SB2069 EngrossedLRB097 08453 RLC 48580 b

1    AN ACT concerning process servers.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Section 2-202 as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/2-202)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-202)
7    Sec. 2-202. Persons authorized to serve process; Place of
8service; Failure to make return.
9    (a) Process shall be served by a sheriff, or if the sheriff
10is disqualified, by a coroner of some county of the State. A
11sheriff of a county with a population of less than 2,000,000
12may employ civilian personnel to serve process. In counties
13with a population of less than 2,000,000, process may be
14served, without special appointment, by a person who is
15licensed or registered as a private detective under the Private
16Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint
17Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004 or by a registered employee
18of a private detective agency certified under that Act as
19defined in Section (a-5). A private detective or licensed
20employee must supply the sheriff of any county in which he
21serves process with a copy of his license or certificate;
22however, the failure of a person to supply the copy shall not
23in any way impair the validity of process served by the person.

 

 

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1The court may, in its discretion upon motion, order service to
2be made by a private person over 18 years of age and not a party
3to the action. It is not necessary that service be made by a
4sheriff or coroner of the county in which service is made. If
5served or sought to be served by a sheriff or coroner, he or
6she shall endorse his or her return thereon, and if by a
7private person the return shall be by affidavit.
8    (a-5) Upon motion and in its discretion, the court may
9appoint as a special process server a private detective agency
10certified under the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private
11Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004. Under
12the appointment, any employee of the private detective agency
13who is registered under that Act may serve the process. The
14motion and the order of appointment must contain the number of
15the certificate issued to the private detective agency by the
16Department of Professional Regulation under the Private
17Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint
18Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004. A private detective or
19private detective agency shall send, one time only, a copy of
20his, her, or its individual private detective license or
21private detective agency certificate to the county sheriff in
22each county in which the detective or detective agency or his,
23her, or its employees serve process, regardless of size of the
24population of the county. As long as the license or certificate
25is valid and meets the requirements of the Department of
26Financial and Professional Regulation, a new copy of the

 

 

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1current license or certificate need not be sent to the sheriff.
2A private detective agency shall maintain a list of its
3registered employees. Registered employees shall consist of:
4        (1) an employee who works for the agency holding a
5    valid Permanent Employee Registration Card;
6        (2) a person who has applied for a Permanent Employee
7    Registration Card, has had his or her fingerprints
8    processed and cleared by the Department of State Police and
9    the FBI, and as to whom the Department of Financial and
10    Professional Regulation website shows that the person's
11    application for a Permanent Employee Registration Card is
12    pending;
13        (3) a person employed by a private detective agency who
14    is exempt from a Permanent Employee Registration Card
15    requirement because the person is a current peace officer;
16    and
17        (4) a private detective who works for a private
18    detective agency as an employee.
19A detective agency shall maintain this list and forward it to
20any sheriff's department that requests this list within 5
21business days after the receipt of the request.
22    (b) Summons may be served upon the defendants wherever they
23may be found in the State, by any person authorized to serve
24process. An officer may serve summons in his or her official
25capacity outside his or her county, but fees for mileage
26outside the county of the officer cannot be taxed as costs. The

 

 

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1person serving the process in a foreign county may make return
2by mail.
3    (c) If any sheriff, coroner, or other person to whom any
4process is delivered, neglects or refuses to make return of the
5same, the plaintiff may petition the court to enter a rule
6requiring the sheriff, coroner, or other person, to make return
7of the process on a day to be fixed by the court, or to show
8cause on that day why that person should not be attached for
9contempt of the court. The plaintiff shall then cause a written
10notice of the rule to be served on the sheriff, coroner, or
11other person. If good and sufficient cause be not shown to
12excuse the officer or other person, the court shall adjudge him
13or her guilty of a contempt, and shall impose punishment as in
14other cases of contempt.
15    (d) If process is served by a sheriff or coroner, the court
16may tax the fee of the sheriff or coroner as costs in the
17proceeding. If process is served by a private person or entity,
18the court may establish a fee therefor and tax such fee as
19costs in the proceedings.
20    (e) In addition to the powers stated in Section 8.1a of the
21Housing Authorities Act, in counties with a population of
223,000,000 or more inhabitants, members of a housing authority
23police force may serve process for forcible entry and detainer
24actions commenced by that housing authority and may execute
25orders of possession for that housing authority.
26    (f) In counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more,

 

 

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1process may be served, with special appointment by the court,
2by a private process server or a law enforcement agency other
3than the county sheriff in proceedings instituted under the
4Forcible Entry and Detainer Article of this Code as a result of
5a lessor or lessor's assignee declaring a lease void pursuant
6to Section 11 of the Controlled Substance and Cannabis Nuisance
7Act.
8(Source: P.A. 95-613, eff. 9-11-07; 96-1451, eff. 8-20-10.)