103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0061

 

Introduced 1/20/2023, by Sen. Cristina Castro

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
715 ILCS 5/2.2 new
715 ILCS 5/3.1  from Ch. 100, par. 3.1
715 ILCS 5/5  from Ch. 100, par. 5
715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.
715 ILCS 10/1  from Ch. 100, par. 10
715 ILCS 10/2  from Ch. 100, par. 10.1

    Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that whenever a municipality is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal website is also published electronically on a searchable online database website and that website provides independent certification of the publication. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the searchable online database website. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.


LRB103 03427 LNS 48433 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB0061LRB103 03427 LNS 48433 b

1    AN ACT concerning notices.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3.1 and 5 and by adding Section 2.2 as
6follows:
 
7    (715 ILCS 5/2.2 new)
8    Sec. 2.2. Municipal electronic publication.
9    (a) Whenever a municipality is required to provide notice
10by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or
11contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an
12official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the
13notice published on the official municipal website is also
14published electronically on a searchable online database
15website and that website provides independent certification of
16the publication.
17    (b) The municipality or the host of the website may enter
18into a service-level agreement with an Internet service
19provider that guarantees the site is accessible to the public
20over the Internet at least 98% of the time, 24 hours a day, 365
21days a year.
22    (c) The official municipal website shall display a link to
23the searchable online database website, which shall contain a

 

 

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1list of all current legal notices of the municipality, with
2links to or the full text of those notices. The website shall
3contain a search function or other features that improve
4public accessibility to the notices.
5    (d) Whenever an individual is unable to access an
6electronic publication of a notice, the issuing municipality
7shall provide a copy of the notice to the individual free of
8charge at the principal office of the municipality.
9    (e) Notices shall remain available on the website at least
10until the last posting date required by law has expired or
11until the event described in a notice has taken place,
12whichever is later.
13    (f) Independent certification of the electronic
14publication shall include a certificate stating the title of
15the notice, the exact day, date, and time of the notice's
16publication, the website address of the searchable online
17database where the notice and archived notices may be accessed
18by the public, and other information as may be available.
19    (g) For purposes of this Section, a searchable online
20database website may be operated or managed by a statewide
21organization of municipalities as authorized by Section 1-8-1
22of the Illinois Municipal Code at no additional cost to the
23municipality to publish notices thereon.
 
24    (715 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
25    Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of

 

 

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1court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
2notice shall include the printing of such notice in the total
3circulation of each edition on the date of publication of the
4newspaper in which the notice is published; and the newspaper
5publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to
6government, cause the notice to be placed on the statewide
7website established and maintained as a joint venture of the
8majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such
9notices. All notices required for publication by this Act
10shall remain legal and valid for all purposes when any error
11that occurs pursuant to the requirements of this Section for
12placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
13of the printer.
14(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
15    (715 ILCS 5/5)  (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
16    Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
17be published only in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
18provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
19secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
20city, town, or county, or some newspaper specially authorized
21by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county.
22If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the
23city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
24newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
25adjoining county having general circulation within the city or

 

 

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1town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
2term "newspaper" means a newspaper:
3    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
4matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
5matter per page; and
6    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
7conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
8as letterpress, lithography, or gravure; and
9    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
10issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
11of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
12the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
13advertising; and
14    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
15other announcements and notices, and news and information
16concerning current happenings and passing events of a
17political, social, religious, commercial, financial, or legal
18nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
19    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
20intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
21issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
22publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
23newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
24publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
25consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
26of 2 two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously

 

 

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1published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
2a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to
3the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
4considered as continuously or regularly published although its
5publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
6caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
7owner, publisher, managing editor, or other essential employee
8entering the active military service of the United States, if
9the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
10least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
11is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
12or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
13within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
14or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months
15after the termination of the war in connection with which such
16persons entered such military service; and
17    (f) (blank). which has the capability of placing notices
18required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the
19statewide website as required by Section 2.1.
20(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
21    (715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.)
22    Section 10. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
23repealing Section 2.1.
 
24    Section 15. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by

 

 

SB0061- 6 -LRB103 03427 LNS 48433 b

1changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 
2    (715 ILCS 10/1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
3    Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
4notice or publication shall be published only in a newspaper
5in this State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper:
6    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
7matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
8matter per page; and
9    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
10conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
11as letterpress, lithography, or gravure; and
12    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
13issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
14of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
15the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
16advertising; and
17    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
18other announcements and notices, and news and information
19concerning current happenings and passing events of a
20political, social, religious, commercial, financial, or legal
21nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
22    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
23intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
24issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
25publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a

 

 

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1newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
2publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
3consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
4of 2 two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
5published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
6a minimum of 50 issues per year for at least one year prior to
7the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
8considered as continuously or regularly published although its
9publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
10caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
11owner, publisher, managing editor, or other essential employee
12entering the active military service of the United States, if
13the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
14least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
15is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
16or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
17within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
18or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months
19after the termination of the war in connection with which such
20persons entered such military service; and
21    (f) (blank). which has the capability of placing, at no
22additional cost to government, notices required pursuant to
23this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website
24established and maintained as a joint venture by the majority
25of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.
26(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 

 

 

SB0061- 8 -LRB103 03427 LNS 48433 b

1    (715 ILCS 10/2)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
2    Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
3published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
4printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
5edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
6the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
7notice shall, at no additional cost to government, cause the
8notice to be placed on the statewide website established and
9maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
10newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
11required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
12valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
13the requirements of this Section in the requirement for
14placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
15of the printer.
16(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.