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90_SB0574ham001
LRB9002431MWpcam03
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 574
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 574 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
4 "Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 adding Division 2.1 to Article 1 as follows:
6 (65 ILCS 5/Art.1 Div. 2.1 heading new)
7 DIVISION 2.1 ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATIONS
8 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-1 new)
9 Sec. 1-2.1-1. Applicability. This Division 2.1 applies
10 only to municipalities that are home rule units.
11 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-2 new)
12 Sec. 1-2.1-2. Administrative adjudication of municipal
13 code violations. Any municipality may provide by ordinance
14 for a system of administrative adjudication of municipal code
15 violations to the extent permitted by the Illinois
16 Constitution. A "municipal code violation" means any
17 violation of a municipal ordinance, except for any offense
18 under the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar offense that is
19 a traffic regulation governing the movement of vehicles and
20 except for any reportable offense under Section 6-204 of the
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1 Illinois Vehicle Code.
2 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-3 new)
3 Sec. 1-2.1-3. Administrative adjudication procedures not
4 exclusive. The adoption by a municipality of a system of
5 administrative adjudication does not preclude the
6 municipality from using other methods to enforce municipal
7 ordinances.
8 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-4 new)
9 Sec. 1-2.1-4. Code hearing units; powers of hearing
10 officers.
11 (a) An ordinance establishing a system of administrative
12 adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall provide for a
13 code hearing unit within an existing agency or as a separate
14 agency in the municipal government. The ordinance shall
15 establish the jurisdiction of a code hearing unit that is
16 consistent with this Division. The "jurisdiction" of a code
17 hearing unit refers to the particular code violations that it
18 may adjudicate.
19 (b) Adjudicatory hearings shall be presided over by
20 hearing officers. The powers and duties of a hearing officer
21 shall include:
22 (1) hearing testimony and accepting evidence that
23 is relevant to the existence of the code violation;
24 (2) issuing subpoenas directing witnesses to appear
25 and give relevant testimony at the hearing, upon the
26 request of the parties or their representatives;
27 (3) preserving and authenticating the record of the
28 hearing and all exhibits and evidence introduced at the
29 hearing;
30 (4) issuing and signing a written finding, decision
31 and order stating whether a code violation exists; and
32 (5) imposing penalties consistent with applicable
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1 code provisions and assessing costs upon finding a party
2 liable for the charged violation, except however, that in
3 no event shall the hearing officer have authority to
4 impose a penalty of incarceration.
5 (c) Prior to conducting administrative adjudication
6 proceedings, administrative hearing officers shall have
7 successfully completed a formal training program which
8 includes the following:
9 (1) instruction on the rules of procedure of the
10 administrative hearings which they will conduct;
11 (2) orientation to each subject area of the code
12 violations that they will adjudicate;
13 (3) observation of administrative hearings; and
14 (4) participation in hypothetical cases, including
15 ruling on evidence and issuing final orders.
16 In addition, all administrative hearing officers must
17 meet one of the following qualifications: (i) be an attorney
18 licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois for at
19 least 3 years; (ii) have previously served as a hearing
20 officer for a minimum of 3 years for the State or any
21 municipal corporation or political subdivision of this State;
22 or (iii) have at least 4 years of professional experience in
23 the subject area of the code violations that they will
24 adjudicate.
25 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-5 new)
26 Sec. 1-2.1-5. Administrative hearing proceedings.
27 (a) Any ordinance establishing a system of
28 administrative adjudication, pursuant to this Division, shall
29 afford parties due process of law, including notice and
30 opportunity for hearing. Parties shall be served with process
31 in a manner reasonably calculated to give them actual notice,
32 including, as appropriate, personal service of process upon a
33 party, its employees or agents; service by mail at a party's
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1 address; or notice that is posted upon the property where the
2 violation is found when the party is the owner or manager of
3 the property.
4 (b) Parties shall be given notice of an adjudicatory
5 hearing which includes the type and nature of the code
6 violation to be adjudicated, the date and location of the
7 adjudicatory hearing, the legal authority and jurisdiction
8 under which the hearing is to be held, and the penalties for
9 failure to appear at the hearing.
10 (c) Parties shall be provided with an opportunity for a
11 hearing during which they may be represented by counsel,
12 present witnesses, and cross-examine opposing witnesses.
13 Parties may request the hearing officer to issue subpoenas to
14 direct the attendance and testimony of relevant witnesses and
15 the production of relevant documents. Hearings shall be
16 scheduled with reasonable promptness provided that in all
17 non-emergency situations parties shall have at least 15 days
18 after service of process to prepare for a hearing.
19 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-6 new)
20 Sec. 1-2.1-6. Rules of evidence shall not govern. The
21 formal and technical rules of evidence do not apply in an
22 adjudicatory hearing permitted under this Division.
23 Evidence, including hearsay, may be admitted only if it is of
24 a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in
25 the conduct of their affairs.
26 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-7 new)
27 Sec. 1-2.1-7. Judicial review. Any final decision by a
28 code hearing unit that a code violation does or does not
29 exist shall constitute a final determination for purposes of
30 judicial review under the Illinois Administrative Review Law.
31 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-8 new)
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1 Sec. 1-2.1-8. Enforcement of judgment.
2 (a) Any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, or part
3 of any fine, other sanction, or costs imposed, remaining
4 unpaid after the exhaustion of or the failure to exhaust
5 judicial review procedures under the Illinois Administrative
6 Review Law are a debt due and owing the municipality and may
7 be collected in accordance with applicable law.
8 (b) After expiration of the period in which judicial
9 review under the Illinois Administrative Review Law may be
10 sought for a final determination of a code violation, unless
11 stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the findings,
12 decision, and order of the hearing officer may be enforced in
13 the same manner as a judgment entered by a court of competent
14 jurisdiction.
15 (c) In any case in which a hearing officer finds that a
16 defendant has failed to comply with a judgment ordering a
17 defendant to correct a code violation or imposing any fine or
18 other sanction as a result of a code violation, any expenses
19 incurred by a municipality to enforce the judgment including,
20 but not limited to, attorney's fees, court costs, and costs
21 related to property demolition or foreclosure after they are
22 fixed by the hearing officer, shall be a debt due and owing
23 the municipality and may be collected in accordance with
24 applicable law.
25 (d) A lien shall be imposed on the real estate or
26 personal estate, or both, of the defendant in the amount of
27 any debt due and owing the municipality under this Section.
28 The lien may be recorded and enforced in the same manner as a
29 judgment lien pursuant to a judgment of a court of competent
30 jurisdiction. No lien may be enforced under this Section
31 until it has been recorded in the manner provided by Article
32 XII of the Code of Civil Procedure or by the Uniform
33 Commercial Code.
34 (e) A hearing officer may set aside any judgment entered
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1 by default and set a new hearing date upon a petition filed
2 within 21 days after the issuance of the order of default if
3 the hearing officer determines that the petitioner's failure
4 to appear at the hearing was for good cause or at any time if
5 the petitioner establishes that the municipality did not
6 provide proper service of process.
7 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-9 new)
8 Sec. 1-2.1-9. Impact on existing administrative
9 adjudication systems. This Division shall not affect the
10 validity of systems of administrative adjudication that were
11 authorized by State law, including home rule authority, and
12 in existence prior to effective date of this amendatory Act
13 of 1997.
14 (65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-10 new)
15 Sec. 1-2.1-10. Impact on home rule authority. This
16 Division shall not preempt municipalities from adopting other
17 systems of administrative adjudication pursuant to their home
18 rule powers.".