Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

Filed: 3/3/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB1569ham001LRB103 05936 LNS 58345 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1569

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1569 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Section 9-121 and by adding Section 9-123 as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/9-121)
7    Sec. 9-121. Impounding Sealing of court file.
8    (a) Definition. As used in this Section: ,
9    "Court "court file" means the court file created when an
10eviction action is filed with the court.
11    "Impound" and "impoundment" have the same meaning as
12"impounded" under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 8, as now or
13hereafter amended.
14    "Seal" and "sealing", as previously used in this Act, have
15the same meaning as "impounded" under Illinois Supreme Court
16Rule 8, as now or hereafter amended.

 

 

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1    (b) Discretionary sealing of court file. The court may
2order that a court file in an eviction action be placed under
3seal if the court finds that the plaintiff's action is
4sufficiently without a basis in fact or law, which may include
5a lack of jurisdiction, that placing the court file under seal
6is clearly in the interests of justice, or and that the
7interests of justice those interests are not outweighed by the
8public's interest in knowing about the record.
9    (c) Mandatory impoundment sealing of court file. The court
10file relating to an eviction action brought against a tenant
11under Section 9-207.5 of this Code or as set forth in
12subdivision (h)(6) of Section 15-1701 of this Code shall be
13impounded placed under seal.
14    (d) In any residential eviction filed 7 or more years
15prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd
16General Assembly, the court shall order the court file
17impounded regardless of the disposition of the case.
18Thereafter, the court shall undertake a yearly review of all
19eviction court files and order the court file impounded if the
20case was filed 7 years prior to that review regardless of the
21disposition of the case. This Section is operative on and
22after August 1, 2022.
23    (e) Except as provided in subsection (g), any person who
24disseminates a sealed or impounded court file under this
25Section, or the information contained therein, for commercial
26purposes shall be liable for a civil penalty of $2,000 or twice

 

 

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1the actual and consequential damages sustained, whichever is
2greater, as well as the costs of the action, including
3reasonable attorney's fees. A landlord providing or receiving
4an individual reference about a prospective tenant is not
5considered a commercial purpose and is not subject to the
6penalty identified in this subsection.
7    (f) The Attorney General may enforce a violation of this
8Section as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and
9Deceptive Business Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and
10authority granted to the Attorney General by the Consumer
11Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be available
12to the Attorney General for the enforcement of this Section.
13    (g) Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord from
14receiving a reference from a previous landlord of a
15prospective tenant. Nothing in this Section prohibits a
16landlord form providing a reference for a previous or current
17tenant to a prospective landlord of that tenant.
18(Source: P.A. 102-5, eff. 5-17-21.)
 
19    (735 ILCS 5/9-123 new)
20    Sec. 9-123. Notice and dismissal for failure to prosecute
21after 365 days.
22    (a) If, at any time after the filing of an eviction action,
23the plaintiff has not further prosecuted the case for a period
24of 365 days, the court shall send to the parties written
25notice:

 

 

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1        (1) informing the parties of the date of the most
2    recent action taken by the plaintiff in the case; and
3        (2) directing the plaintiff to take one of the
4    following actions not later than 10 business days after
5    the date of the notice:
6            (A) further prosecute the case; or
7            (B) dismiss the case.
8    (b) If the plaintiff fails to take an action described in
9paragraph (2) of subsection (a) within the time prescribed by
10paragraph (2) of subsection (a):
11        (1) the defendant in the eviction action may file a
12    motion with the court to dismiss the case; or
13        (2) the court, on the court's own motion, may dismiss
14    the case.
15    If the court dismisses the case under this subsection on
16or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd
17General Assembly, the court, in conjunction with its order of
18dismissal, shall issue an order impounding the court file in
19accordance with paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section
209-121 without further motion of the defendant.
21    (c) The form of the notice described in subsection (a) may
22be developed by each judicial circuit in accordance with its
23practice or the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
24may develop a standardized form.
25    (d) A judicial circuit, in its discretionary control over
26its records, may adopt a rule to follow this procedure in a

 

 

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1shorter amount of time than 365 days.
 
2    Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
3Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2z.6 as follows:
 
4    (815 ILCS 505/2z.6 new)
5    Sec. 2z.6. Dissemination of a sealed or impounded court
6file. A private entity or person that violates Section 9-121
7of the Code of Civil Procedure commits an unlawful practice
8within the meaning of this Act.".