By Jim Covington
Director of Legislative Affairs

The following bills have become law after veto by the Governor and action by the General Assembly.

Filing fees. Public Act 95-980 (Nekritz, D-Northbrook; Crotty, D-Oak Forest) increases the maximum fee paid by civil litigants from $5 to $10 for children’s waiting rooms if the county board approves. Effective Sept. 22, 2008. The Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 2321 stands. It would have increased the fees for county law libraries.

Notary Public Act. Senate Bill 546 (Cullerton, D-Chicago; Brosnahan, D-Oak Lawn) has become law after the Governor’s amendatory veto was accepted. It is a four-year pilot project that requires that a notarial record be kept for every notarial act in Cook County that transfers title to residential real property. “Residential real property” is one to four dwelling units or an individual residential condominium unit. Senate Bill 546 was an initiative of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to create a process (the notarial record) in real-estate transactions that would make their investigations and prosecutions of mortgage fraud more effective.

The notarial record must include the thumbprint or fingerprint of the grantor, as well as a description of the identification presented as evidence of the identity of the person who signed the document to which the notary attests. The notarial record is to be kept as part of the business records of title insurance companies, financial institutions, and attorneys for a period of seven years.

Independent notaries are required to deliver the original notarial record to the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, along with a $5 filing fee, and those records will be retained for seven years. It also includes a statutory form that notaries may use in complying with this Act. Notaries are permitted to charge up to $25 for any notarial act performed under this Act.

Senate Bill 546 will not affect the validity of the real-estate transaction if a notary fails to comply with these requirements. Seven kinds of transactions are exempted, such as a court-ordered conveyance, a deed-in-lieu-of-mortgage foreclosure, or a conveyance to a trust in which the beneficiary is also the grantor. The bill’s effective date is July 1, 2009, and its provisions are repealed July 1, 2013.

Mortgage Foreclosure Act, Part 1. Public Act 95-961 (Collins, D-Chicago; Colvin, D-Chicago) does five things. (1) It requires a statutory “Homeowner’s Notice” to be attached to a summons in a residential-foreclosure action. (2) It requires a mortgagee to give a “payoff demand statement” if the mortgagor demands it in writing within 10 business days from when the mortgagee receives the demand. (3) It allows the court to award reasonable attorney’s fees to the defendant who is successful on a motion, affirmative defense or counterclaim, or in the foreclosure action itself. A defendant who exercises his or her right of reinstatement or redemption may not be considered a prevailing party for an award of attorney fees. But this change does not affect the contractual terms in the mortgage or other written agreement that allows the mortgagee to recover attorney’s fees and costs.

(4) It increases the amount of damages the Attorney General may seek for a violation of the Human Rights Act in real estate or financial transactions. (5) It amends the Illinois Fairness In Lending Act to prohibit a financial institution from denying or varying a loan on the basis of the borrower’s race, gender, disability, or national origin. Items 1-3 become effective January 1, 2009, and items 4 and 5 took effect Sept. 23, 2008.