Connected Management Blog

A new bill, SB 2354 (Sen. Haine), which will admend the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the Common Interest Community Association Act, will become effective on January 1, 2017. This bill was signed into law by Governor Rauner and became Public Act 99-0567. Since this bill amends both the ICPA and the CICA, the results affect both condominium associations and town home associations in Illinois. This amendment is critical to condominium and town home associations as it negates many of the restrictions that were previously introduced by the "Palm Case". (Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive, 2014) You can read an...

The Illinois Condominium Property Act, which is the master set of laws that control condo associations in Illinois, is updated on a regular basis. Any changes to the Act automatically override and supercede rules that may be contained in your association's governing documents. (Declaration / Bylaws) Effective June 1, 2016, one such change to the Act is related to the requirements for when notices must be sent to unit owners when a Board adopts the annual budget. As a Board it is important that you are aware of this change, and follow the new rule, so that any budget that you...

Workers Compensation Insurance Workers’ Compensation insurance, sometimes referred to as Workers Comp, is the type of policy most commonly purchased by condo associations that is not required in the Illinois Condominium Property Act. Workers Comp insurance is a type of insurance purchased by employers for the coverage of employment-related injuries and illnesses. Workers Comp is state mandated in Illinois for any employer with “W2’d” employees. If your association directly employs one or more persons, and issues them a W2, you are required to pay for workers compensation insurance. Most condominium associations do not employ traditional employees, but workers comp can still...

Directors and Officers Insurance In many ways this is the most complex type of insurance policy that a condo association in Illinois is required to maintain. Directors and Officers insurance (D&O) protects board members from damages resulting from allegations of wrongful conduct and lawsuits. It provides legal defense coverage as well as indemnification of damages, up to the policy limits. Unfortunately, board members may make mistakes. Without Directors and Officers insurance, a mistake could be disastrous.  Board members have certain fiduciary duties and fiscal responsibilities when serving in their respective capacity for the Association. They have an obligation not to violate...

Condo Association Insurance 101 - Knowledge for Board Members This article provides an overview of the types of insurance that an Association should and must maintain. The Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that the legal and reasonable levels of insurance coverages are in place at all times to protect the members of the Association. This is a great responsibility and should not be taken lightly. A Warning of Importance As I instruct my staff on a regular basis, in the governance of an Association there is nothing that carries a higher risk of legal liability than matters of insurance....

Condo foreclosures, delinquencies and the new 9 months rule (Illinois Senate Bill 2664, ISBA FORECLOSURE BILL) If you are a member of a condo board then you will eventually be forced to deal with owners that are delinquent in their payment of their monthly assessments. Unfortunately, severe assessment delinquency is often coupled with an impending foreclosure. After all, if a unit owner is not making their monthly assessment payment to the association, it's a good bet that the owner is struggling to pay their mortgage. If a foreclosure occurs within your association you have a financial interest in handling the situation...

Illinois House Bill proposes mandatory payment plans for delinquent owners HB 4154 (Rep. Madigan and Rep. Kifowit)ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OF DELINQUENT ASSESSMENTS. Overview of the bill This bill proposes the creation a new Sec. 1-47 of the Common Interest Community Association Act which would mandate that common interest communities of more than 14 units adopt “reasonable guidelines” for delinquent owners to pay regular and special assessments. The bill would require the association to adopt and record in the county recorder’s office guidelines for a payment plan. The payment plan would need to be a minimum of 3 months and not extend greater...

Understanding Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive – A practical perspective Earlier this month the Illinois Appellate Court issued an order that is causing quite a stir in condo association circles. Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive is a case that relates to how boards of condo associations conduct their business. Specifically, how board members communicate and make decisions. On the surface the ruling appears to introduce an incredible level of difficulty to the process that a board must follow in order to perform their duties. Many of the updates that I have read from attorneys and other professionals in the...

Chicago bed bug ordinance (2014) For reference purposes the ordinance is attached to this post. Part of the new ordinance is the requirement for all condo associations to prepare and adopt a "pest management plan for the detection, inspection and treatment of bed bugs in the building". The city is required to post a sample plan to their website so that board members can have an idea what this type of plan should look like. The city has yet to post this sample plan so it is not yet possible to adhere to the ordinance.  After all, how would a board...

Section 19 of the Illinois Condominium Act discusses the type of records that the Board must maintain and rules related to what records must be provided to a unit owner upon request. This is a recap of the section of the Act to help clarify what is required. Documents that must be kept by the Board The following must be maintained by the Board or management company: 1) The association's declaration, bylaws, and plats of survey, and all amendments of these. 2) The rules and regulations of the association, if any. 3) If the association is incorporated as a corporation, the...

ILLINOIS CONDOMINIUM PROPERTY ACT Updated through January 1, 2014 This content was taken from the Illinois General Assembly website and may not be the most current version. Title: An Act concerning the ownership in and rights and responsibilities of parties under the condominium form of ownership of property. Section 1. Short title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Condominium Property Act." Section 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Declaration" means the instrument by which the property is submitted to the provisions of this Act, as hereinafter provided, and such...

Condo Association Board Elections - how to run a proper annual election Our goal for this article is to answer many of the common questions surrounding the election of board members for a condominium association. This is by no means a complete list of questions, but it should provide anyone with a good understanding of how this process should work. As always, if you have questions that were not answered please feel free to email us at blog@connectedmanagement.com. Here is a list of the questions that we’ll answer in this post: At what meeting does the election of board members occur?When...

Sample Meeting minutes & Board member agenda We are making the attached documents available as a reference for board members. You can use these templates as a starting place for crafting meeting minutes and agendas for your association.    Sample Agenda: meeting_agenda_20140309-014852_1.doc Sample Board Meeting MInutes: sample_minutes_20140309-014852_1.doc

Meeting Minutes - An overview for board members Since board meeting attendance is commonly low, how can the board keep the unit ownership up-to-date with the latest board decisions? How can the board prove that a measure, such as a special assessment, was adopted and handled legally?  Meeting Minutes.  Minutes are the written record of a condo association meeting.  The Minutes: Confirm any decisions madeRecord any actions takenRecord who has been assigned a task or responsibilityProvide information and details about the meeting for anyone who could not attend Minutes should provide an unbiased record of what board decisions were made including...