Bill Text: IL HB3069 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that whenever a municipality is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal website is also published electronically on a searchable online database website and that website provides independent certification of the publication. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the searchable online database website. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-06 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB3069 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB3069-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3069 Introduced , by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
715 ILCS 5/2.2 new
715 ILCS 5/3.1 from Ch. 100, par. 3.1
715 ILCS 5/5 from Ch. 100, par. 5
715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.
715 ILCS 10/1 from Ch. 100, par. 10
715 ILCS 10/2 from Ch. 100, par. 10.1
Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that whenever a municipality is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the notice published on the official municipal website is also published electronically on a searchable online database website and that website provides independent certification of the publication. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the searchable online database website. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
HB3069 LRB104 03020 LNS 13038 b
AN ACT concerning notices.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
changing Sections 3.1 and 5 and by adding Section 2.2 as
follows:
(715 ILCS 5/2.2 new)
Sec. 2.2. Municipal electronic publication.
(a) Whenever a municipality is required to provide notice
by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or
contract, the municipality may publish the notice on an
official municipal website instead of in a newspaper if the
notice published on the official municipal website is also
published electronically on a searchable online database
website and that website provides independent certification of
the publication.
(b) The municipality or the host of the website may enter
into a service-level agreement with an Internet service
provider that guarantees the site is accessible to the public
over the Internet at least 98% of the time, 24 hours a day, 365
days a year.
(c) The official municipal website shall display a link to
the searchable online database website, which shall contain a

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list of all current legal notices of the municipality, with
links to or the full text of those notices. The website shall
contain a search function or other features that improve
public accessibility to the notices.
(d) Whenever an individual is unable to access an
electronic publication of a notice, the issuing municipality
shall provide a copy of the notice to the individual free of
charge at the principal office of the municipality.
(e) Notices shall remain available on the website at least
until the last posting date required by law has expired or
until the event described in a notice has taken place,
whichever is later.
(f) Independent certification of the electronic
publication shall include a certificate stating the title of
the notice, the exact day, date, and time of the notice's
publication, the website address of the searchable online
database where the notice and archived notices may be accessed
by the public, and other information as may be available.
(g) For purposes of this Section, a searchable online
database website may be operated or managed by a statewide
organization of municipalities as authorized by Section 1-8-1
of the Illinois Municipal Code at no additional cost to the
municipality to publish notices thereon.
(715 ILCS 5/3.1) (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of

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court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
notice shall include the printing of such notice in the total
circulation of each edition on the date of publication of the
newspaper in which the notice is published; and the newspaper
publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to
government, cause the notice to be placed on the statewide
website established and maintained as a joint venture of the
majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such
notices. All notices required for publication by this Act
shall remain legal and valid for all purposes when any error
that occurs pursuant to the requirements of this Section for
placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
of the printer.
(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
(715 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
be published only in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
city, town, or county, or some newspaper specially authorized
by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county.
If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the
city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
adjoining county having general circulation within the city or

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town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
term "newspaper" means a newspaper:
(a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
matter per page; and
(b) which is printed through the use of one of the
conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
as letterpress, lithography, or gravure; and
(c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
advertising; and
(d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
other announcements and notices, and news and information
concerning current happenings and passing events of a
political, social, religious, commercial, financial, or legal
nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
(e) which has been continuously published at regular
intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
of 2 two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously

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published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to
the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
considered as continuously or regularly published although its
publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
owner, publisher, managing editor, or other essential employee
entering the active military service of the United States, if
the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months
after the termination of the war in connection with which such
persons entered such military service; and
(f) (blank). which has the capability of placing notices
required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the
statewide website as required by Section 2.1.
(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
(715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.)
Section 10. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
repealing Section 2.1.
Section 15. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by

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changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
(715 ILCS 10/1) (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
notice or publication shall be published only in a newspaper
in this State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper:
(a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
matter per page; and
(b) which is printed through the use of one of the
conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
as letterpress, lithography, or gravure; and
(c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
advertising; and
(d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
other announcements and notices, and news and information
concerning current happenings and passing events of a
political, social, religious, commercial, financial, or legal
nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
(e) which has been continuously published at regular
intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a

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newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
of 2 two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
a minimum of 50 issues per year for at least one year prior to
the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
considered as continuously or regularly published although its
publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
owner, publisher, managing editor, or other essential employee
entering the active military service of the United States, if
the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at
least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication
is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire
or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time
within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute,
or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months
after the termination of the war in connection with which such
persons entered such military service; and
(f) (blank). which has the capability of placing, at no
additional cost to government, notices required pursuant to
this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website
established and maintained as a joint venture by the majority
of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.
(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)

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(715 ILCS 10/2) (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
notice shall, at no additional cost to government, cause the
notice to be placed on the statewide website established and
maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
the requirements of this Section in the requirement for
placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
of the printer.
(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.