Local Government Law

(Kay, R-Glen Carbon) Authorizes the Illinois Supreme Court to adopt rules to promote the prompt, efficient, and cost-effective resolution of civil actions in which the amount in controversy is more than $10,000 but does not exceed $100,000. If a circuit court grants or denies, in whole or in part, a motion to dismiss because of the absence of a basis in law or fact for the action, then the court may award costs and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in amounts that the court determines are equitable and just. Authorizes reasonable deposition fees to be recovered as costs. Scheduled for hearing this Wednesday in House Judiciary Committee (Civil).

(Breen, R-Lombard) makes the following changes to the Act: (1) Amends the public policy provision of the Act to make as one of its intentions the ability to identify and provide a speedy resolution of meritless and retaliatory and provide damages in the form of attorney’s fees and costs to prevailing movants. (2) Provides that a claim is meritless if it lacks an essential element of the claim or fails against a reasonably foreseeable affirmative defense to that claim. (3) Provides that a plaintiff's claim is presumed to be retaliatory if the alleged basis for the claim is an act in furtherance of the constitutional rights to petition, speech, association, and participation in government. (4) Provides that a motion under the Act may be made as a motion to dismiss or as a motion for summary judgment or joined with other motions. (5) Provides that “attorney’s fees and costs” include reasonable trial and appellate attorney’s fees and costs incurred in connection with a motion under the Act, including, but not limited to, fees and costs for discovery that relates to such a motion. Scheduled for hearing next Wednesday in House Judiciary Committee.

(Kotowski, D-Park Ridge) provides that “parties of record” does not include a private citizen who was not acting in an official capacity or whose participation in the agency proceedings was limited to his or her attendance or testimony at a public hearing. Scheduled for hearing next Tuesday in Senate Judiciary Committee.

(Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago) allows a court, on the motion of court-appointed counsel, to conduct a hearing on the amount of payment to court-appointed counsel. Under current law the State’s Attorney or the court may now make this motion. This bill adds the court-appointed counsel as well. Assigned to House Rules Committee.

(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.

(Haine, D-Alton) lifts the ceiling for the court-services fee that is now at $25. It can be increased to more than $25 if accompanied by an acceptable cost study per statute. The court-services fee is dedicated to the the county sheriff for court security and applies to civil pleadings and criminal convictions. Just introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Assignments.

(Franks, D-Marengo) prohibits an elected official may not hold more than one public office simultaneously. No distinction is made between paying offices and nonpaying offices. Defines “elected official” and “public office.” Just introduced and referred to House Rules Committee.