Topic:
Interest on judgments and supplementary proceedings
(Biss, D-Skokie) amends the Code of Civil Procedure on judgments and supplementary proceedings to do several things. (1) Repeals the 9% interest on judgments and replaces it with a maximum rate equal to the weekly average one-year constant maturity treasury yield for the preceding calendar year. It doesn’t amend the 6% interest rate for units of local governments. (2) Reduces what can be deducted from a debtor’s wages from 15% to 10% of gross weekly wages or the amount by which the disposable earnings for a week exceed the total of 50 (now, 45) times the federal minimum wage or the Illinois minimum hourly wage or the local minimum hourly wage law to which the debtor's employer is subject, whichever is greater. (3) Makes exempt from execution moneys held in education expense accounts and similar education savings accounts, such as ABLE accounts and 529 funds. (4) Makes exempt from execution an amount not to exceed $6,000, held by the debtor in the form of cash, a bank account, accrued interest, dividends, the loan or redemption value of a life insurance policy, or other account. A financial institution may not freeze the debtor’s access to turn over to the judgment creditor the amount in the debtor’s account that is $6,000 less, but shall inform the court and the judgment creditor of the exempt amount. The judgment creditor may, upon notice to the financial institution and the debtor, petition the court for a hearing to establish that the funds in the account are not exempt. (5) Increases the exempted amounts in Section 12-1001 annually per the Consumer Price Index if there is a 10% increase in the CPI for the preceding year. Just introduced.