Bill Text: IL HB2949 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the wage deduction provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a lien on wages in a wage deduction based on a judgment arising from financial exploitation of an elderly person or person with a disability has priority over liens on wages in other wage deductions, except those for the support of a spouse or dependent children. Requires a summons for a wage deduction that is based on a judgment arising from financial exploitation of an elderly person or person with a disability to prominently state that it must be given priority over other wage deductions except for wage deductions for the support of a spouse or dependent children.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB2949 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB2949-Engrossed.html

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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 Sections 12-801, 12-805, and 12-808 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/12-801) (from Ch. 110, par. 12-801)
Sec. 12-801. Definitions. As used in Part 8 of Article XII
of this Act:
"Deduction order" means an order entered pursuant to
Section 12-811 of this Act.
"Employer" means the person named as employer in the
affidavit filed under Section 12-805.
"Federal agency employer" means an agency of the federal
government as defined in 5 USC 5520a(a)(1), as amended from
time to time.
"Judgment creditor" means the recipient of any judgment,
except a judgment by confession which has not been confirmed as
provided in Part 8 of Article XII of this Act.
"Judgment debtor" means a person against whom a judgment
has been obtained.
"Wages" means any hourly pay, salaries, commissions,
bonuses, or other compensation owed by an employer to a
judgment debtor.

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"Judgment arising from financial exploitation of an
elderly person or person with a disability" means a judgment
entered under subsection (g) of Section 16-1.3 of the Criminal
Code of 1961.
(Source: P.A. 89-28, eff. 6-23-95.)
(735 ILCS 5/12-805) (from Ch. 110, par. 12-805)
Sec. 12-805. Summons; Issuance.
(a) Upon the filing by a judgment creditor, its attorney or
other designee of (1) an affidavit that the affiant believes
any person is indebted to the judgment debtor for wages due or
to become due, as provided in Part 8 of Article XII of this
Act, and includes the last address of the judgment debtor known
to the affiant as well as the name of the judgment debtor, and
a certification by the judgment creditor or his attorney that,
before filing the affidavit, the wage deduction notice has been
mailed to the judgment debtor by first class mail at the
judgment debtor's last known address, and (2) written
interrogatories to be answered by the employer with respect to
the indebtedness, the clerk of the court in which the judgment
was entered shall issue summons against the person named in the
affidavit as employer commanding the employer to appear in the
court and answer the interrogatories in writing under oath. The
interrogatories shall elicit all the information necessary to
determine the proper amount of non-exempt wages. The
interrogatories shall require that the employer certify that a

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copy of the completed interrogatories as specified in
subsection (c) of Section 12-808 has been mailed or hand
delivered to the judgment debtor and shall be in a form
consistent with local court rules. The summons shall further
command federal agency employers, upon effective service of
summons pursuant to 5 USC 5520a, to commence to pay over
deducted wages in accordance with Section 12-808. The summons
shall be in a form consistent with local court rules. The
summons shall be accompanied by a copy of the underlying
judgment or a certification by the clerk of the court that
entered the judgment, or by the attorney for the judgment
creditor, setting forth the date and amount of the judgment,
allowable costs expended, interest accumulated, credits paid
by or on behalf of the judgment debtor and the balance due the
judgment creditor, and one copy of a wage deduction notice in
substantially the following form:
"WAGE DEDUCTION NOTICE
(Name and address of Court)
Name of Case: (Name of Judgment Creditor),
Judgment Creditor v.
(Name of Judgment Debtor),
Judgment Debtor.
Address of Judgment Debtor: (Insert last known address)
Name and Address of Attorney for Judgment
Creditor or of Judgment Creditor (if no
attorney is listed): (Insert name and address)

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Amount of Judgment: $..........
Employer: (Name of Employer)
Return Date: (Insert return date specified in summons)
NOTICE: The court shall be asked to issue a wage deduction
summons against the employer named above for wages due or about
to become due to you. The wage deduction summons may be issued
on the basis of a judgment against you in favor of the judgment
creditor in the amount stated above.
The amount of wages that may be deducted is limited by
federal and Illinois law.
(1) Under Illinois law, the amount of wages that may be
deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 15% of gross
weekly wages or (ii) the amount by which disposable
earnings for a week exceed the total of 45 times the
federal minimum hourly wage or, under a wage deduction
summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the minimum
hourly wage prescribed by Section 4 of the Minimum Wage
Law, whichever is greater.
(2) Under federal law, the amount of wages that may be
deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 25% of disposable
earnings for a week or (ii) the amount by which disposable
earnings for a week exceed 30 times the federal minimum
hourly wage.
(3) Pension and retirement benefits and refunds may be
claimed as exempt from wage deduction under Illinois law.
You have the right to request a hearing before the court to

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dispute the wage deduction because the wages are exempt. To
obtain a hearing in counties with a population of 1,000,000 or
more, you must notify the Clerk of the Court in person and in
writing at (insert address of Clerk) before the Return Date
specified above or appear in court on the date and time on that
Return Date. To obtain a hearing in counties with a population
of less than 1,000,000, you must notify the Clerk of the Court
in writing at (insert address of clerk) on or before the Return
Date specified above. The Clerk of the Court will provide a
hearing date and the necessary forms that must be prepared by
you or your attorney and sent to the judgment creditor and the
employer, or their attorney, regarding the time and location of
the hearing. This notice may be sent by regular first class
mail."
(b) In a county with a population of less than 1,000,000,
unless otherwise provided by circuit court rule, at the request
of the judgment creditor or his or her attorney and instead of
personal service, service of a summons for a wage deduction may
be made as follows:
(1) For each employer to be served, the judgment
creditor or his or her attorney shall pay to the clerk of
the court a fee of $2, plus the cost of mailing, and
furnish to the clerk an original and one copy of a summons,
an original and one copy of the interrogatories and an
affidavit setting forth the employer's mailing address, an
original and one copy of the wage deduction notice required

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by subsection (a) of this Section, and a copy of the
judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of
this Section. The original judgment shall be retained by
the clerk.
(2) The clerk shall mail to the employer, at the
address appearing in the affidavit, the copy of the
judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of
this Section, the summons, the interrogatories, and the
wage deduction notice required by subsection (a) of this
Section, by certified or registered mail, return receipt
requested, showing to whom delivered and the date and
address of delivery. This Mailing shall be mailed on a
"restricted delivery" basis when service is directed to a
natural person. The envelope and return receipt shall bear
the return address of the clerk, and the return receipt
shall be stamped with the docket number of the case. The
receipt for certified or registered mail shall state the
name and address of the addressee, the date of the mailing,
shall identify the documents mailed, and shall be attached
to the original summons.
(3) The return receipt must be attached to the original
summons and, if it shows delivery at least 3 days before
the return date, shall constitute proof of service of any
documents identified on the return receipt as having been
mailed.
(4) The clerk shall note the fact of service in a

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permanent record.
(c) Instead of personal service, a summons for a wage
deduction may be served and returned in the manner provided by
Supreme Court rule for service, otherwise than by publication,
of a notice for additional relief upon a party in default.
(d) A summons for a wage deduction that is based on a
judgment arising from financial exploitation of an elderly
person or person with a disability shall prominently state that
it must be given priority over other wage deductions except for
wage deductions for the support of a spouse or dependent
children.
(Source: P.A. 94-306, eff. 1-1-06.)
(735 ILCS 5/12-808) (from Ch. 110, par. 12-808)
Sec. 12-808. Duty of employer.
(a) An employer served as herein provided shall pay the
employee the amount of his or her exempt wages.
(b) To the extent of the amount due upon the judgment and
costs, the employer shall hold, subject to order of court, any
non-exempt wages due or which subsequently come due. The
judgment or balance due thereon is a lien on wages due at the
time of the service of summons, and such lien shall continue as
to subsequent earnings until the total amount due upon the
judgment and costs is paid, except that such lien on subsequent
earnings shall terminate sooner if the employment relationship
is terminated or if the underlying judgment is vacated or

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modified.
(b-5) If the employer is a federal agency employer and the
creditor is represented by an attorney, then the employer, upon
service of summons and to the extent of the amount due upon the
judgment and costs, shall commence to pay over to the attorney
for the judgment creditor any non-exempt wages due or that
subsequently come due. The attorney for the judgment creditor
shall thereafter hold the deducted wages subject to further
order of the court and shall make answer to the court regarding
amounts received from the federal agency employer. The federal
agency employer's periodic payments shall be considered a
sufficient answer to the interrogatories.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (b-5), the employer
shall file, on or before the return date or within the further
time that the court for cause may allow, a written answer under
oath to the interrogatories, setting forth the amount due as
wages to the judgment debtor for the payroll periods ending
immediately prior to the service of the summons and a summary
of the computation used to determine the amount of non-exempt
wages. Except as provided in subsection (b-5), the employer
shall mail by first class mail or hand deliver a copy of the
answer to the judgment debtor at the address specified in the
affidavit filed under Section 12-805 of this Act, or at any
other address or location of the judgment debtor known to the
employer.
A lien obtained hereunder shall have priority over any

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subsequent lien obtained hereunder, except that liens for the
support of a spouse or dependent children and liens based on
judgments arising from financial exploitation of an elderly
person or person with a disability shall have priority over all
other liens obtained hereunder. Liens for the support of a
spouse or dependent children have priority over liens based on
judgments arising from financial exploitation of an elderly
person or person with a disability. Subsequent summonses shall
be effective in the order in which they are served.
(d) The Illinois Supreme Court may by rule allow an
employer to file answers to interrogatories by facsimile
transmission.
(e) Pursuant to answer under oath to the interrogatories by
the employer, an order shall be entered compelling the employer
to deduct from wages of the judgment debtor subject to
collection under a deduction order an amount which is the
lesser of (i) 15% of the gross amount of the wages or (ii) the
amount by which disposable earnings for a week exceed 45 times
the Federal Minimum Hourly Wage prescribed by Section 206(a)(1)
of Title 29 of the United States Code, as amended, in effect at
the time the amounts are payable, for each pay period in which
statutory exemptions under Section 12-804 and child support
garnishments, if any, leave funds to be remitted or, under a
wage deduction summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the
minimum hourly wage prescribed by Section 4 of the Minimum Wage
Law, whichever is greater. The order shall further provide that

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deducted wages shall be remitted to the creditor or creditor's
attorney on a monthly basis.
(f) If after the entry of a deduction order, the employer
ceases to remit funds to the plaintiff pursuant to the order
without a lawful excuse (which would terminate the employer's
obligation under the deduction order such as the debtor having
filed a bankruptcy, the debtor having left employment or the
employer having received service of a support order against the
judgment debtor having priority over the wage deduction
proceedings), the court shall, upon plaintiff's motion, enter a
conditional judgment against the employer for the balance due
on the judgment. The plaintiff may then issue a Summons After
Conditional Judgment. After service of the Summons After
Conditional Judgment, the employer may show cause why the
conditional judgment, or some portion thereof should not be
made a final judgment. If the employer shall fail to respond or
show cause why the conditional judgment or some portion thereof
should not be made final, the court shall confirm the
conditional judgment and make it final as to the employer plus
additional court costs.
(Source: P.A. 94-306, eff. 1-1-06; 95-661, eff. 1-1-08.)