Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 740 - CIVIL LIABILITIES
740 ILCS 175/ - Illinois False Claims Act.

(740 ILCS 175/1) (from Ch. 127, par. 4101)
Sec. 1.
This Act may be cited as the Illinois False Claims Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-1304, eff. 7-27-10.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/2) (from Ch. 127, par. 4102)
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "State" means the State of Illinois; any agency of State
government; the system of State colleges and universities, any school district, community college district, county, municipality, municipal corporation, unit of local government, and any combination of the above under an intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a governing body of the agency created by the agreement.
(b) "Guard" means the Illinois National Guard.
(c) "Investigation" means any inquiry conducted by any investigator for
the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in
any violation of this Act.
(d) "Investigator" means a person who is charged by the Attorney General or the Illinois State Police with the duty of conducting any investigation under this Act, or
any officer or employee of the State acting under the direction and
supervision of the Attorney General or the Illinois State Police, in the course of
an investigation.
(e) "Documentary material" includes the original or any copy of any
book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation,
chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible
through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with
instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such
data compilations, and any product of discovery.
(f) "Custodian" means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated
by the Attorney General under subsection (i)(1) of Section 6.
(g) "Product of discovery" includes:
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/3) (from Ch. 127, par. 4103)
Sec. 3. False claims.
(a) Liability for certain acts.
is liable to the State for a civil penalty of not less than the minimum amount and not more than the maximum amount allowed for a civil penalty for a violation of the federal False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.) as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461), plus 3 times the amount of damages which the State sustains because of the act of that person. Notwithstanding any other provision, a person is liable to the State for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500 and not more than $11,000, plus 3 times the amount of damages which the State sustains because of the act of that person, when: (i) the civil action was brought by a private person pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 4; (ii) the State did not elect to intervene pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 4; (iii) the actual amount of the tax owed to the State is equal to or less than $50,000, which does not include interest, penalties, attorney's fees, costs, or any other amounts owed or paid pursuant to this Act; and (iv) the violation of this Act relates to or involves a false claim regarding a tax administered by the Department of Revenue, excluding claims, records, or statements made under the Property Tax Code. The penalties in this Section are intended to be remedial rather than punitive, and shall not preclude, nor be precluded by, a criminal prosecution for the same conduct.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
(c) Exclusion. This Section does not apply to claims, records, or
statements made under the Illinois Income Tax Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-452, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/4) (from Ch. 127, par. 4104)
Sec. 4. Civil actions for false claims.
(a) Responsibilities of the Attorney General and the Illinois State Police. The Attorney General or the Illinois State Police shall diligently investigate
a civil violation under Section 3. If the Attorney General finds that a person violated or is violating Section 3, the Attorney General may bring a civil action under this Section
against the person.
The State shall receive an amount for reasonable expenses that the court finds to have been necessarily incurred by the Attorney General, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against the defendant. The court may award amounts from the proceeds of an action or settlement that it considers appropriate to any governmental entity or program that has been adversely affected by a defendant. The Attorney General, if necessary, shall direct the State Treasurer to make a disbursement of funds as provided in court orders or settlement agreements.
(b) Actions by private persons.
(c) Rights of the parties to Qui Tam actions.
(d) Award to Qui Tam plaintiff.
(e) Certain actions barred.
unless the action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information.
(f) State not liable for certain expenses. The State is not liable for
expenses which a person incurs in bringing an action under this Section.
(g) Relief from retaliatory actions.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/5) (from Ch. 127, par. 4105)
Sec. 5. False claims procedure.
(a) A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or
hearing conducted under Section 4 of this Act may be served at any place
in the State.
(b) A civil action under Section 4 may not be brought:
(c) If the State elects to intervene and proceed with an action brought under subsection (b) of Section 4, the State may file its own complaint or amend the complaint of a person who has brought an action under subsection (b) of Section 4 to clarify or add detail to the claims in which the State is intervening and to add any additional claims with respect to which the State contends it is entitled to relief. For statute of limitations purposes, any such State pleading shall relate back to the filing date of the complaint of the person who originally brought the action, to the extent that the claim of the State arises out of the conduct, transactions, or occurrences set forth, or attempted to be set forth, in the prior complaint of that person.
(d) In any action brought under Section 4, the State shall be required
to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages,
by a preponderance of the evidence.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a final judgement
rendered in favor of the State in any criminal proceeding charging fraud or
false statements, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of
guilty, shall estop the defendant from denying the essential elements of the
offense in any action which involves the same transaction as in the
criminal proceeding and which is brought under subsection (a) or (b)
of Section 4.

(Source: P.A. 96-1304, eff. 7-27-10.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/6) (from Ch. 127, par. 4106)
Sec. 6. Subpoenas.
(a) In general.
The Attorney General may delegate the authority to issue subpoenas under this subsection (a) to the Department of State Police subject to conditions as the Attorney General deems appropriate. Whenever a subpoena is an express demand for any product of discovery, the Attorney General or his or her delegate shall cause to be served, in any manner authorized by this Section, a copy of such demand upon the person from whom the discovery was obtained and shall notify the person to whom such demand is issued of the date on which such copy was served. Any information obtained by the Attorney General or a designee under this Section may be shared with any qui tam relator if the Attorney General or designee determines it necessary as part of any False Claims Act investigation.
(b) Protected material or information.
(c) Service in general. Any
subpoena issued under
subsection (a) may be served by any person so authorized by the Attorney
General or by any person authorized
to serve process on individuals within Illinois, through any method
prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure or as otherwise set forth in this
Act.
(d) Service upon legal entities and natural persons.
(e) Proof of service. A verified return by the individual serving any
subpoena issued under subsection (a) or any
petition
filed under subsection (j) setting forth the manner of such service shall
be proof of such service. In the case of service by registered or certified
mail, such return shall be accompanied by the return post office receipt of
delivery of such subpoena.
(f) Documentary material.
The certificate shall state that all of the documentary material required by the demand and in the possession, custody, or control of the person to whom the subpoena is directed has been produced and made available to the Attorney General.
(g) Interrogatories. Each interrogatory in a subpoena
served under this Section shall be answered separately and fully in writing
under oath and shall be submitted under a sworn certificate, in such form
as the subpoena designates by:
(h) Oral examinations.
(i) Custodians of documents, answers, and transcripts.
the custodian shall, upon written request of the person who produced such material, return to such person any such material which has not passed into the control of any court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of such case or proceeding.
(j) Judicial proceedings.
(k) Disclosure exemption. Any documentary material, answers to written
interrogatories, or oral testimony provided under any subpoena issued under subsection (a) shall be exempt from disclosure under
the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-1304, eff. 7-27-10.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/7) (from Ch. 127, par. 4107)
Sec. 7.
Procedure.
The Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to all
proceedings under this Act, except when that Code is inconsistent with
this Act.

(Source: P.A. 87-662.)
 
(740 ILCS 175/8) (from Ch. 127, par. 4108)
Sec. 8. Funds; Grants.
(a) There is hereby created the State Whistleblower Reward and Protection
Fund to be held outside of the State Treasury with the State Treasurer as custodian. All proceeds of an action or
settlement of a claim brought under this Act shall be deposited in the Fund. Any attorneys' fees, expenses, and costs paid by or awarded against any defendant pursuant to Section 4 of this Act shall not be considered part of the proceeds to be deposited in the Fund.
(b) Monies in the Fund shall be allocated as
follows: One-sixth of the monies shall be paid to the Attorney General Whistleblower Reward and Protection Fund, which is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury, and
one-sixth of the monies shall be paid to the State Police Whistleblower Reward and Protection Fund, which is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury, for
State law enforcement purposes. The remaining two-thirds of the monies in
the Fund shall be used for payment of awards to Qui Tam
plaintiffs and as otherwise specified in
this Act, with any remainder to the General Revenue Fund. The Attorney General shall direct the State Treasurer to make
disbursement of funds.

(Source: P.A. 101-148, eff. 7-26-19.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes