65 ILCS 5/11-141-16
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 65 - MUNICIPALITIES|65 ILCS 5/ - Illinois Municipal Code.|Article 11 - Corporate Powers and Functions

 (from Ch. 24, par. 11-141-16)Sec. 11-141-16.     Powers; particular locality.     If after the public hearing  the corporate authorities of  the municipality adopt a resolution to proceed with the construction or  acquisition of the project, the corporate authorities may make and enforce  all needful rules and regulations in connection with the construction,  acquisition, improvement, or extension, and with the management and maintenance  of the project to be constructed or acquired. The corporate authorities also  may establish the rate or charge to each user of the sewerage system or  improvement or extension at a rate which will be sufficient to pay the  principal and interest of any bonds, issued to pay the cost thereof,  maintenance, and operation of the system, improvement, or extension and may  provide an adequate depreciation fund therefor. Charges or rates shall be  established, revised, and maintained by ordinance and become payable as the  corporate authorities may determine by ordinance. Such charges or rates are  liens upon the real estate upon or for which sewerage service is supplied  whenever the charges or rates become delinquent as provided by the ordinance of  the municipality fixing a delinquency date. A lien is created under the  preceding sentence only if the municipality sends to the owner or owners of  record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification  number, (i) a copy of each delinquency notice sent to the person who is  delinquent in paying the charges or rates or other notice sufficient to inform  the owner or owners of record, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification  number, that the charges or rates have become delinquent and (ii) a notice that  unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on the real estate under this  Section. However, the municipality has no preference over the rights of any  purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lien holder arising prior to  the filing of the notice of such a lien in the office of the recorder of the  county in which such real estate is located or in the office of the registrar  of titles of such county if the property affected is registered under "An Act  concerning land titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended. This notice shall  consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of such real estate  sufficient for the identification thereof, (2) the amount of money due for such  sewerage service, and (3) the date when such amount became delinquent, (4) the  owner of record of the premises. The municipality shall send a copy of the  notice of the lien to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as  referenced by the taxpayer's identification number. The municipality may  foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the  foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.Except in counties with a population of more than 250,000 where the  majority  of the municipal sewerage  system users are located outside of the municipality's corporate limits, the  payment of delinquent charges for sewerage service to any premises may be  enforced by discontinuing either the water service or the sewerage service to  that premises, or both.  A rate or charge is delinquent if it is more than 30 days  overdue.  Any public or municipal corporation  or political  subdivision of the State furnishing water service to a premises (i) shall  discontinue that service upon receiving written notice from the municipality  providing sewerage service that payment of the rate or charge for  sewerage  service to the premises has become delinquent and (ii) shall not resume water  service until receiving a similar notice that the delinquency has been removed.  The provider of sewerage service shall not request discontinuation of water  service before sending a notice of the delinquency to the sewer user and  affording the user an opportunity to be heard.  An investor-owned public utility providing water service within a municipality  that provides sewerage service may contract with the municipality to  discontinue  water service to a premises with respect to which the  payment of a rate or charge for sewerage service has become delinquent.  The municipality shall reimburse the privately owned public utility, public or  municipal corporation, or  political subdivision of the State for the reasonable cost of the  discontinuance and the resumption of water service, any  lost water service revenues, and the costs of discontinuing water service.  The municipality shall indemnify the privately owned public utility, public or  municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State for any judgment  and related attorney's fees resulting from an action based on any provision of  this paragraph.The municipality also may, from time to time, sue the occupant or user  of the real estate in a civil action to recover the money due for sewerage  services, plus a reasonable attorney's fee, to be fixed by the court. However,  whenever a judgment is entered in such a civil action, the foregoing provision  in this section with respect to filing sworn statements of such delinquencies  in the office of the recorder and creating a lien against the  real estate shall not be effective as to the charges sued upon and no lien  shall exist thereafter against the real estate for that delinquency. Judgment  in such a civil action operates as a release and waiver of the lien upon  the real estate for the amount of the judgment. The charge provided in this  section to be made against each user of an improvement or extension shall  be in addition to the charge, if any, made of all users of the system under  Section 11-141-7 and shall be kept separate and distinct therefrom.This amendatory Act of 1975 is not a limit on any municipality which is  a home rule unit.    (Source: P.A. 93-500, eff. 6-1-04.)