HB5578eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5578 Engrossed LRB095 16771 AJO 42807 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 2-1101 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/2-1101) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1101)

Sec. 2-1101. Subpoenas.

(a) The clerk of any court in which an action is pending shall, from time to time, issue subpoenas for those witnesses and to those counties in the State as may be required by either party. Every clerk who shall refuse so to do shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined any sum not to exceed $100. An order of court is not required to obtain the issuance by the clerk of a subpoena duces tecum. For good cause shown, the court on motion may quash or modify any subpoena or, in the case of a subpoena duces tecum, condition the denial of the motion upon payment in advance by the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued of the reasonable expense of producing any item therein specified.

(b) Any party who desires to compel the appearance of a public school employee to testify during school hours must first obtain an order of court authorizing the issuance of the subpoena, unless the public school district or board of education or public school employee is a named party in the action. Any action that concerns a recognized collective bargaining unit of public school employees is exempt from the requirements of this subsection. The order shall provide (i) that the party tender, in addition to the required witness and mileage fee, a fee to the school district in an amount sufficient to pay the substitute teacher or other temporary staff employed during the witness's absence and (ii) that the party consult with the school district's administrator or the administrator's designee to schedule the public school employee's appearance so as to minimize disruption of the educational program. Any subpoena directed to a public school employee that fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection (b) shall be void as a matter of law.

(c) In the event that a party has subpoenaed a public school employee or an expert witness including, but not limited to physicians or medical providers, and the expert witness appears in court, and a conflict arises between the party subpoenaing the expert witness and the expert witness over the fees charged for the appearance by the expert witness, the trial court shall be advised of the conflict. The trial court shall conduct a hearing subsequent to the testimony of the expert witness and shall determine the reasonable fee to be paid to the expert witness.

(Source: P.A. 87-418.)

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