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92_HB4966
LRB9214973SMsb
1 AN ACT in relation to taxes.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5 Section 21-305 as follows:
6 (35 ILCS 200/21-305)
7 Sec. 21-305. Payments from Indemnity Fund.
8 (a) Any owner of property sold under any provision of
9 this Code who sustains loss or damage by reason of the
10 issuance of a tax deed under Section 21-445 or 22-40 of this
11 Code and who is barred or is in any way precluded from
12 bringing an action for the recovery of the property shall
13 have the right to indemnity for the loss or damage sustained,
14 limited as follows:
15 (1) An owner who resided on property that contained
16 4 or less dwelling units on the last day of the period of
17 redemption and who is equitably entitled to compensation
18 for the loss or damage sustained has the right to
19 indemnity. An equitable indemnity award shall be limited
20 to the fair cash value of the property as of the date the
21 tax deed was issued less any mortgages or liens on the
22 property, and the award will not exceed $99,000. The
23 Court shall liberally construe this equitable entitlement
24 standard to provide compensation wherever, in the
25 discretion of the Court, the equities warrant the action.
26 An owner of a property that contained 4 or less
27 dwelling units who requests an award in excess of $99,000
28 must prove that the loss of his or her property was not
29 attributable to his or her own fault or negligence before
30 an award in excess of $99,000 will be granted.
31 (2) An owner who sustains the loss or damage of any
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1 property occasioned by reason of the issuance of a tax
2 deed, without fault or negligence of his or her own, has
3 the right to indemnity limited to the fair cash value of
4 the property less any mortgages or liens on the
5 property. In determining the existence of fault or
6 negligence, the court shall consider whether the owner
7 exercised ordinary reasonable diligence under all of the
8 relevant circumstances.
9 (3) In determining the fair cash value of property
10 less any mortgages or liens on the property, the fair
11 cash value shall be reduced by the principal amount of
12 all taxes paid by the tax purchaser or his or her
13 assignee before the issuance of the tax deed.
14 (4) If an award made under paragraph (1) or (2) is
15 subject to a reduction by the amount of an outstanding
16 mortgage or lien on the property, other than the
17 principal amount of all taxes paid by the tax purchaser
18 or his or her assignee before the issuance of the tax
19 deed and the petitioner would be personally liable to the
20 mortgagee or lienholder for all or part of that reduction
21 amount, the court shall order an additional indemnity
22 award to be paid directly to the mortgagee or lienholder
23 sufficient to discharge the petitioner's personal
24 liability. The court, in its discretion, may order the
25 joinder of the mortgagee or lienholder as an additional
26 party to the indemnity action.
27 (b) Indemnity fund; subrogation.
28 (1) Any person claiming indemnity hereunder shall
29 petition the Court which ordered the tax deed to issue,
30 shall name the County Treasurer, as Trustee of the
31 indemnity fund, as defendant to the petition, and shall
32 ask that judgment be entered against the County
33 Treasurer, as Trustee, in the amount of the indemnity
34 sought. The provisions of the Civil Practice Law shall
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1 apply to proceedings under the petition, except that
2 neither the petitioner nor County Treasurer shall be
3 entitled to trial by jury on the issues presented in the
4 petition. The Court shall liberally construe this Section
5 to provide compensation wherever in the discretion of the
6 Court the equities warrant such action.
7 (2) The County Treasurer, as Trustee of the
8 indemnity fund, shall be subrogated to all parties in
9 whose favor judgment may be rendered against him or her,
10 and by third party complaint may bring in as a defendant
11 any person, other than the tax deed grantee and its
12 successors in title, not a party to the action who is or
13 may be liable to him or her, as subrogee, for all or part
14 of the petitioner's claim against him or her.
15 (c) Any contract involving the proceeds of a judgment
16 for indemnity under this Section, between the tax deed
17 grantee or its successors in title and the indemnity
18 petitioner or his or her successors, shall be in writing. In
19 any action brought under Section 21-305, the Collector shall
20 be entitled to discovery regarding, but not limited to, the
21 following:
22 (1) the identity of all persons beneficially
23 interested in the contract, directly or indirectly,
24 including at least the following information: the names
25 and addresses of any natural persons; the place of
26 incorporation of any corporation and the names and
27 addresses of its shareholders unless it is publicly held;
28 the names and addresses of all general and limited
29 partners of any partnership; the names and addresses of
30 all persons having an ownership interest in any entity
31 doing business under an assumed name, and the county in
32 which the assumed business name is registered; and the
33 nature and extent of the interest in the contract of each
34 person identified;
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1 (2) the time period during which the contract was
2 negotiated and agreed upon, from the date of the first
3 direct or indirect contact between any of the contracting
4 parties to the date of its execution;
5 (3) the name and address of each natural person who
6 took part in negotiating the contract, and the identity
7 and relationship of the party that the person represented
8 in the negotiations; and
9 (4) the existence of an agreement for payment of
10 attorney's fees by or on behalf of each party.
11 Any information disclosed during discovery may be subject
12 to protective order as deemed appropriate by the court. The
13 terms of the contract shall not be used as evidence of value.
14 (Source: P.A. 91-564, eff. 8-14-99.)