Text of IL HB 5164 (2024)

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5164 Introduced , by Rep. Kevin John Olickal SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 705 ILCS 105/27.1b 735 ILCS 5/21-101 from Ch. 110, par. 21-101 735 ILCS 5/21-103.8 new 735 ILCS 5/21-103 rep. Amends the Clerks of the Court Act. Provides that filing fees for a petition for change name may not exceed $25, and the court may waive this fee for good cause shown. Amends Name Change Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Deletes the requirement that a petitioner must reside in this State for 6 months before the petitioner may file a petition under this Article. Allows a petitioner to request that the court file be impounded if public disclosure may be a hardship and have a negative impact on the petitioner's health or safety to include, but not be limited to, if the person is transgender, an adoptee, a survivor of domestic or intimate partner abuse, a survivor of gender-based violence, a survivor of human trafficking, a refugee, has been granted special immigrant status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, or has been granted asylum in this country. The petitioner may attach to the statement any supporting documents including relevant court orders. Allows the petitioner to request that his or her address be omitted from court documents if it would put the petitioner or petitioner's family at risk. Repeals the requirements to publish a notice of a petition to change a name. LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b A BILL FOR HB5164LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 AN ACT concerning civil law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing 5Section 27.1b as follows: 6 (705 ILCS 105/27.1b) 7 Sec. 27.1b. Circuit court clerk fees. Notwithstanding any 8other provision of law, all fees charged by the clerks of the 9circuit court for the services described in this Section shall 10be established, collected, and disbursed in accordance with 11this Section. Except as otherwise specified in this Section, 12all fees under this Section shall be paid in advance and 13disbursed by each clerk on a monthly basis. In a county with a 14population of over 3,000,000, units of local government and 15school districts shall not be required to pay fees under this 16Section in advance and the clerk shall instead send an 17itemized bill to the unit of local government or school 18district, within 30 days of the fee being incurred, and the 19unit of local government or school district shall be allowed 20at least 30 days from the date of the itemized bill to pay; 21these payments shall be disbursed by each clerk on a monthly 22basis. Unless otherwise specified in this Section, the amount 23of a fee shall be determined by ordinance or resolution of the HB5164- 2 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1county board and remitted to the county treasurer to be used 2for purposes related to the operation of the court system in 3the county. In a county with a population of over 3,000,000, 4any amount retained by the clerk of the circuit court or 5remitted to the county treasurer shall be subject to 6appropriation by the county board. 7 (a) Civil cases. The fee for filing a complaint, petition, 8or other pleading initiating a civil action shall be as set 9forth in the applicable schedule under this subsection in 10accordance with case categories established by the Supreme 11Court in schedules. 12 (1) SCHEDULE 1: not to exceed a total of $366 in a 13 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and not to 14 exceed $316 in any other county, except as applied to 15 units of local government and school districts in counties 16 with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to 17 exceed $190 through December 31, 2021 and $184 on and 18 after January 1, 2022. The fees collected under this 19 schedule shall be disbursed as follows: 20 (A) The clerk shall retain a sum, in an amount not 21 to exceed $55 in a county with a population of 22 3,000,000 or more and in an amount not to exceed $45 in 23 any other county determined by the clerk with the 24 approval of the Supreme Court, to be used for court 25 automation, court document storage, and administrative 26 purposes. HB5164- 3 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (B) The clerk shall remit up to $21 to the State 2 Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall deposit the 3 appropriate amounts, in accordance with the clerk's 4 instructions, as follows: 5 (i) up to $10, as specified by the Supreme 6 Court in accordance with Part 10A of Article II of 7 the Code of Civil Procedure, into the Mandatory 8 Arbitration Fund; 9 (ii) $2 into the Access to Justice Fund; and 10 (iii) $9 into the Supreme Court Special 11 Purposes Fund. 12 (C) The clerk shall remit a sum to the County 13 Treasurer, in an amount not to exceed $290 in a county 14 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and in an amount 15 not to exceed $250 in any other county, as specified by 16 ordinance or resolution passed by the county board, 17 for purposes related to the operation of the court 18 system in the county. 19 (2) SCHEDULE 2: not to exceed a total of $357 in a 20 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and not to 21 exceed $266 in any other county, except as applied to 22 units of local government and school districts in counties 23 with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to 24 exceed $190 through December 31, 2021 and $184 on and 25 after January 1, 2022. The fees collected under this 26 schedule shall be disbursed as follows: HB5164- 4 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (A) The clerk shall retain a sum, in an amount not 2 to exceed $55 in a county with a population of 3 3,000,000 or more and in an amount not to exceed $45 in 4 any other county determined by the clerk with the 5 approval of the Supreme Court, to be used for court 6 automation, court document storage, and administrative 7 purposes. 8 (B) The clerk shall remit up to $21 to the State 9 Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall deposit the 10 appropriate amounts, in accordance with the clerk's 11 instructions, as follows: 12 (i) up to $10, as specified by the Supreme 13 Court in accordance with Part 10A of Article II of 14 the Code of Civil Procedure, into the Mandatory 15 Arbitration Fund; 16 (ii) $2 into the Access to Justice Fund: and 17 (iii) $9 into the Supreme Court Special 18 Purposes Fund. 19 (C) The clerk shall remit a sum to the County 20 Treasurer, in an amount not to exceed $281 in a county 21 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and in an amount 22 not to exceed $200 in any other county, as specified by 23 ordinance or resolution passed by the county board, 24 for purposes related to the operation of the court 25 system in the county. 26 (3) SCHEDULE 3: not to exceed a total of $265 in a HB5164- 5 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and not to 2 exceed $89 in any other county, except as applied to units 3 of local government and school districts in counties with 4 more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to exceed 5 $190 through December 31, 2021 and $184 on and after 6 January 1, 2022. The fees collected under this schedule 7 shall be disbursed as follows: 8 (A) The clerk shall retain a sum, in an amount not 9 to exceed $55 in a county with a population of 10 3,000,000 or more and in an amount not to exceed $22 in 11 any other county determined by the clerk with the 12 approval of the Supreme Court, to be used for court 13 automation, court document storage, and administrative 14 purposes. 15 (B) The clerk shall remit $11 to the State 16 Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall deposit the 17 appropriate amounts in accordance with the clerk's 18 instructions, as follows: 19 (i) $2 into the Access to Justice Fund; and 20 (ii) $9 into the Supreme Court Special 21 Purposes Fund. 22 (C) The clerk shall remit a sum to the County 23 Treasurer, in an amount not to exceed $199 in a county 24 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and in an amount 25 not to exceed $56 in any other county, as specified by 26 ordinance or resolution passed by the county board, HB5164- 6 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 for purposes related to the operation of the court 2 system in the county. 3 (4) SCHEDULE 4: $0. 4 (b) Appearance. The fee for filing an appearance in a 5civil action, including a cannabis civil law action under the 6Cannabis Control Act, shall be as set forth in the applicable 7schedule under this subsection in accordance with case 8categories established by the Supreme Court in schedules. 9 (1) SCHEDULE 1: not to exceed a total of $230 in a 10 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and not to 11 exceed $191 in any other county, except as applied to 12 units of local government and school districts in counties 13 with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to 14 exceed $75. The fees collected under this schedule shall 15 be disbursed as follows: 16 (A) The clerk shall retain a sum, in an amount not 17 to exceed $50 in a county with a population of 18 3,000,000 or more and in an amount not to exceed $45 in 19 any other county determined by the clerk with the 20 approval of the Supreme Court, to be used for court 21 automation, court document storage, and administrative 22 purposes. 23 (B) The clerk shall remit up to $21 to the State 24 Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall deposit the 25 appropriate amounts, in accordance with the clerk's 26 instructions, as follows: HB5164- 7 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (i) up to $10, as specified by the Supreme 2 Court in accordance with Part 10A of Article II of 3 the Code of Civil Procedure, into the Mandatory 4 Arbitration Fund; 5 (ii) $2 into the Access to Justice Fund; and 6 (iii) $9 into the Supreme Court Special 7 Purposes Fund. 8 (C) The clerk shall remit a sum to the County 9 Treasurer, in an amount not to exceed $159 in a county 10 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and in an amount 11 not to exceed $125 in any other county, as specified by 12 ordinance or resolution passed by the county board, 13 for purposes related to the operation of the court 14 system in the county. 15 (2) SCHEDULE 2: not to exceed a total of $130 in a 16 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and not to 17 exceed $109 in any other county, except as applied to 18 units of local government and school districts in counties 19 with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to 20 exceed $75. The fees collected under this schedule shall 21 be disbursed as follows: 22 (A) The clerk shall retain a sum, in an amount not 23 to exceed $50 in a county with a population of 24 3,000,000 or more and in an amount not to exceed $10 in 25 any other county determined by the clerk with the 26 approval of the Supreme Court, to be used for court HB5164- 8 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 automation, court document storage, and administrative 2 purposes. 3 (B) The clerk shall remit $9 to the State 4 Treasurer, which the State Treasurer shall deposit 5 into the Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund. 6 (C) The clerk shall remit a sum to the County 7 Treasurer, in an amount not to exceed $71 in a county 8 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and in an amount 9 not to exceed $90 in any other county, as specified by 10 ordinance or resolution passed by the county board, 11 for purposes related to the operation of the court 12 system in the county. 13 (3) SCHEDULE 3: $0. 14 (b-5) Kane County and Will County. In Kane County and Will 15County civil cases, there is an additional fee of up to $30 as 16set by the county board under Section 5-1101.3 of the Counties 17Code to be paid by each party at the time of filing the first 18pleading, paper, or other appearance; provided that no 19additional fee shall be required if more than one party is 20represented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. 21Distribution of fees collected under this subsection (b-5) 22shall be as provided in Section 5-1101.3 of the Counties Code. 23 (c) Counterclaim or third party complaint. When any 24defendant files a counterclaim or third party complaint, as 25part of the defendant's answer or otherwise, the defendant 26shall pay a filing fee for each counterclaim or third party HB5164- 9 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1complaint in an amount equal to the filing fee the defendant 2would have had to pay had the defendant brought a separate 3action for the relief sought in the counterclaim or third 4party complaint, less the amount of the appearance fee, if 5any, that the defendant has already paid in the action in which 6the counterclaim or third party complaint is filed. 7 (d) Alias summons. The clerk shall collect a fee not to 8exceed $6 in a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more 9and not to exceed $5 in any other county for each alias summons 10or citation issued by the clerk, except as applied to units of 11local government and school districts in counties with more 12than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to exceed $5 for each 13alias summons or citation issued by the clerk. 14 (e) Jury services. The clerk shall collect, in addition to 15other fees allowed by law, a sum not to exceed $212.50, as a 16fee for the services of a jury in every civil action not 17quasi-criminal in its nature and not a proceeding for the 18exercise of the right of eminent domain and in every other 19action wherein the right of trial by jury is or may be given by 20law. The jury fee shall be paid by the party demanding a jury 21at the time of filing the jury demand. If the fee is not paid 22by either party, no jury shall be called in the action or 23proceeding, and the action or proceeding shall be tried by the 24court without a jury. 25 (f) Change of venue. In connection with a change of venue: 26 (1) The clerk of the jurisdiction from which the case HB5164- 10 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 is transferred may charge a fee, not to exceed $40, for the 2 preparation and certification of the record; and 3 (2) The clerk of the jurisdiction to which the case is 4 transferred may charge the same filing fee as if it were 5 the commencement of a new suit. 6 (g) Petition to vacate or modify. 7 (1) In a proceeding involving a petition to vacate or 8 modify any final judgment or order filed within 30 days 9 after the judgment or order was entered, except for an 10 eviction case, small claims case, petition to reopen an 11 estate, petition to modify, terminate, or enforce a 12 judgment or order for child or spousal support, or 13 petition to modify, suspend, or terminate an order for 14 withholding, the fee shall not exceed $60 in a county with 15 a population of 3,000,000 or more and shall not exceed $50 16 in any other county, except as applied to units of local 17 government and school districts in counties with more than 18 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to exceed $50. 19 (2) In a proceeding involving a petition to vacate or 20 modify any final judgment or order filed more than 30 days 21 after the judgment or order was entered, except for a 22 petition to modify, terminate, or enforce a judgment or 23 order for child or spousal support, or petition to modify, 24 suspend, or terminate an order for withholding, the fee 25 shall not exceed $75. 26 (3) In a proceeding involving a motion to vacate or HB5164- 11 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 amend a final order, motion to vacate an ex parte 2 judgment, judgment of forfeiture, or "failure to appear" 3 or "failure to comply" notices sent to the Secretary of 4 State, the fee shall equal $40. 5 (h) Appeals preparation. The fee for preparation of a 6record on appeal shall be based on the number of pages, as 7follows: 8 (1) if the record contains no more than 100 pages, the 9 fee shall not exceed $70 in a county with a population of 10 3,000,000 or more and shall not exceed $50 in any other 11 county; 12 (2) if the record contains between 100 and 200 pages, 13 the fee shall not exceed $100; and 14 (3) if the record contains 200 or more pages, the 15 clerk may collect an additional fee not to exceed 25 cents 16 per page. 17 (i) Remands. In any cases remanded to the circuit court 18from the Supreme Court or the appellate court for a new trial, 19the clerk shall reinstate the case with either its original 20number or a new number. The clerk shall not charge any new or 21additional fee for the reinstatement. Upon reinstatement, the 22clerk shall advise the parties of the reinstatement. Parties 23shall have the same right to a jury trial on remand and 24reinstatement that they had before the appeal, and no 25additional or new fee or charge shall be made for a jury trial 26after remand. HB5164- 12 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (j) Garnishment, wage deduction, and citation. In 2garnishment affidavit, wage deduction affidavit, and citation 3petition proceedings: 4 (1) if the amount in controversy in the proceeding is 5 not more than $1,000, the fee may not exceed $35 in a 6 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and may not 7 exceed $15 in any other county, except as applied to units 8 of local government and school districts in counties with 9 more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to exceed 10 $15; 11 (2) if the amount in controversy in the proceeding is 12 greater than $1,000 and not more than $5,000, the fee may 13 not exceed $45 in a county with a population of 3,000,000 14 or more and may not exceed $30 in any other county, except 15 as applied to units of local government and school 16 districts in counties with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants 17 an amount not to exceed $30; and 18 (3) if the amount in controversy in the proceeding is 19 greater than $5,000, the fee may not exceed $65 in a county 20 with a population of 3,000,000 or more and may not exceed 21 $50 in any other county, except as applied to units of 22 local government and school districts in counties with 23 more than 3,000,000 inhabitants an amount not to exceed 24 $50. 25 (j-5) Debt collection. In any proceeding to collect a debt 26subject to the exception in item (ii) of subparagraph (A-5) of HB5164- 13 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1paragraph (1) of subsection (z) of this Section, the circuit 2court shall order and the clerk shall collect from each 3judgment debtor a fee of: 4 (1) $35 if the amount in controversy in the proceeding 5 is not more than $1,000; 6 (2) $45 if the amount in controversy in the proceeding 7 is greater than $1,000 and not more than $5,000; and 8 (3) $65 if the amount in controversy in the proceeding 9 is greater than $5,000. 10 (k) Collections. 11 (1) For all collections made of others, except the 12 State and county and except in maintenance or child 13 support cases, the clerk may collect a fee of up to 2.5% of 14 the amount collected and turned over. 15 (2) In child support and maintenance cases, the clerk 16 may collect an annual fee of up to $36 from the person 17 making payment for maintaining child support records and 18 the processing of support orders to the State of Illinois 19 KIDS system and the recording of payments issued by the 20 State Disbursement Unit for the official record of the 21 Court. This fee is in addition to and separate from 22 amounts ordered to be paid as maintenance or child support 23 and shall be deposited into a Separate Maintenance and 24 Child Support Collection Fund, of which the clerk shall be 25 the custodian, ex officio, to be used by the clerk to 26 maintain child support orders and record all payments HB5164- 14 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 issued by the State Disbursement Unit for the official 2 record of the Court. The clerk may recover from the person 3 making the maintenance or child support payment any 4 additional cost incurred in the collection of this annual 5 fee. 6 (3) The clerk may collect a fee of $5 for 7 certifications made to the Secretary of State as provided 8 in Section 7-703 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, and this 9 fee shall be deposited into the Separate Maintenance and 10 Child Support Collection Fund. 11 (4) In proceedings to foreclose the lien of delinquent 12 real estate taxes, State's Attorneys shall receive a fee 13 of 10% of the total amount realized from the sale of real 14 estate sold in the proceedings. The clerk shall collect 15 the fee from the total amount realized from the sale of the 16 real estate sold in the proceedings and remit to the 17 County Treasurer to be credited to the earnings of the 18 Office of the State's Attorney. 19 (l) Mailing. The fee for the clerk mailing documents shall 20not exceed $10 plus the cost of postage. 21 (m) Certified copies. The fee for each certified copy of a 22judgment, after the first copy, shall not exceed $10. 23 (n) Certification, authentication, and reproduction. 24 (1) The fee for each certification or authentication 25 for taking the acknowledgment of a deed or other 26 instrument in writing with the seal of office shall not HB5164- 15 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 exceed $6. 2 (2) The fee for reproduction of any document contained 3 in the clerk's files shall not exceed: 4 (A) $2 for the first page; 5 (B) 50 cents per page for the next 19 pages; and 6 (C) 25 cents per page for all additional pages. 7 (o) Record search. For each record search, within a 8division or municipal district, the clerk may collect a search 9fee not to exceed $6 for each year searched. 10 (p) Hard copy. For each page of hard copy print output, 11when case records are maintained on an automated medium, the 12clerk may collect a fee not to exceed $10 in a county with a 13population of 3,000,000 or more and not to exceed $6 in any 14other county, except as applied to units of local government 15and school districts in counties with more than 3,000,000 16inhabitants an amount not to exceed $6. 17 (q) Index inquiry and other records. No fee shall be 18charged for a single plaintiff and defendant index inquiry or 19single case record inquiry when this request is made in person 20and the records are maintained in a current automated medium, 21and when no hard copy print output is requested. The fees to be 22charged for management records, multiple case records, and 23multiple journal records may be specified by the Chief Judge 24pursuant to the guidelines for access and dissemination of 25information approved by the Supreme Court. 26 (r) Performing a marriage. There shall be a $10 fee for HB5164- 16 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1performing a marriage in court. 2 (s) Voluntary assignment. For filing each deed of 3voluntary assignment, the clerk shall collect a fee not to 4exceed $20. For recording a deed of voluntary assignment, the 5clerk shall collect a fee not to exceed 50 cents for each 100 6words. Exceptions filed to claims presented to an assignee of 7a debtor who has made a voluntary assignment for the benefit of 8creditors shall be considered and treated, for the purpose of 9taxing costs therein, as actions in which the party or parties 10filing the exceptions shall be considered as party or parties 11plaintiff, and the claimant or claimants as party or parties 12defendant, and those parties respectively shall pay to the 13clerk the same fees as provided by this Section to be paid in 14other actions. 15 (t) Expungement petition. Except as provided in Sections 161-19 and 5-915 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the clerk may 17collect a fee not to exceed $60 for each expungement petition 18filed and an additional fee not to exceed $4 for each certified 19copy of an order to expunge arrest records. 20 (u) Transcripts of judgment. For the filing of a 21transcript of judgment, the clerk may collect the same fee as 22if it were the commencement of a new suit. 23 (v) Probate filings. 24 (1) For each account (other than one final account) 25 filed in the estate of a decedent, or ward, the fee shall 26 not exceed $25. HB5164- 17 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (2) For filing a claim in an estate when the amount 2 claimed is greater than $150 and not more than $500, the 3 fee shall not exceed $40 in a county with a population of 4 3,000,000 or more and shall not exceed $25 in any other 5 county; when the amount claimed is greater than $500 and 6 not more than $10,000, the fee shall not exceed $55 in a 7 county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and shall 8 not exceed $40 in any other county; and when the amount 9 claimed is more than $10,000, the fee shall not exceed $75 10 in a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and 11 shall not exceed $60 in any other county; except the court 12 in allowing a claim may add to the amount allowed the 13 filing fee paid by the claimant. 14 (3) For filing in an estate a claim, petition, or 15 supplemental proceeding based upon an action seeking 16 equitable relief including the construction or contest of 17 a will, enforcement of a contract to make a will, and 18 proceedings involving testamentary trusts or the 19 appointment of testamentary trustees, the fee shall not 20 exceed $60. 21 (4) There shall be no fee for filing in an estate: (i) 22 the appearance of any person for the purpose of consent; 23 or (ii) the appearance of an executor, administrator, 24 administrator to collect, guardian, guardian ad litem, or 25 special administrator. 26 (5) For each jury demand, the fee shall not exceed HB5164- 18 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 $137.50. 2 (6) For each certified copy of letters of office, of 3 court order, or other certification, the fee shall not 4 exceed $2 per page. 5 (7) For each exemplification, the fee shall not exceed 6 $2, plus the fee for certification. 7 (8) The executor, administrator, guardian, petitioner, 8 or other interested person or his or her attorney shall 9 pay the cost of publication by the clerk directly to the 10 newspaper. 11 (9) The person on whose behalf a charge is incurred 12 for witness, court reporter, appraiser, or other 13 miscellaneous fees shall pay the same directly to the 14 person entitled thereto. 15 (10) The executor, administrator, guardian, 16 petitioner, or other interested person or his or her 17 attorney shall pay to the clerk all postage charges 18 incurred by the clerk in mailing petitions, orders, 19 notices, or other documents pursuant to the provisions of 20 the Probate Act of 1975. 21 (w) Corrections of numbers. For correction of the case 22number, case title, or attorney computer identification 23number, if required by rule of court, on any document filed in 24the clerk's office, to be charged against the party that filed 25the document, the fee shall not exceed $25. 26 (x) Miscellaneous. HB5164- 19 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (1) Interest earned on any fees collected by the clerk 2 shall be turned over to the county general fund as an 3 earning of the office. 4 (2) For any check, draft, or other bank instrument 5 returned to the clerk for non-sufficient funds, account 6 closed, or payment stopped, the clerk shall collect a fee 7 of $25. 8 (y) Other fees. Any fees not covered in this Section shall 9be set by rule or administrative order of the circuit court 10with the approval of the Administrative Office of the Illinois 11Courts. The clerk of the circuit court may provide services in 12connection with the operation of the clerk's office, other 13than those services mentioned in this Section, as may be 14requested by the public and agreed to by the clerk and approved 15by the Chief Judge. Any charges for additional services shall 16be as agreed to between the clerk and the party making the 17request and approved by the Chief Judge. Nothing in this 18subsection shall be construed to require any clerk to provide 19any service not otherwise required by law. 20 (y-5) Unpaid fees. Unless a court ordered payment schedule 21is implemented or the fee requirements of this Section are 22waived under a court order, the clerk of the circuit court may 23add to any unpaid fees and costs under this Section a 24delinquency amount equal to 5% of the unpaid fees that remain 25unpaid after 30 days, 10% of the unpaid fees that remain unpaid 26after 60 days, and 15% of the unpaid fees that remain unpaid HB5164- 20 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1after 90 days. Notice to those parties may be made by signage 2posting or publication. The additional delinquency amounts 3collected under this Section shall be deposited into the 4Circuit Court Clerk Operations and Administration Fund and 5used to defray additional administrative costs incurred by the 6clerk of the circuit court in collecting unpaid fees and 7costs. 8 (z) Exceptions. 9 (1) No fee authorized by this Section shall apply to: 10 (A) police departments or other law enforcement 11 agencies. In this Section, "law enforcement agency" 12 means: an agency of the State or agency of a unit of 13 local government which is vested by law or ordinance 14 with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce 15 criminal laws or ordinances; the Attorney General; or 16 any State's Attorney; 17 (A-5) any unit of local government or school 18 district, except in counties having a population of 19 500,000 or more the county board may by resolution set 20 fees for units of local government or school districts 21 no greater than the minimum fees applicable in 22 counties with a population less than 3,000,000; 23 provided however, no fee may be charged to any unit of 24 local government or school district in connection with 25 any action which, in whole or in part, is: (i) to 26 enforce an ordinance; (ii) to collect a debt; or (iii) HB5164- 21 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 under the Administrative Review Law; 2 (B) any action instituted by the corporate 3 authority of a municipality with more than 1,000,000 4 inhabitants under Section 11-31-1 of the Illinois 5 Municipal Code and any action instituted under 6 subsection (b) of Section 11-31-1 of the Illinois 7 Municipal Code by a private owner or tenant of real 8 property within 1,200 feet of a dangerous or unsafe 9 building seeking an order compelling the owner or 10 owners of the building to take any of the actions 11 authorized under that subsection; 12 (C) any commitment petition or petition for an 13 order authorizing the administration of psychotropic 14 medication or electroconvulsive therapy under the 15 Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code; 16 (D) a petitioner in any order of protection 17 proceeding, including, but not limited to, fees for 18 filing, modifying, withdrawing, certifying, or 19 photocopying petitions for orders of protection, 20 issuing alias summons, any related filing service, or 21 certifying, modifying, vacating, or photocopying any 22 orders of protection; 23 (E) proceedings for the appointment of a 24 confidential intermediary under the Adoption Act; 25 (F) a minor subject to Article III, IV, or V of the 26 Juvenile Court Act of 1987, or the minor's parent, HB5164- 22 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 guardian, or legal custodian; or 2 (G) a minor under the age of 18 transferred to 3 adult court or excluded from juvenile court 4 jurisdiction under Article V of the Juvenile Court Act 5 of 1987, or the minor's parent, guardian, or legal 6 custodian. 7 (H) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 8 the filing fee for a petition for name change may not 9 exceed $25. For good cause shown, the court may waive 10 this filing fee. 11 (2) No fee other than the filing fee contained in the 12 applicable schedule in subsection (a) shall be charged to 13 any person in connection with an adoption proceeding. 14 (3) Upon good cause shown, the court may waive any 15 fees associated with a special needs adoption. The term 16 "special needs adoption" has the meaning provided by the 17 Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. 18(Source: P.A. 102-145, eff. 7-23-21; 102-278, eff. 8-6-21; 19102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-4, eff. 205-31-23; 103-379, eff. 7-28-23; revised 8-30-23.) 21 Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by 22changing Section 21-101 and by adding Section 21-103.8 as 23follows: 24 (735 ILCS 5/21-101) (from Ch. 110, par. 21-101) HB5164- 23 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 Sec. 21-101. Proceedings; parties. 2 (a) If any person who is a resident of this State and has 3resided in this State for 6 months desires to change his or her 4name and to assume another name by which to be afterwards 5called and known, the person may file a petition requesting 6that relief in the circuit court of the county wherein he or 7she resides. 8 (b) A person who has been convicted of any offense for 9which a person is required to register under the Sex Offender 10Registration Act, the Murderer and Violent Offender Against 11Youth Registration Act, or the Arsonist Registration Act in 12this State or any other state and who has not been pardoned is 13not permitted to file a petition for a name change in the 14courts of this State during the period that the person is 15required to register, unless that person verifies under oath, 16as provided under Section 1-109, that the petition for the 17name change is due to marriage, religious beliefs, status as a 18victim of trafficking or gender-related identity as defined by 19the Illinois Human Rights Act. A judge may grant or deny the 20request for legal name change filed by such persons. Any such 21persons granted a legal name change shall report the change to 22the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of their 23current registration pursuant to the Duty to Report 24requirements specified in Section 35 of the Arsonist 25Registration Act, Section 20 of the Murderer and Violent 26Offender Against Youth Registration Act, and Section 6 of the HB5164- 24 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1Sex Offender Registration Act. For the purposes of this 2subsection, a person will not face a felony charge if the 3person's request for legal name change is denied without proof 4of perjury. 5 (b-1) A person who has been convicted of a felony offense 6in this State or any other state and whose sentence has not 7been completed, terminated, or discharged is not permitted to 8file a petition for a name change in the courts of this State 9unless that person is pardoned for the offense. 10 (c) A petitioner may include his or her spouse and adult 11unmarried children, with their consent, and his or her minor 12children where it appears to the court that it is for their 13best interest, in the petition and relief requested, and the 14court's order shall then include the spouse and children. 15Whenever any minor has resided in the family of any person for 16the space of 3 years and has been recognized and known as an 17adopted child in the family of that person, the application 18herein provided for may be made by the person having that minor 19in his or her family. 20 An order shall be entered as to a minor only if the court 21finds by clear and convincing evidence that the change is 22necessary to serve the best interest of the child. In 23determining the best interest of a minor child under this 24Section, the court shall consider all relevant factors, 25including: 26 (1) The wishes of the child's parents and any person HB5164- 25 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 acting as a parent who has physical custody of the child. 2 (2) The wishes of the child and the reasons for those 3 wishes. The court may interview the child in chambers to 4 ascertain the child's wishes with respect to the change of 5 name. Counsel shall be present at the interview unless 6 otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The court shall 7 cause a court reporter to be present who shall make a 8 complete record of the interview instantaneously to be 9 part of the record in the case. 10 (3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child 11 with his or her parents or persons acting as parents who 12 have physical custody of the child, step-parents, 13 siblings, step-siblings, or any other person who may 14 significantly affect the child's best interest. 15 (4) The child's adjustment to his or her home, school, 16 and community. 17 (d) If it appears to the court that the conditions and 18requirements under this Article have been complied with and 19that there is no reason why the relief requested should not be 20granted, the court, by an order to be entered of record, may 21direct and provide that the name of that person be changed in 22accordance with the relief requested in the petition. If the 23circuit court orders that a name change be granted to a person 24who has been adjudicated or convicted of a felony or 25misdemeanor offense under the laws of this State or any other 26state for which a pardon has not been granted, or has an arrest HB5164- 26 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1for which a charge has not been filed or a pending charge on a 2felony or misdemeanor offense, a copy of the order, including 3a copy of each applicable access and review response, shall be 4forwarded to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State 5Police shall update any criminal history transcript or 6offender registration of each person 18 years of age or older 7in the order to include the change of name as well as his or 8her former name. 9(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1133, eff. 1-1-24; 10revised 12-15-23.) 11 (735 ILCS 5/21-103.8 new) 12 Sec. 21-103.8. Impounding court file. 13(a) A petitioner may file a request to have his or her court 14file impounded by filing a statement, verified under oath as 15provided under Section 1-109 of this Code, that the person 16believes that public disclosure would be a hardship and have a 17negative impact on the person's health or safety to include, 18but not be limited to, if the person is transgender, an 19adoptee, a survivor of domestic or intimate partner abuse, a 20survivor of gender-based violence, a survivor of human 21trafficking, a refugee, has been granted special immigrant 22status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration 23Service, or has been granted asylum in this country. The 24petitioner may attach to the statement any supporting 25documents including relevant court orders. HB5164- 27 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (b) If the petitioner files a statement attesting that 2disclosure of the petitioner's address would put the 3petitioner or any member of the petitioner's family or 4household at risk or reveal the confidential address of a 5shelter for domestic violence victims, that address may be 6omitted from all documents filed with the court, and the 7petitioner may designate an alternative address for service. 8 (c) Court administrators may allow domestic abuse 9advocates, rape crisis advocates, and victim advocates to 10assist petitioners in the preparation of name changes under 11this subsection.

HB5164 EngrossedLRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 AN ACT concerning civil law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by 5changing Section 21-101 and by adding Section 21-103.8 as 6follows: 7 (735 ILCS 5/21-101) (from Ch. 110, par. 21-101) 8 Sec. 21-101. Proceedings; parties. 9 (a) If any person who is a resident of this State and has 10resided in this State for 6 months desires to change his or her 11name and to assume another name by which to be afterwards 12called and known, the person may file a petition requesting 13that relief in the circuit court of the county wherein he or 14she resides. The petitioner shall have resided in this State 15for 3 months at the time of the name change hearing or entry of 16an order granting the name change. 17 (b) A person who has been convicted of any offense for 18which a person is required to register under the Sex Offender 19Registration Act, the Murderer and Violent Offender Against 20Youth Registration Act, or the Arsonist Registration Act in 21this State or any other state and who has not been pardoned is 22not permitted to file a petition for a name change in the 23courts of this State during the period that the person is HB5164 Engrossed- 2 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1required to register, unless that person verifies under oath, 2as provided under Section 1-109, that the petition for the 3name change is due to marriage, religious beliefs, status as a 4victim of trafficking or gender-related identity as defined by 5the Illinois Human Rights Act. A judge may grant or deny the 6request for legal name change filed by such persons. Any such 7persons granted a legal name change shall report the change to 8the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of their 9current registration pursuant to the Duty to Report 10requirements specified in Section 35 of the Arsonist 11Registration Act, Section 20 of the Murderer and Violent 12Offender Against Youth Registration Act, and Section 6 of the 13Sex Offender Registration Act. For the purposes of this 14subsection, a person will not face a felony charge if the 15person's request for legal name change is denied without proof 16of perjury. 17 (b-1) A person who has been convicted of a felony offense 18in this State or any other state and whose sentence has not 19been completed, terminated, or discharged is not permitted to 20file a petition for a name change in the courts of this State 21unless that person is pardoned for the offense. 22 (c) A petitioner may include the petitioner's his or her 23spouse and adult unmarried children, with their consent, and 24the petitioner's his or her minor children where it appears to 25the court that it is for their best interest, in the petition 26and relief requested, and the court's order shall then include HB5164 Engrossed- 3 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1the spouse and children. Whenever any minor has resided in the 2family of any person for the space of 3 years and has been 3recognized and known as an adopted child in the family of that 4person, the application herein provided for may be made by the 5person having that minor in that person's his or her family. 6 An order shall be entered as to a minor only if the court 7finds by clear and convincing evidence that the change is 8necessary to serve the best interest of the child. In 9determining the best interest of a minor child under this 10Section, the court shall consider all relevant factors, 11including: 12 (1) The wishes of the child's parents and any person 13 acting as a parent who has physical custody of the child. 14 (2) The wishes of the child and the reasons for those 15 wishes. The court may interview the child in chambers to 16 ascertain the child's wishes with respect to the change of 17 name. Counsel shall be present at the interview unless 18 otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The court shall 19 cause a court reporter to be present who shall make a 20 complete record of the interview instantaneously to be 21 part of the record in the case. 22 (3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child 23 with the child's his or her parents or persons acting as 24 parents who have physical custody of the child, 25 step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, or any other person 26 who may significantly affect the child's best interest. HB5164 Engrossed- 4 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1 (4) The child's adjustment to the child's his or her 2 home, school, and community. 3 (d) If it appears to the court that the conditions and 4requirements under this Article have been complied with and 5that there is no reason why the relief requested should not be 6granted, the court, by an order to be entered of record, may 7direct and provide that the name of that person be changed in 8accordance with the relief requested in the petition. If the 9circuit court orders that a name change be granted to a person 10who has been adjudicated or convicted of a felony or 11misdemeanor offense under the laws of this State or any other 12state for which a pardon has not been granted, or has an arrest 13for which a charge has not been filed or a pending charge on a 14felony or misdemeanor offense, a copy of the order, including 15a copy of each applicable access and review response, shall be 16forwarded to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State 17Police shall update any criminal history transcript or 18offender registration of each person 18 years of age or older 19in the order to include the change of name as well as his or 20her former name. 21(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1133, eff. 1-1-24; 22revised 12-15-23.) 23 (735 ILCS 5/21-103.8 new) 24 Sec. 21-103.8. Impounding court file. 25 (a) A petitioner may file a motion to have the HB5164 Engrossed- 5 -LRB103 37155 JRC 67274 b 1petitioner's court file impounded. The motion shall include a 2statement, verified under oath as provided under Section 1-109 3of this Code, that the person believes that public disclosure 4would be a hardship and have a negative impact on the person's 5health or safety to include, but not be limited to, that the 6person is transgender, an adoptee, a survivor of domestic or 7intimate partner abuse, a survivor of gender-based violence, a 8survivor of human trafficking, a refugee, a person who has 9been granted special immigrant status by the United States 10Citizenship and Immigration Service, a person who has survived 11reparative or conversion therapy, or a person who has been 12granted asylum in this country. The petitioner may attach to 13the statement any supporting documents including relevant 14court orders, although self attestation shall suffice as 15acceptable documentation. 16 (b) If the petitioner files a statement attesting that 17disclosure of the petitioner's address would put the 18petitioner or any member of the petitioner's family or 19household at risk or reveal the confidential address of a 20shelter for domestic violence victims, that address may be 21omitted from all documents filed with the court, and the 22petitioner may designate an alternative address for service.