Public Act 097-0944
 
SB3250 EnrolledLRB097 16916 HLH 62104 b


  
    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 
Section 21-15 as follows:
 



    (35 ILCS 200/21-15)


    Sec. 21-15. General tax due dates; default by mortgage 
lender. Except as otherwise provided in this Section or Section 
21-40, all property
upon which the first installment of taxes 
remains unpaid on the later of (i) June 1 or (ii) the day after 
the date specified on the real estate tax bill as the first 
installment due date annually
shall be deemed delinquent and 
shall bear interest after that date June 1 at the rate of
1 
1/2% per month or portion thereof.  Except as otherwise provided 
in this
Section or Section 21-40, all property upon which the 
second installment of
taxes remains due and unpaid on the later 
of (i) September 1 or (ii) the day after the date specified on 
the real estate tax bill as the second installment due date, 
annually, shall be deemed
delinquent and shall bear interest 
after that date September 1 at the same interest rate.
All 
interest collected shall be paid into the general fund of the 
county.
Payment received by mail and postmarked on or before 
the required due date is
not delinquent.

    Property not subject to the interest charge in Section 
9-260 or Section
9-265 shall also not
be subject to the 
interest charge imposed by this Section until such time as
the 
owner of the property receives actual notice of and is billed 
for the
principal amount of back taxes due and owing.

    If an Illinois resident who is a member of the Illinois 
National Guard
or a reserve component of the armed forces of 
the United States
and who has
an ownership interest in property 
taxed under this Act is called to active duty
for deployment 
outside the continental United States
and
is on active duty on 
the due date of any installment of taxes due under
this Act, he 
or she shall not be deemed delinquent in the payment of the

installment and no interest shall accrue or be charged as a 
penalty on the
installment until 180 days after that member 
returns from active duty. To be deemed not delinquent in the 
payment of an installment of taxes and any
interest
on that 
installment, the reservist or guardsperson must make a 
reasonable effort to notify the county clerk and the county 
collector of his or her activation to active duty and must 
notify the county clerk and the county collector
within 180

days after his or her deactivation and provide verification of 
the date of his
or her
deactivation. An installment of property 
taxes on the property of any reservist
or
guardsperson who 
fails to provide timely notice and verification of
deactivation 
to the
county clerk is subject to interest and penalties as 
delinquent taxes under
this Code from
the date of deactivation.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when any unpaid 
taxes become
delinquent under this Section through the fault of 
the mortgage lender,
(i) the
interest assessed under this 
Section for delinquent taxes shall be charged
against the 
mortgage lender and not the mortgagor and (ii) the mortgage

lender shall pay the taxes, redeem the property and take all 
necessary steps to
remove any liens accruing against the 
property because of the delinquency.
In the event that more 
than
one entity meets the definition of mortgage lender with 
respect to any
mortgage, the interest shall be assessed against 
the mortgage lender
responsible for servicing the mortgage.  
Unpaid taxes shall be deemed
delinquent through the fault of 
the mortgage lender only if: (a) the
mortgage
lender has 
received all payments due the mortgage lender for the property 
being
taxed under the written terms of the mortgage or 
promissory note secured by
the mortgage, (b) the mortgage 
lender holds funds in escrow to pay the taxes,
and (c) the 
funds are sufficient to pay the taxes
after deducting all 
amounts reasonably anticipated to become due for all hazard

insurance premiums and mortgage insurance premiums and any 
other assessments to
be paid from the escrow under the terms of 
the mortgage. For purposes of this
Section, an
amount
is 
reasonably anticipated to become due if it is payable within 12 
months from
the time of determining the sufficiency of funds 
held in escrow.  Unpaid taxes
shall not be deemed delinquent 
through the fault of the mortgage lender if the
mortgage lender 
was directed in writing by the mortgagor not to pay the

property taxes, or
if the failure to pay the taxes when due 
resulted from inadequate or inaccurate
parcel information 
provided by the mortgagor, a title or abstract company, or
by 
the agency or unit of government assessing the tax.

(Source: P.A. 93-560, eff. 8-20-03; 94-312, eff. 7-25-05.)

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