35 ILCS 200/ Property Tax Code.

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35 ILCS 200/21-235

(35 ILCS 200/21-235)

Sec. 21-235. Record of forfeitures.

All tax liens and certificates forfeited to the county at
the sale shall be noted on the Tax Judgment, Sale, Redemption and Forfeiture
Record.

In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, a list of all property
charged with delinquent special assessments and forfeited to the county at the
sale shall be returned to the collector of the levying municipality.

(Source: P.A. 103-555, eff. 1-1-24.)

35 ILCS 200/21-240

(35 ILCS 200/21-240)

Sec. 21-240.

Payment for property purchased at tax sale; reoffering for
sale.

Except as otherwise provided below, the person purchasing any property,
or any part thereof, shall be liable to the county for the amount due and shall
forthwith pay to the county collector the amount charged on the property.  Upon
failure to do so, the amount due shall be recoverable in a civil action brought
in the name of the People of the State of Illinois in any court of competent
jurisdiction.  The person so purchasing shall be relieved of liability only by
payment of the amount due together with interest and costs thereon, or if the
property is reoffered at the sale, purchased and paid for.  Reoffering of the
property for sale shall be at the discretion of the collector. The sale shall
not be closed until payment is made or the property again offered for sale. In
counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, only the taxes, special
assessments, interest and costs as advertised in the sale shall be required to
be paid forthwith. Except if the purchaser is the county as trustee pursuant to Section 21-90, the general taxes charged on the land remaining due and
unpaid, including amounts subject to certificates of error, not included in the
advertisement, shall be paid by the purchaser within 10 days after the sale,
except that upon payment of the fee provided by law to the County Clerk (which
fee shall be deemed part of the costs of sale) the purchaser may make written
application, within the 10 day period, to the county clerk for a statement of
all taxes, interest and costs due and an estimate of the cost of redemption of
all forfeited general taxes, which were not included in the advertisement.
After obtaining such statement and estimate and an order on the county
collector to receive the amount of forfeited general taxes, if any, the
purchaser shall pay to the county collector all the remaining taxes, interest
and costs, and the amount necessary to redeem the forfeited general taxes.  The
county collector shall issue the purchaser a receipt therefor. Any delay in
providing the statement or in accepting payment, and delivering receipt
therefor, shall not be counted as a part of the 10 days. When the receipt of
the collector is issued, a copy shall be filed with the county clerk and the
county clerk shall include the amount shown in such receipt in the amount of
the purchase price of the property in the certificate of purchase. The
purchaser then shall be entitled to a certificate of purchase. If a purchaser
fails to complete his or her purchase as provided in this Section, the purchase
shall become void, and be of no effect, but the collector shall not refund the
amount paid in cash at the time of the sale, except in cases of sale in error under subsection (a) of Section 21-310.
That amount shall be treated as a payment and distributed to the taxing bodies
as other collections are distributed. The lien for taxes for the amount paid
shall remain on the property, in favor of the purchaser, his or her heirs or
assigns, until paid with 5% interest per year on that amount from the date the
purchaser paid it. The amount and fact of such ineffective purchase shall be
entered in the tax judgment, sale, redemption and forfeiture record opposite
the property upon which the lien remains. No redemption shall be made without
payment of this amount for the benefit of the purchaser, and no future sale of
the property shall be made except subject to the lien of such purchaser. This
section shall not apply to any purchase by any city, village or incorporated
town in default of other bidders at any sale for delinquent special
assessments.

(Source: P.A. 103-555, eff. 1-1-24.)

35 ILCS 200/21-245

(35 ILCS 200/21-245)

Sec. 21-245. Automation fee.

In all counties, each person purchasing any property at a sale under this Code shall pay to the county collector, prior to the issuance of any tax certificate, an automation fee set by the county collector of not more than $10 for each item purchased.  A like sum shall be paid for each year that all or a portion of the subsequent taxes are paid by a tax purchaser and posted to the tax judgment, sale, redemption and forfeiture record where the underlying certificate is recorded. In counties with less than 3,000,000
inhabitants:

(a) The fee shall be paid at the time of the purchase

if the record keeping system used for processing the delinquent property tax sales is automated or has been approved for automation by the county board. The fee shall be collected in the same manner as other fees or costs.

(b) Fees collected under this Section shall be

retained by the county treasurer in a fund designated as the Tax Sale Automation Fund. The fund shall be audited by the county auditor. The county board, with the approval of the county treasurer, shall make expenditures from the fund (1) to pay any costs related to the automation of property tax collections and delinquent property tax sales, including the cost of hardware, software, research and development, and personnel and (2) to defray the cost of providing electronic access to property tax collection records and delinquent tax sale records.

(Source: P.A. 100-1070, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)

35 ILCS 200/21-250

(35 ILCS 200/21-250)

Sec. 21-250. Certificate of purchase.

The county clerk shall make out and
deliver to the purchaser of any property sold under Section 21-205, or to the county if the lien is acquired pursuant to Section 21-90 and a certificate is requested by the county or its agent, a
tax certificate countersigned by the collector, describing the property
sold, the date of sale, the amount of taxes, special assessments, interest and
cost for which they were sold and that payment of the sale price has been made.
If any person becomes the purchaser of more than one property owned by one
party or person, the purchaser may have the whole or one or more of them
included in one certificate, but separate certificates shall be issued in all
other cases. A tax certificate shall be assignable by endorsement. An
assignment shall vest in the assignee or his or her legal representatives, all
the right and title of the original purchaser.

If the tax certificate is lost or destroyed, the county clerk
shall issue a duplicate certificate upon written request and a sworn affidavit
by the tax sale purchaser, or his or her assignee, that the tax certificate is
lost or destroyed.
The county clerk shall cause a notation to be made
in the tax sale and judgment book that a duplicate certificate has been issued,
and redemption payments shall be made only to the holder of the duplicate
certificate.

(Source: P.A. 103-555, eff. 1-1-24.)

35 ILCS 200/21-251

(35 ILCS 200/21-251)

Sec. 21-251.

Registry of owners of certificates of purchase.

(a) The county clerk of each county shall create and maintain a registry
system that permanently records the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
owners or assignees of certificates of purchase issued pursuant to any tax sale
conducted under this Code. The registry may consist of a single record or a
combination of records maintained in paper or electronic form and may include
copies of records kept by the county treasurer for other purposes, all to be
used as the county clerk deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of this
Section. The information in the registry shall be made available to the public.

(b) The county clerk of each county is authorized to promulgate reasonable
rules, procedures, and forms for purposes of creating and maintaining the
registry and for access to the registry information by members of the public.
In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, any owner of a certificate of
purchase pursuant to assignment may elect whether to register that assignment
as provided in this Section, but all owners of certificates of purchase shall
be subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this Section. In counties
with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county clerk shall provide by rule
whether registration of assignments of certificates of purchase shall be
elective or mandatory.

(c) The owner of a certificate of purchase pursuant to assignment, in order
to register that assignment, shall submit to the county clerk the owner's name,
address, and telephone number in accordance with any rules, procedures, and
forms promulgated by the clerk. Any registered owner of a certificate of
purchase may update the registration at any time without charge by submitting
to the county clerk any lawful change of name, address, or telephone number.

(d) If notice is required to be given to the owner of the certificate of
purchase in any proceeding, whether judicial or administrative, affecting a tax
sale conducted under any provision of this Code, the notice may be directed to
the most recent owner of the certificate of purchase appearing in the county
clerk's registry under this Section. Any notice that has been directed as
provided in this Section shall be conclusively presumed to be properly directed
to the owner of the certificate of purchase for all purposes related to the
proceeding in which the notice is given. No objection or assertion by any
assignee of a certificate of purchase in any proceeding shall be heard on
grounds that a notice to the tax purchaser was misdirected, unless that
assignee's current and lawful name, address, and telephone number were
submitted to the county clerk's registry at the time of the notice in question.

(e) The county clerk may assess an automation fee of no more than $10 to be
paid by the owner of the certificate of purchase for each assignment of the
certificate that is registered under this Section. The fee shall be collected
in the same manner as other fees and costs and shall be held by the county
clerk in a fund for purposes of automating his or her office. The fee provided
for under this Section shall not be chargeable to the cost of redemption under
Section 21-355 nor shall it be posted under Section 21-360 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 92-729, eff. 7-25-02.)

35 ILCS 200/21-252

(35 ILCS 200/21-252)

Sec. 21-252.

Index of tax sale records.

The county clerk may make an index
of tax-sale records.  The index shall be kept in the county clerk's office as a
public record, open to inspection during office hours.

(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

35 ILCS 200/21-253

(35 ILCS 200/21-253)
Sec. 21-253. Annual tax sale postponed.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the annual tax sale that would ordinarily be held in calendar year 2020 shall be held no earlier than (i) 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly or (2) until the first day of the first month during which there is no longer a statewide COVID-19 public health emergency, as evidenced by an effective  disaster declaration of the Governor covering all counties in the State.

(Source: P.A. 101-635, eff. 6-5-20.)

35 ILCS 200/21-255

(35 ILCS 200/21-255)

Sec. 21-255.

County clerk's books and records - Prima facie evidence.

The
books and records of the county clerk, or copies thereof, certified by the
clerk, shall be prima facie evidence to prove the sale of any property for
taxes or special assessments, the redemption of the property, or payment of
taxes or special assessments thereon.

(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

35 ILCS 200/Art. 21 Div. 5

(35 ILCS 200/Art. 21 Div. 5 heading) Division 5.

Scavenger sales; procedures