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Public Act 096-1157
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| HB5972 Enrolled | LRB096 19979 RLJ 35460 b |
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AN ACT concerning local government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section |
5-41020 and adding Section 5-41012 as follows:
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41012 new) |
Sec. 5-41012. Fine schedule. The county board of any county |
that establishes a code hearing unit pursuant to this Division |
5-41 may, by ordinance, establish a fine schedule for code |
violations. The fine schedule must include (i) a determinate |
fine for each code violation that may be voluntarily paid by a |
respondent prior to his or her hearing date and (ii) the fine |
that may otherwise be imposed for each code violation. The |
amount of each fine must be based upon the nature of the |
offense and the number of previous code violations a respondent |
was convicted of committing for the same or a related offense.
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(55 ILCS 5/5-41020)
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Sec. 5-41020. Instituting proceedings.
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(a) When a code enforcement officer observes a
code |
violation,
the officer
shall note or, in the case of an animal |
control violation, the code enforcement
officer may respond to |
the filing of a formal complaint by noting the violation
on a |
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violation notice and report
form, indicating
the following:
the |
name and address of the respondent, if known; the name,
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address, and state vehicle registration number of the waste |
hauler who
deposited
the waste, if applicable; the type and |
nature of the violation; the date and
time the violation was |
observed; the names of witnesses to the violation; and
the |
address of the location or property where the violation is |
observed.
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(b) The violation notice and report form shall contain a |
file number,
and a hearing date, and, if approved by the county |
board by ordinance, the amount of any fine that may be imposed |
pursuant to an approved schedule of fines noted by the code |
enforcement officer in the blank spaces
provided for that |
purpose on the form. The violation notice and report form shall |
state that the respondent does not need to appear at the |
hearing on the date indicated on the form if the respondent |
pays the determinate fine in the amount set forth in the |
county's approved fine schedule for the code violation. The |
respondent must pay the determinate fine at least 5 days before |
the hearing date indicated on the violation notice and report |
form. The violation notice and report shall
state that if the |
respondent does not voluntarily pay the determinate fine in |
accordance with the schedule of fines or fails failure to |
appear at the hearing, if required, on the date indicated, then |
the failure to pay or appear, if required, may result in
a |
determination of liability for the cited violation and the |
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imposition of
fines and assessment of costs as provided by the |
applicable county ordinance.
The violation notice and report |
shall also state that upon a determination of
liability and the |
exhaustion
of
or failure to exhaust procedures for judicial
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review, any unpaid fines or costs imposed will constitute a |
debt due and owed
to the county.
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(c) A copy of the violation notice and report form shall be |
served on
the respondent either personally or by first class |
mail, postage prepaid,
sent to the address of the respondent. |
If the name of the respondent property
owner cannot be |
ascertained or if service on the respondent cannot be made by
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mail, service may be made on the respondent property owner by |
posting,
not less than 20 days before the hearing is
scheduled,
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a copy of
the violation notice and report form in a prominent |
place on the property
where the violation is found.
If the |
violation notice and report form requires the
respondent
to |
answer within a certain amount of time, the
county must reply |
to the answer within the same amount of time afforded to
the
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respondent.
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(d) In lieu of a personal appearance at the hearing, a |
county board may provide for the voluntary payment of a |
determinate fine in accordance with a schedule of fines |
approved by ordinance and as provided in this Division 5-41.
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(Source: P.A. 94-616, eff. 1-1-06.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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