Bill Text: IL SB3535 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, when a court declares a sale in error upon application of the owner of the certificate of purchase, the court shall promptly notify the county collector in writing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3535 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB3535-Introduced.html

---

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 SB3535 Introduced 2/14/2014, by Sen. Mike Jacobs SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 200/21-310
Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, when a court declares a sale in error upon application of the owner of the certificate of purchase, the court shall promptly notify the county collector in writing.
LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
A BILL FOR
SB3535 LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
AN ACT concerning revenue.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 21-310 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/21-310)
Sec. 21-310. Sales in error.
(a) When, upon application of the county collector, the
owner of the certificate of purchase, or a municipality which
owns or has owned the property ordered sold, it appears to the
satisfaction of the court which ordered the property sold that
any of the following subsections are applicable, the court
shall declare the sale to be a sale in error:
(1) the property was not subject to taxation, or all or
any part of the lien of taxes sold has become null and void
pursuant to Section 21-95 or unenforceable pursuant to
subsection (c) of Section 18-250 or subsection (b) of
Section 22-40,
(2) the taxes or special assessments had been paid
prior to the sale of the property,
(3) there is a double assessment,
(4) the description is void for uncertainty,
(5) the assessor, chief county assessment officer,

SB3535 - 2 - LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
board of review, board of appeals, or other county official
has made an error (other than an error of judgment as to
the value of any property),
(5.5) the owner of the homestead property had tendered
timely and full payment to the county collector that the
owner reasonably believed was due and owing on the
homestead property, and the county collector did not apply
the payment to the homestead property; provided that this
provision applies only to homeowners, not their agents or
third-party payors,
(6) prior to the tax sale a voluntary or involuntary
petition has been filed by or against the legal or
beneficial owner of the property requesting relief under
the provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13,
(7) the property is owned by the United States, the
State of Illinois, a municipality, or a taxing district, or
(8) the owner of the property is a reservist or
guardsperson who is granted an extension of his or her due
date under Sections 21-15, 21-20, and 21-25 of this Act.
(b) When, upon application of the owner of the certificate
of purchase only, it appears to the satisfaction of the court
which ordered the property sold that any of the following
subsections are applicable, the court shall declare the sale to
be a sale in error:
(1) A voluntary or involuntary petition under the
provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 has been

SB3535 - 3 - LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
filed subsequent to the tax sale and prior to the issuance
of the tax deed.
(2) The improvements upon the property sold have been
substantially destroyed or rendered uninhabitable or
otherwise unfit for occupancy subsequent to the tax sale
and prior to the issuance of the tax deed.
(3) There is an interest held by the United States in
the property sold which could not be extinguished by the
tax deed.
(4) The real property contains a hazardous substance,
hazardous waste, or underground storage tank that would
require cleanup or other removal under any federal, State,
or local law, ordinance, or regulation, only if the tax
purchaser purchased the property without actual knowledge
of the hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or
underground storage tank. This paragraph (4) applies only
if the owner of the certificate of purchase has made
application for a sale in error at any time before the
issuance of a tax deed.
Whenever a court declares a sale in error under this
subsection (b), the court shall promptly notify the county
collector in writing.
(c) When the county collector discovers, prior to the
expiration of the period of redemption, that a tax sale should
not have occurred for one or more of the reasons set forth in
subdivision (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(6), or (a)(7) of this Section,

SB3535 - 4 - LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
the county collector shall notify the last known owner of the
certificate of purchase by certified and regular mail, or other
means reasonably calculated to provide actual notice, that the
county collector intends to declare an administrative sale in
error and of the reasons therefor, including documentation
sufficient to establish the reason why the sale should not have
occurred. The owner of the certificate of purchase may object
in writing within 28 days after the date of the mailing by the
county collector. If an objection is filed, the county
collector shall not administratively declare a sale in error,
but may apply to the circuit court for a sale in error as
provided in subsection (a) of this Section. Thirty days
following the receipt of notice by the last known owner of the
certificate of purchase, or within a reasonable time
thereafter, the county collector shall make a written
declaration, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that the
taxes were sold in error and shall deliver a copy thereof to
the county clerk within 30 days after the date the declaration
is made for entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and
forfeiture record pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section.
The county collector shall promptly notify the last known owner
of the certificate of purchase of the declaration by regular
mail and shall promptly pay the amount of the tax sale,
together with interest and costs as provided in Section 21-315,
upon surrender of the original certificate of purchase.
(d) If a sale is declared to be a sale in error, the county

SB3535 - 5 - LRB098 19575 HLH 54765 b
clerk shall make entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption
and forfeiture record, that the property was erroneously sold,
and the county collector shall, on demand of the owner of the
certificate of purchase, refund the amount paid, pay any
interest and costs as may be ordered under Sections 21-315
through 21-335, and cancel the certificate so far as it relates
to the property. The county collector shall deduct from the
accounts of the appropriate taxing bodies their pro rata
amounts paid.
(Source: P.A. 94-312, eff. 7-25-05; 94-662, eff. 1-1-06;
95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)