the employer shall hold, subject to order of court, any
non-exempt wages due or which subsequently come due. The
judgment or balance due thereon is a lien on wages due at the
time of the service of summons, and such lien shall continue as
to subsequent earnings until the total amount due upon the
judgment and costs is paid, except that such lien on subsequent
earnings shall terminate sooner if the employment relationship
is terminated or if the underlying judgment is vacated or
modified.
    (b-5) If the employer is a federal agency employer and the
creditor is represented by an attorney, then the employer, upon
service of summons and to the extent of the amount due upon the
judgment and costs, shall commence to pay over to the attorney
for the judgment creditor any non-exempt wages due or that
subsequently come due. The attorney for the judgment creditor
shall thereafter hold the deducted wages subject to further
order of the court and shall make answer to the court regarding
amounts received from the federal agency employer. The federal
agency employer's periodic payments shall be considered a
sufficient answer to the interrogatories.
    (c) Except as provided in subsection (b-5), the employer
shall file, on or before the return date or within the further
time that the court for cause may allow, a written answer under
oath to the interrogatories, setting forth the amount due as
wages to the judgment debtor for the payroll periods ending
immediately prior to the service of the summons and a summary
of the computation used to determine the amount of non-exempt
wages. Except as provided in subsection (b-5), the employer
shall mail by first class mail or hand deliver a copy of the
answer to the judgment debtor at the address specified in the
affidavit filed under Section 12-805 of this Act, or at any
other address or location of the judgment debtor known to the
employer.
    A lien obtained hereunder shall have priority over any
subsequent lien obtained hereunder, except that liens for the
support of a spouse or dependent children shall have priority
over all other liens obtained hereunder. Subsequent summonses
shall be effective in the order in which they are served.
    (d) The Illinois Supreme Court may by rule allow an
employer to file answers to interrogatories by facsimile
transmission.
    (e) Pursuant to answer under oath to the interrogatories by
the employer, an order shall be entered compelling the employer
to deduct from wages of the judgment debtor subject to
collection under a deduction order an amount not to exceed the
lesser of (i) 15% of the gross amount of the wages or (ii) the
amount by which disposable earnings for a week exceed 45 times
the Federal Minimum Hourly Wage prescribed by Section 206(a)(1)
of Title 29 of the United States Code, as amended, in effect at
the time the amounts are payable, for each pay period in which
statutory exemptions under Section 12-804 and child support
garnishments, if any, leave funds to be remitted or, under a
wage deduction summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the
minimum hourly wage prescribed by Section 4 of the Minimum Wage
Law, whichever is greater. The order shall further provide that
deducted wages shall be remitted to the creditor or creditor's
attorney on a monthly basis.
(Source: P.A. 89-28, eff. 6-23-95; 90-677, eff. 1-1-99.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2006.