3-4-270 Officer and employee liability.

   A.   Any officer or employee of any taxpayer or tax collector who controls, supervises, or is responsible for filing tax returns or remittance returns or who is responsible for paying or remitting any tax imposed by any tax ordinance, and who wilfully fails to file any applicable return or wilfully fails to pay or remit any applicable tax, interest or penalty shall be personally liable for all such amounts due and owing. For the purposes of this subsection, "officer or employee of any taxpayer or tax collector" includes a partner of a partnership, a manager or member of a limited liability corporation, and a member of a registered limited liability partnership.

   B.   The personal liability of any person described in subsection A. of this section shall survive the dissolution of the taxpayer or tax collector. No notice of tax determination and assessment shall be issued to, and no collection action shall be commenced against, an officer or employee pursuant to this section more than three years after the conclusion of all administrative and judicial proceedings relating to any assessment issued to the taxpayer or tax collector which constitutes the basis of such officer's or employee's liability or, if no such proceedings are commenced, then three years after the date on which the assessment issued to the taxpayer or tax collector becomes final.

(Added Coun. J. 11-14-91, p. 7458; Amend Coun. J. 5-12-99, p. 106; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-99, p. 21529, § 8)

3-4-280 Tax collector funds as debt to city.

   Any tax required to be collected by any tax collector pursuant to any tax ordinance and any tax in fact collected by a tax collector shall be collected in trust for the city and shall constitute a debt owed by the tax collector to the city.

(Added Coun. J. 11-14-91, p. 7458; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-99, p. 21529, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 11-13-07, p. 14999, Art. I, § 7)

3-4-290 Reserved.

Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-29-98, p. 66564, § 2, repealed § 3-4-290, which pertained to suit to enforce payment.

3-4-300 Liens and right to levy.

   A.   To secure payment of any final assessment of any tax, interest or penalty due from a final assessee, the city shall have a lien upon all the final assessee's real and personal property located or found within the city, including all real or personal property acquired after the date on which any final assessment was issued.

   B.   1.   No city tax lien shall be effective against any bona fide purchaser for value of any item purchased in the usual and ordinary course of business from a person's stock in trade.

      2.   The department shall file a tax lien upon the property to be encumbered: a. For real property, with the registrar of titles or the recorder of deeds of Cook County; b. For personal property, with the recorder of deeds of Cook County and with the Secretary of State of Illinois.

      3.   At least 10 days prior to filing a lien, the department shall give notice to the final assessee of its intent to file the lien.

   C.   Nothing in subsection A of this section shall be construed to give the city a preference over the rights of any bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor or other lienholder who perfected its lien prior to the filing of the department's lien.

   D.   In addition to any other remedy provided by this chapter or otherwise by law, and pursuant to Section 8-3-15 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended, and the Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, as amended, the city may enforce its lien on personal property:

      1.   By levying on personal property or the rights to personal property. The term "levy" includes the power of distraint and seizure by any means; provided, however, the department must first demand payment of the assessed amount. If payment is not made within 10 days following receipt of the written demand and if no judicial or other review is pending, then the department may issue a warrant requesting the sheriff of Cook County to levy on the property and rights to such property found within the city, for payment of the amount of tax, interest, penalties and costs due. The sheriff may seize and sell such property or property rights so found and shall return to the city the money collected from the sale, less the normal fees for his or her services in executing the warrant.

      2.   After a written demand as provided in subsection D1 of this section is made, the comptroller also may serve process to levy on accounts or other intangible assets of a final assessee held by any bank, bank holding company, trust company, savings bank, industrial bank, land bank, safe deposit company, private banker, savings and loan association, building and loan association, credit union, currency exchange, cooperative bank, small loan company, sales finance company, investment company or any person owed by a bank or bank holding company.

   E.   In addition to any other remedy provided by this chapter or otherwise by law, the city may foreclose on its lien on real or personal property to the same extent and in the same manner as in the enforcement of other liens. No proceedings to foreclose shall be instituted more than seven years after the filing of the department's lien, except that this period shall not run:

      (1)   for the period of time in which a judicial or other review is pending on the final assessment that forms the basis for the lien or

      (2)   for the duration of any judicial order enjoining or restraining the department from instituting foreclosure proceedings.

   F.   All fees for the recording of notices of liens or release of liens shall be added to the sum payable by the final assessee.

(Added Coun. J. 11-14-91, p. 7458; Amend Coun. J. 3-31-04, p. 20916, § 4.11; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 3)

3-4-305 Removal of liens.

   Upon the written request of any affected person, the comptroller shall have removed at the department's own expense any improper lien recorded by the department and shall make every reasonable effort to correct the affected party's credit record. The comptroller also shall issue appropriate orders to ensure that liens are placed or maintained on property only when authorized by law.

(Added Coun. J. 5-12-99, p. 106; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 3)

3-4-310 Fines.

   A.   Any person found guilty of violating, neglecting, disobeying or refusing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, or of any tax ordinance, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $200.00 for the first offense and not less than $300.00 nor more than $500.00 for the second and each subsequent offense; provided, however, that all actions seeking the imposition of fines only shall be filed as quasi-criminal actions subject to the provisions of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, as amended.

   B.   Any person found guilty of repeated offenses of more than three within any 180-day period shall, in addition to the fines provided in subsection A of this section, be subject to punishment by incarceration for a term not to exceed six months as provided by Section 1-2-1.1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended, and the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended.

   C.   A separate and distinct offense is committed for each day a person continues any violation or permits any violation to exist, after having actual notice thereof.

(Added Coun. J. 11-14-91, p. 7458; Amend Coun. J. 3-31-04, p. 20916, § 4.12)

3-4-320 License suspension and revocation.

   A.   The mayor, or the mayor's designee, or the department of business affairs and consumer protection, may suspend or revoke any license if it is determined after a hearing that the licensee, or any person controlled by the licensee, has willfully failed to pay or remit any tax, interest or penalty due or has willfully failed to pay any nontax debt. No license shall be suspended or revoked under this subsection A. if, within ten days after the issuance of a license suspension or revocation order the total tax and nontax liability, including interest or penalties, is paid.

   B.   Written notice of the hearing shall be given to the licensee at the licensee's last known address not less than five days before the hearing is scheduled.

   C.   No action taken under this section shall release or discharge any person who is responsible for paying or remitting any tax from civil liability or from prosecution for any violation of this chapter or any tax ordinance.

(Added Coun. J. 11-14-91, p. 7458; Amend Coun. J. 7-27-05, p. 53211, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5)