Bill Text: IL SB3325 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that an indigent person may retain counsel of his or her choosing to represent the indigent person, with leave of the court, and that counsel shall perform his or her duties without fees, charges, or reward.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3325 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3325-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB3325 Introduced 2/11/2020, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that an indigent person may retain counsel of his or her choosing to represent the indigent person, with leave of the court, and that counsel shall perform his or her duties without fees, charges, or reward.
LRB101 19866 LNS 69386 b
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
changing Section 5-105 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/5-105) (from Ch. 110, par. 5-105)
Sec. 5-105. Waiver of court fees, costs, and charges.
(a) As used in this Section:
(1) "Fees, costs, and charges" means payments imposed
on a party in connection with the prosecution or defense of
a civil action, including, but not limited to: fees set
forth in Section 27.1b of the Clerks of Courts Act; fees
for service of process and other papers served either
within or outside this State, including service by
publication pursuant to Section 2-206 of this Code and
publication of necessary legal notices; motion fees;
charges for participation in, or attendance at, any
mandatory process or procedure including, but not limited
to, conciliation, mediation, arbitration, counseling,
evaluation, "Children First", "Focus on Children" or
similar programs; fees for supplementary proceedings;
charges for translation services; guardian ad litem fees;
and all other processes and procedures deemed by the court

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to be necessary to commence, prosecute, defend, or enforce
relief in a civil action.
(2) "Indigent person" means any person who meets one or
more of the following criteria:
(i) He or she is receiving assistance under one or
more of the following means-based governmental public
benefits programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled (AABD), Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), General
Assistance, Transitional Assistance, or State Children
and Family Assistance.
(ii) His or her available personal income is 125%
or less of the current poverty level, unless the
applicant's assets that are not exempt under Part 9 or
10 of Article XII of this Code are of a nature and
value that the court determines that the applicant is
able to pay the fees, costs, and charges.
(iii) He or she is, in the discretion of the court,
unable to proceed in an action without payment of fees,
costs, and charges and whose payment of those fees,
costs, and charges would result in substantial
hardship to the person or his or her family.
(iv) He or she is an indigent person pursuant to
Section 5-105.5 of this Code.
(3) "Poverty level" means the current poverty level as

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established by the United States Department of Health and
Human Services.
(b) On the application of any person, before or after the
commencement of an action:
(1) If the court finds that the applicant is an
indigent person, the court shall grant the applicant a full
fees, costs, and charges waiver entitling him or her to sue
or defend the action without payment of any of the fees,
costs, and charges.
(2) If the court finds that the applicant satisfies any
of the criteria contained in items (i), (ii), or (iii) of
this subdivision (b)(2), the court shall grant the
applicant a partial fees, costs, and charges waiver
entitling him or her to sue or defend the action upon
payment of the applicable percentage of the assessments,
costs, and charges of the action, as follows:
(i) the court shall waive 75% of all fees, costs,
and charges if the available income of the applicant is
greater than 125% but does not exceed 150% of the
poverty level, unless the assets of the applicant that
are not exempt under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of
this Code are such that the applicant is able, without
undue hardship, to pay a greater portion of the fees,
costs, and charges;
(ii) the court shall waive 50% of all fees, costs,
and charges if the available income is greater than

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150% but does not exceed 175% of the poverty level,
unless the assets of the applicant that are not exempt
under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of this Code are such
that the applicant is able, without undue hardship, to
pay a greater portion of the fees, costs, and charges;
and
(iii) the court shall waive 25% of all fees, costs,
and charges if the available income of the applicant is
greater than 175% but does not exceed 200% of the
current poverty level, unless the assets of the
applicant that are not exempt under Part 9 or 10 of
Article XII of this Code are such that the applicant is
able, without undue hardship, to pay a greater portion
of the fees, costs, and charges.
(c) An application for waiver of court fees, costs, and
charges shall be in writing and signed by the applicant, or, if
the applicant is a minor or an incompetent adult, by another
person having knowledge of the facts. The contents of the
application for waiver of court fees, costs, and charges, and
the procedure for the decision of the applications, shall be
established by Supreme Court Rule. Factors to consider in
evaluating an application shall include:
(1) the applicant's receipt of needs based
governmental public benefits, including Supplemental
Security Income (SSI); Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled
(AABD ADBD); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

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(TANF); Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or
"food stamps"); General Assistance; Transitional
Assistance; or State Children and Family Assistance;
(2) the employment status of the applicant and amount
of monthly income, if any;
(3) income received from the applicant's pension,
Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, and other
sources;
(4) income received by the applicant from other
household members;
(5) the applicant's monthly expenses, including rent,
home mortgage, other mortgage, utilities, food, medical,
vehicle, childcare, debts, child support, and other
expenses; and
(6) financial affidavits or other similar supporting
documentation provided by the applicant showing that
payment of the imposed fees, costs, and charges would
result in substantial hardship to the applicant or the
applicant's family.
(c-5) The court shall provide, through the office of the
clerk of the court, the application for waiver of court fees,
costs, and charges to any person seeking to sue or defend an
action who indicates an inability to pay the fees, costs, and
charges of the action. The clerk of the court shall post in a
conspicuous place in the courthouse a notice no smaller than
8.5 x 11 inches, using no smaller than 30-point typeface

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printed in English and in Spanish, advising the public that
they may ask the court for permission to sue or defend a civil
action without payment of fees, costs, and charges. The notice
shall be substantially as follows:
"If you are unable to pay the fees, costs, and charges
of an action you may ask the court to allow you to proceed
without paying them. Ask the clerk of the court for forms."
(d) (Blank).
(e) The clerk of the court shall not refuse to accept and
file any complaint, appearance, or other paper presented by the
applicant if accompanied by an application for waiver of court
fees, costs, and charges, and those papers shall be considered
filed on the date the application is presented. If the
application is denied or a partial fees, costs, and charges
waiver is granted, the order shall state a date certain by
which the necessary fees, costs, and charges must be paid. For
good cause shown, the court may allow an applicant who receives
a partial fees, costs, and charges waiver to defer payment of
fees, costs, and charges, make installment payments, or make
payment upon reasonable terms and conditions stated in the
order. The court may dismiss the claims or strike the defenses
of any party failing to pay the fees, costs, and charges within
the time and in the manner ordered by the court. A judicial
ruling on an application for waiver of court assessments does
not constitute a decision of a substantial issue in the case
under Section 2-1001 of this Code.

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(f) The order granting a full or partial fees, costs, and
charges waiver shall expire after one year. Upon expiration of
the waiver, or a reasonable period of time before expiration,
the party whose fees, costs, and charges were waived may file
another application for waiver and the court shall consider the
application in accordance with the applicable Supreme Court
Rule.
(f-5) If, before or at the time of final disposition of the
case, the court obtains information, including information
from the court file, suggesting that a person whose fees,
costs, and charges were initially waived was not entitled to a
full or partial waiver at the time of application, the court
may require the person to appear at a court hearing by giving
the applicant no less than 10 days' written notice of the
hearing and the specific reasons why the initial waiver might
be reconsidered. The court may require the applicant to provide
reasonably available evidence, including financial
information, to support his or her eligibility for the waiver,
but the court shall not require submission of information that
is unrelated to the criteria for eligibility and application
requirements set forth in subdivision (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this
Section. If the court finds that the person was not initially
entitled to any waiver, the person shall pay all fees, costs,
and charges relating to the civil action, including any
previously waived fees, costs, and charges. The order may state
terms of payment in accordance with subsection (e). The court

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shall not conduct a hearing under this subsection more often
than once every 6 months.
(f-10) If, before or at the time of final disposition of
the case, the court obtains information, including information
from the court file, suggesting that a person who received a
full or partial waiver has experienced a change in financial
condition so that he or she is no longer eligible for that
waiver, the court may require the person to appear at a court
hearing by giving the applicant no less than 10 days' written
notice of the hearing and the specific reasons why the waiver
might be reconsidered. The court may require the person to
provide reasonably available evidence, including financial
information, to support his or her continued eligibility for
the waiver, but shall not require submission of information
that is unrelated to the criteria for eligibility and
application requirements set forth in subdivisions (b)(1) and
(b)(2) of this Section. If the court enters an order finding
that the person is no longer entitled to a waiver, or is
entitled to a partial waiver different than that which the
person had previously received, the person shall pay the
requisite fees, costs, and charges from the date of the order
going forward. The order may state terms of payment in
accordance with subsection (e) of this Section. The court shall
not conduct a hearing under this subsection more often than
once every 6 months.
(g) A court, in its discretion, may appoint counsel to

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represent an indigent person, and that counsel shall perform
his or her duties without fees, charges, or reward. An indigent
person may retain counsel of his or her choosing to represent
the indigent person, with leave of the court, and that counsel
shall perform his or her duties without fees, charges, or
reward.
(h) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to affect
the right of a party to sue or defend an action in forma
pauperis without the payment of fees, costs, charges, or the
right of a party to court-appointed counsel, as authorized by
any other provision of law or by the rules of the Illinois
Supreme Court. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
limit the authority of a court to order another party to the
action to pay the fees, costs, and charges of the action.
(h-5) If a party is represented by a civil legal services
provider or an attorney in a court-sponsored pro bono program
as defined in Section 5-105.5 of this Code, the attorney
representing that party shall file a certification with the
court in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 298 and that party
shall be allowed to sue or defend without payment of fees,
costs, and charges without filing an application under this
Section.
(h-10) (Blank).
(i) The provisions of this Section are severable under
Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
(Source: P.A. 100-987, eff. 7-1-19; 100-1161, eff. 7-1-19;

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101-36, eff. 6-28-19; revised 8-6-19.)