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90_SB0574enr
65 ILCS 5/Art. 1, Div. 2.1 heading new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-1 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-2 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-3 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-4 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-5 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-6 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-7 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-8 new
65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-9 new
Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that a
municipality may provide for a system of administrative
adjudication of violations of certain municipal ordinances.
Provides that administrative adjudication is not the
exclusive method to enforce municipal ordinances. Sets the
powers and qualifications of hearing officers. Provides for
notice and opportunity for a hearing at administrative
proceedings. Provides that the rules of evidence do not
apply in administrative hearings. Provides for judicial
review of administrative decisions. Allows a municipality to
enforce judgments of hearing officers. Provides that
existing systems of administrative adjudication shall not be
affected.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Municipal Code by adding
2 Division 2.1 to Article 1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
6 adding Division 2.1 to Article 1 as follows:
7 (65 ILCS 5/Art. 1, Div. 2.1 heading new)
8 DIVISION 2.1. ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATIONS
9 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-1 new)
10 Sec. 1-2.1-1. Applicability. This Division 2.1 applies
11 only to municipalities that are home rule units.
12 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-2 new)
13 Sec. 1-2.1-2. Administrative adjudication of municipal
14 code violations. Any municipality may provide by ordinance
15 for a system of administrative adjudication of municipal code
16 violations to the extent permitted by the Illinois
17 Constitution. A "system of administrative adjudication"
18 means the adjudication of any violation of a municipal
19 ordinance, except for (i) proceedings not within the
20 statutory or the home rule authority of municipalities; and
21 (ii) any offense under the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar
22 offense that is a traffic regulation governing the movement
23 of vehicles and except for any reportable offense under
24 Section 6-204 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
25 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-3 new)
26 Sec. 1-2.1-3. Administrative adjudication procedures not
27 exclusive. The adoption by a municipality of a system of
28 administrative adjudication does not preclude the
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1 municipality from using other methods to enforce municipal
2 ordinances.
3 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-4 new)
4 Sec. 1-2.1-4. Code hearing units; powers of hearing
5 officers.
6 (a) An ordinance establishing a system of administrative
7 adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall provide for a
8 code hearing unit within an existing agency or as a separate
9 agency in the municipal government. The ordinance shall
10 establish the jurisdiction of a code hearing unit that is
11 consistent with this Division. The "jurisdiction" of a code
12 hearing unit refers to the particular code violations that it
13 may adjudicate.
14 (b) Adjudicatory hearings shall be presided over by
15 hearing officers. The powers and duties of a hearing officer
16 shall include:
17 (1) hearing testimony and accepting evidence that
18 is relevant to the existence of the code violation;
19 (2) issuing subpoenas directing witnesses to appear
20 and give relevant testimony at the hearing, upon the
21 request of the parties or their representatives;
22 (3) preserving and authenticating the record of the
23 hearing and all exhibits and evidence introduced at the
24 hearing;
25 (4) issuing a determination, based on the evidence
26 presented at the hearing, of whether a code violation
27 exists. The determination shall be in writing and shall
28 include a written finding of fact, decision, and order
29 including the fine, penalty, or action with which the
30 defendant must comply; and
31 (5) imposing penalties consistent with applicable
32 code provisions and assessing costs upon finding a party
33 liable for the charged violation, except, however, that
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1 in no event shall the hearing officer have authority to
2 (i) impose a penalty of incarceration, or (ii) impose a
3 fine in excess of $50,000, or at the option of the
4 municipality, such other amount not to exceed the maximum
5 amount established by the Mandatory Arbitration System as
6 prescribed by the Rules of the Illinois Supreme Court
7 from time to time for the judicial circuit in which the
8 municipality is located. The maximum monetary fine under
9 this item (5), shall be exclusive of costs of enforcement
10 or costs imposed to secure compliance with the
11 municipality's ordinances and shall not be applicable to
12 cases to enforce the collection of any tax imposed and
13 collected by the municipality.
14 (c) Prior to conducting administrative adjudication
15 proceedings, administrative hearing officers shall have
16 successfully completed a formal training program which
17 includes the following:
18 (1) instruction on the rules of procedure of the
19 administrative hearings which they will conduct;
20 (2) orientation to each subject area of the code
21 violations that they will adjudicate;
22 (3) observation of administrative hearings; and
23 (4) participation in hypothetical cases, including
24 ruling on evidence and issuing final orders.
25 In addition, every administrative hearing officer must be
26 an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois
27 for at least 3 years.
28 (d) A proceeding before a code hearing unit shall be
29 instituted upon the filing of a written pleading by an
30 authorized official of the municipality.
31 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-5 new)
32 Sec. 1-2.1-5. Administrative hearing proceedings.
33 (a) Any ordinance establishing a system of
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1 administrative adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall
2 afford parties due process of law, including notice and
3 opportunity for hearing. Parties shall be served with process
4 in a manner reasonably calculated to give them actual notice,
5 including, as appropriate, personal service of process upon a
6 party or its employees or agents; service by mail at a
7 party's address; or notice that is posted upon the property
8 where the violation is found when the party is the owner or
9 manager of the property.
10 (b) Parties shall be given notice of an adjudicatory
11 hearing which includes the type and nature of the code
12 violation to be adjudicated, the date and location of the
13 adjudicatory hearing, the legal authority and jurisdiction
14 under which the hearing is to be held, and the penalties for
15 failure to appear at the hearing.
16 (c) Parties shall be provided with an opportunity for a
17 hearing during which they may be represented by counsel,
18 present witnesses, and cross-examine opposing witnesses.
19 Parties may request the hearing officer to issue subpoenas to
20 direct the attendance and testimony of relevant witnesses and
21 the production of relevant documents. Hearings shall be
22 scheduled with reasonable promptness, provided that for
23 hearings scheduled in all non-emergency situations, if
24 requested by the defendant, the defendant shall have at least
25 15 days after service of process to prepare for a hearing.
26 For purposes of this subsection (c), "non-emergency
27 situation" means any situation that does not reasonably
28 constitute a threat to the public interest, safety, or
29 welfare. If service is provided by mail, the 15-day period
30 shall begin to run on the day that the notice is deposited in
31 the mail.
32 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-6 new)
33 Sec. 1-2.1-6. Rules of evidence shall not govern. The
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1 formal and technical rules of evidence do not apply in an
2 adjudicatory hearing permitted under this Division.
3 Evidence, including hearsay, may be admitted only if it is of
4 a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in
5 the conduct of their affairs.
6 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-7 new)
7 Sec. 1-2.1-7. Judicial review. Any final decision by a
8 code hearing unit that a code violation does or does not
9 exist shall constitute a final determination for purposes of
10 judicial review and shall be subject to review under the
11 Illinois Administrative Review Law.
12 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-8 new)
13 Sec. 1-2.1-8. Enforcement of judgment.
14 (a) Any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, or part
15 of any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, remaining
16 unpaid after the exhaustion of or the failure to exhaust
17 judicial review procedures under the Illinois Administrative
18 Review Law are a debt due and owing the municipality and may
19 be collected in accordance with applicable law.
20 (b) After expiration of the period in which judicial
21 review under the Illinois Administrative Review Law may be
22 sought for a final determination of a code violation, unless
23 stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the findings,
24 decision, and order of the hearing officer may be enforced in
25 the same manner as a judgment entered by a court of competent
26 jurisdiction.
27 (c) In any case in which a defendant has failed to
28 comply with a judgment ordering a defendant to correct a code
29 violation or imposing any fine or other sanction as a result
30 of a code violation, any expenses incurred by a municipality
31 to enforce the judgment, including, but not limited to,
32 attorney's fees, court costs, and costs related to property
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1 demolition or foreclosure, after they are fixed by a court of
2 competent jurisdiction or a hearing officer, shall be a debt
3 due and owing the municipality and may be collected in
4 accordance with applicable law. Prior to any expenses being
5 fixed by a hearing officer pursuant to this subsection (c),
6 the municipality shall provide notice to the defendant that
7 states that the defendant shall appear at a hearing before
8 the administrative hearing officer to determine whether the
9 defendant has failed to comply with the judgment. The notice
10 shall set the date for such a hearing, which shall not be
11 less than 7 days from the date that notice is served. If
12 notice is served by mail, the 7-day period shall begin to run
13 on the date that the notice was deposited in the mail.
14 (d) Upon being recorded in the manner required by
15 Article XII of the Code of Civil Procedure or by the Uniform
16 Commercial Code, a lien shall be imposed on the real estate
17 or personal estate, or both, of the defendant in the amount
18 of any debt due and owing the municipality under this
19 Section. The lien may be enforced in the same manner as a
20 judgment lien pursuant to a judgment of a court of competent
21 jurisdiction.
22 (e) A hearing officer may set aside any judgment entered
23 by default and set a new hearing date, upon a petition filed
24 within 21 days after the issuance of the order of default, if
25 the hearing officer determines that the petitioner's failure
26 to appear at the hearing was for good cause or at any time if
27 the petitioner establishes that the municipality did not
28 provide proper service of process. If any judgment is set
29 aside pursuant to this subsection (e), the hearing officer
30 shall have authority to enter an order extinguishing any lien
31 which has been recorded for any debt due and owing the
32 municipality as a result of the vacated default judgment.
33 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-9 new)
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1 Sec. 1-2.1-9. Impact on existing administrative
2 adjudication systems. This Division shall not affect the
3 validity of systems of administrative adjudication that were
4 authorized by State law, including home rule authority, and
5 in existence prior to the effective date of this amendatory
6 Act of 1997.
7 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-10 new)
8 Sec. 1-2.1-10. Impact on home rule authority. This
9 Division shall not preempt municipalities from adopting other
10 systems of administrative adjudication pursuant to their home
11 rule powers.