55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2 — Illinois Code / Chapter 55 / Act 5 / Section 3-5018.2
Section 3-5018.2
Status: in_force

(55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2) Sec. 3-5018.2. Predictable fee schedule for recordings in first and second class counties. (a) The fees of the recorder in counties of the first and second class for recording deeds or other instruments in writing and maps of plats of additions, subdivisions, or otherwise and for certifying copies of records shall be paid in advance and shall conform to this Section. The fees or surcharges shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Section, be based on the individual attributes of a document to be recorded, including, but not limited to, page count; number, length, or type of legal descriptions; number of tax identification or other parcel-identifying code numbers; units; number of common addresses; number of references contained as to other recorded documents or document numbers; or any other individual attribute of the document. The fees charged under this Section shall be inclusive of all county and State fees that the county may elect or is required to impose or adjust, including, but not limited to, GIS fees, automation fees, document storage fees, and the Rental Housing Support Program State and county surcharges. (b) A county of the first or second class shall adopt and implement, by ordinance or resolution, a predictable fee schedule as provided in subsection (c) that eliminates surcharges or fees based on the individual attributes of a document to be recorded. If a county has previously adopted an ordinance or resolution adopting a predictable fee schedule, the county must adopt an ordinance or resolution revising that predictable fee schedule to be consistent with this Section. After a document class predictable fee is approved by a county board consistent with this Section, the county board may, by ordinance or resolution, increase the document class predictable fee and collect the increased fees if the established fees are not sufficient to cover the costs of providing the services related to the document class for which the fee is to be increased. For the purposes of the fee charged, the ordinance or resolution shall divide documents into the classifications specified in subsection (c), and shall establish a single, all-inclusive county and State-imposed aggregate predictable fee charged for each classification of document at the time of recording for that document. Each document, unless otherwise provided in this Section, shall fall within one of the document class predictable fee classifications set by subsection (c), and fees for each document class shall be charged only as allowed by this Section. Before approval of an ordinance or resolution under this subsection that creates or modifies a predictable fee schedule, the recorder or county clerk shall post a notice in the recorder's or clerk's office at least 2 weeks prior, but not more than 4 weeks prior, to the public meeting at which the ordinance or resolution may be adopted. The notice shall contain the proposed ordinance or resolution number, if any, the proposed document class predictable fees for each classification, and a reference to this Section and this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. A predictable fee schedule takes effect 60 days after an ordinance or resolution is adopted, unless the fee schedule was previously created and the ordinance or resolution is a modification allowed under this Section. Nothing in this Section precludes a county board from adjusting amounts or allocations within a given document class predictable fee when the document class predictable fee is not increased or precludes an alternate predictable fee schedule for electronic recording within each of the classifications under subsection (c). The county board may, by ordinance or resolution, increase the fees allowed in the predictable fee schedule if the increase is justified by an acceptable cost study or internal analysis of a minimum of 3 years showing that the fees allowed by this Section are not sufficient to cover the cost of providing the service. A statement of the cost of providing each service, program, and activity shall be prepared by the county board. All supporting documents to the statement are public records and subject to public examination and audit. All direct and indirect costs, as defined in the United States Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87, may be included in the determination of the costs of each service, program, and activity. If the Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge is amended and the surcharge is increased or lowered, the aggregate amount of the document predictable fee attributable to the surcharge in the document may be changed accordingly. If any fee or surcharge is changed by State statute, the county may increase the document class fees by the same amount without any cost study. (c) A predictable fee schedule ordinance or resolution adopted under this Section shall list document fees, including document class predictable fees. The document classes shall be as follows: (1) Deeds. The aggregate fee for recording deeds shall not be less than $31 (being a