SB0583eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0583 Engrossed LRB102 16305 LNS 21687 b

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Local Records Act is amended by changing Section 3a as follows:

(50 ILCS 205/3a) (from Ch. 116, par. 43.103a)

Sec. 3a. Reports and records of the obligation, receipt, and use of public funds of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, units of local government, and school districts, including certified audits, management letters and other audit reports made by the Auditor General, County Auditors, other officers or by licensed Certified Public Accountants permitted to perform audits under the Illinois Public Accounting Act and presented to the corporate authorities or boards of the units of local government, are public records available for inspection by the public. These records shall be kept at the official place of business of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County and each unit of local government and school district or at a designated place of business of the unit or district. These records shall be available for public inspection during regular office hours except when in immediate use by persons exercising official duties which require the use of those records. The person in charge of such records may require a notice in writing to be submitted 24 hours prior to inspection and may require that such notice specify which records are to be inspected. Nothing in this Section shall require units of local government and school districts to invade or assist in the invasion of any person's right to privacy.

(Source: P.A. 94-465, eff. 8-4-05.)

Section 10. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing Section 27.3b as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/27.3b) (from Ch. 25, par. 27.3b)

Sec. 27.3b. The clerk of court may accept payment of fines, penalties, or costs by credit card or debit card approved by the clerk from an offender who has been convicted of or placed on court supervision for a traffic offense, petty offense, ordinance offense, or misdemeanor or who has been convicted of a felony offense. The clerk of the circuit court shall may accept credit card payments over the Internet for fines, penalties, court costs, or costs from offenders on voluntary electronic pleas of guilty in minor traffic and conservation offenses to satisfy the requirement of written pleas of guilty as provided in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 529. The clerk of the court may also accept payment of statutory fees by a credit card or debit card. The clerk of the court may also accept the credit card or debit card for the cash deposit of bail bond fees.

The Clerk of the circuit court is authorized to enter into contracts with credit card or debit card companies approved by the clerk and to negotiate the payment of convenience and administrative fees normally charged by those companies for allowing the clerk of the circuit court to accept their credit cards or debit cards in payment as authorized herein. The clerk of the circuit court is authorized to enter into contracts with third party fund guarantors, facilitators, and service providers under which those entities may contract directly with customers of the clerk of the circuit court and guarantee and remit the payments to the clerk of the circuit court. Where the offender pays fines, penalties, or costs by credit card or debit card or through a third party fund guarantor, facilitator, or service provider, or anyone paying statutory fees of the circuit court clerk or the posting of cash bail, the clerk shall collect a service fee of up to $5 or the amount charged to the clerk for use of its services by the credit card or debit card issuer, third party fund guarantor, facilitator, or service provider. This service fee shall be in addition to any other fines, penalties, or costs. The clerk of the circuit court is authorized to negotiate the assessment of convenience and administrative fees by the third party fund guarantors, facilitators, and service providers with the revenue earned by the clerk of the circuit court to be remitted to the county general revenue fund.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

Section 15. The Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act is amended by changing Section 5-20 as follows:

(705 ILCS 135/5-20)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2022)

Sec. 5-20. Credit; time served; community service.

(a) Any credit for time served prior to sentencing that reduces the amount a defendant is required to pay shall be deducted from the fine, if any, ordered by the court.

(b) Excluding any ordered conditional assessment, a defendant who has been ordered to pay an assessment may petition the court to convert all or part of the assessment into court-approved public or community service. One hour of public or community service shall be equivalent to $10 $4 of assessment. The performance of this public or community service shall be a condition of probation, conditional discharge, or supervision and shall be in addition to the performance of any other period of public or community service ordered by the court or required by law.

(Source: P.A. 100-987, eff. 7-1-19; 101-408, eff. 1-1-20.)