2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 625 - VEHICLES › 625 ILCS 5/ - Illinois Vehicle Code. › Chapter 10 - Civil Liability

(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 10 heading)
CHAPTER 10.  
		CIVIL LIABILITY
(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 10 Art. I heading)
ARTICLE I.  
		LIABILITY OF COUNTIES,
MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER
PUBLIC CORPORATIONS
(625 ILCS 5/10-101) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 10-101)
Sec. 10-101. 
		Insurance.
(a) Any public entity or corporation may insure
against the liability imposed by law and may insure persons who are legally
entitled to recover damages from owners and operators of uninsured motor
vehicles and hit-and-run motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness
or disease including death incurred while using a motor vehicle of such
public entity or corporation with any insurance carrier duly authorized
to transact business in this State and the premium for such insurance shall
be a proper charge against the general fund or any applicable special fund
of such entity or corporation.
(b) Every employee of the State, who operates for purposes of State business
a vehicle not owned, leased or controlled by the State shall procure insurance
in the limit of the amounts of liability not less than the amounts required
in Section 7-203 of this Act.  The State may provide such insurance for
the benefit of, and without cost to, such employees and may include such
coverage in a plan of self-insurance under Section 405-105 of the Department of
Central Management Services Law (20 ILCS
405/405-105). The State may also obtain uninsured or hit-and-run vehicle
coverage, as defined in Section 143a of the "Illinois Insurance Code".
Any public liability insurance furnished by the State  under this Section
shall be under the policy  or policies contracted for or under a self-insurance
plan implemented by the Department of Central Management Services
pursuant to Section 405-105 of the Department of Central
Management Services Law (20 ILCS 405/405-105),
the costs for procuring such insurance to be charged, collected and received
as provided in that Section 25-105.
(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)
(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 10 Art. II heading)
ARTICLE II.  
		LIABILITY TO GUESTS
(625 ILCS 5/10-201) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 10-201)
Sec. 10-201. Liability for bodily injury to or death of guest. 
No person riding in or upon a motor vehicle or motorcycle as a guest
without payment for such ride and who has solicited such ride in violation
of Subsection (a) of Section 11-1006 of this Act, nor his personal
representative in the event of the death of such guest, shall have a cause
of action for damages against the driver or operator of such motor vehicle
or motorcycle, or its owner or his employee or agent for injury, death or
loss, in case of a crash, unless such crash has been caused by the
willful and wanton misconduct of the driver or operator of such motor
vehicle or motorcycle or its owner or his employee or agent and unless such
willful and wanton misconduct contributed to the injury, death or loss for
which the action is brought.
Nothing contained in this Section relieves a motor vehicle or motorcycle
carrier of passengers for hire of responsibility for injury or death
sustained by any passenger for hire.
This amendatory Act of 1971 shall apply only to causes of action arising
from crashes occurring after its effective date.
(Source: P.A. 102-982, eff. 7-1-23.)
(625 ILCS 5/10-202) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 10-202)
Sec. 10-202. 
		Liability of employer in regard to ridesharing. 
		(a) An employer
shall not be liable for injuries to passengers and other persons resulting
from the operation
or use of a passenger car or commuter van
in a ridesharing arrangement which is not owned, leased, contracted for
or driven by the employer, and for which the employer has not paid wages
to an employee for services rendered in driving the vehicle, provided, that
wages shall not
include a portion of the fares collected by the driver and shall not include
expenses for gasoline or passenger car or commuter van repairs.
(b) An employer shall not be liable for injuries to passengers and other
persons because he provides information, incentives or otherwise encourages
his employees to participate in ridesharing arrangements.
(Source: P.A. 83-1091.)
(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 10 Art. III heading)
ARTICLE III.  
		PROCESS ON NON-RESIDENT
(625 ILCS 5/10-301) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 10-301)
Sec. 10-301. 
		Service of process on non-resident.
(a) The use and operation by any person or his duly authorized agent or
employee of a vehicle over or upon the highways of the State of Illinois,
shall be deemed an appointment by such person of the Secretary of State to
be his true and lawful attorney upon whom may be served all legal process
in any action or proceeding against him, growing out of such use or
resulting in damage or loss to person or property, and the use or
operation shall be signification of his agreement that such process
against him which is so served, shall be of the same legal force and
validity as though served upon him personally if such person is a
non-resident of this State or at the time a cause of action arises is a
resident of this State but subsequently becomes a non-resident of this
State, or in the event the vehicle is owned by a non-resident and is being
operated over and upon the highways of this State with the owner's express
or implied permission.
(b) Service of such process shall be made by serving a copy upon the
Secretary of State or any employee in his office designated by him to
accept such service for him, or by filing such copy in his office, together
with an affidavit of compliance from the plaintiff instituting the
action, suit, or proceeding, which states that this Section is applicable
to the proceeding and that the plaintiff has complied with the requirements
of this Section, and a fee of $5 and such service shall be sufficient service
upon the
person, if notice of such service and a copy of the process are, within 10
days thereafter, sent by registered mail by the plaintiff to the defendant,
at the last known address of the defendant, and the plaintiff's
affidavit of compliance herewith is appended to the summons.
(c) The court in which the action is pending may order such continuances
as may be necessary to afford the defendant reasonable opportunity to
defend the action. The fee of $5 paid by the plaintiff to the Secretary of
State at the time of the service shall be taxed as his cost, if he prevails
in the action.
(d) The Secretary of State shall keep a record of all such processes,
which shall show the day and hour of such service.
(e) When a final judgment is entered against any non-resident defendant
who has not received notice and a copy of the
process by registered
mail, required to be sent to him as above provided, and such person, his
heirs, legatees, executor, administrator or other legal
representatives, as
the case may require, shall within one year after the written notice
given to him of such judgment, or within 5 years after such judgment, if no
such notice has been given, as stated above, appear and petition the court
to be heard regarding such judgment, and
shall pay such costs
as the court may deem reasonable in that behalf, the person so petitioning the court
may appear and answer the plaintiff's allegations, and thereupon such
proceeding shall be had as if the defendant had appeared
in due time and
no judgment had been entered. If it appears upon
the hearing that such
judgment ought not to have been entered against the defendant, the
judgment may
be set aside, altered or amended as shall appear just; otherwise, it shall
be ordered that the judgment stands confirmed against
the defendant. The judgment shall,
after 5 years from the entry thereof, if not set aside in the manner
stated above, be deemed and adjudged confirmed against
such defendant, and all
persons claiming under him by virtue of any act done subsequent to the
commencement of such action, and at the end of the 5 years, the court
may enter such further orders as
shall be required for the enforcement of the judgment.
(f) Any person instituting any action, suit, or proceeding who uses
this Section to effect service of process shall be liable for the
attorney's fees and costs of the defendant if the court finds that the
person instituting the action knew or should have known that this Section
is not applicable for effecting service in such action.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)