DEBT DUE AND OWING TO THE CITY

Municipal Code of Chicago tit. 1, ch. 1-19

in effect

Municipal Code of Chicago § 1-19-010 Definitions.

1-19-010 Definitions. For purposes of this chapter the following definitions apply: "Collection costs" means the expenses and time incurred by the city or its agents to collect any debt due and owing. "Debt due and owing" or "debt" means a specified sum of money owed to the city for fines, penalties, fees, interest, or other types of charges or costs imposed by this code, or administrative or judicial judgments after: (i) the period granted for payment has expired; (ii) the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust, judicial review procedures; or (iii) in the case of tax debt, an assessment has become final under Section 3-4-330 of this code. "Department" means the department of finance. (Added Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 48243, Art. II, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 1-19-020 Default in payment of fines - Recovery of collection costs and attorney's fees.

1-19-020 Default in payment of fines - Recovery of collection costs and attorney's fees. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary and in addition to any other late penalty, interest, or other types of charges or costs provided for in this code: (a) any person who fails to pay any debt due and owing, which debt is a result of that person's default in the payment of a fine or any installment of a fine, shall be liable for the city's collection costs and attorney's fees incurred by the city in the collection of the debt; and (b) the comptroller may charge such debtor specified in subsection (a) of this section, collection costs and attorney's fees incurred by the city for collection of the fine. Any collection cost and attorney's fees billed shall be separately stated and identified in the department's billings. Any collection cost billed may be either the collection costs incurred as a result of the debtor's failure to pay the fine or a set amount specified in a ruling to be published by the department, based on the average cost incurred by the city in collecting such fines generally. (Added Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 48243, Art. II, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 1-19-030 Failure to pay other debt - Recovery of collection costs.

1-19-030 Failure to pay other debt - Recovery of collection costs. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary and in addition to any other late penalty, interest, or other types of charges or costs provided for in this code: (a) any person who fails to pay any debt due and owing, other than the debt specified in Section 1-19-020, shall be liable for the city's collection costs in the collection of the debt; and (b) the comptroller may charge such debtor specified in subsection (a) of this section, if the debt has remained unpaid for more than thirty days after the debt is due and owing, the costs incurred by the city in collecting the debt and may bill the debtor for the city's collection costs incurred as of the date of the billing. Any collection costs billed shall be separately stated and identified in the department's billings. Any collection costs billed may be either the collection costs incurred as a result of the debtor's failure to pay the debt or a set amount specified in a ruling to be published by the department, based on the average cost incurred by the city in collecting such debts generally. (Added Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 48243, Art. II, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 1-19-040 Debt check and set off.

1-19-040 Debt check and set off. (a) Prior to paying any person who is entitled to payment from the City, including, but not limited to, any person entitled to a settlement payment, a judgment payment, a contract price payment, or a refund payment, the Comptroller shall perform a debt check to determine if that person has an outstanding debt due and owing to the City. (b) If the debt check required under subsection (a) reveals that the person entitled to payment from the City has an outstanding debt due and owing to the City, the Comptroller shall set off against such payment the amount of the debt due and owing to the City, including all associated interest, fees, and expenses. The Comptroller shall fully apply the set off amount before paying the remaining payment amount to the person entitled to payment from the City. (c) Nothing in this section shall preclude the City from seeking to collect any debt due to the City through the use of any administrative procedure or court proceeding authorized by law. (d) The Comptroller is authorized to adopt rules for the proper administration and implementation of this section. (Added Coun. J. 12-16-24, p. 21956, § 1)

Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2595668Fetched: 10/24/2026