(a) An action for violation of this Act may be prosecuted by the Attorney General in the name of the people of the State, and in any such action, the Attorney General shall exercise all the powers and perform all duties which the State's Attorney would otherwise be authorized to exercise or to perform therein.(b) This Act shall not be construed to limit or restrict the exercise of the powers or the performance of the duties of the Attorney General which he otherwise is authorized to exercise or perform under any other provision of law by statute or otherwise.(c) Whenever the Attorney General shall have reason to believe that any charitable organization, professional fund raiser, or professional solicitor is operating in violation of the provisions of this Act, or if any of the principal officers of any charitable organization has refused or failed, after notice, to produce any records of such organization or there is employed or is about to be employed in any solicitation or collection of contributions for a charitable organization any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud or for obtaining money or property by means of any false pretense, representation or promise, or any false statement has been made in any application, registration or statement required to be filed pursuant to this Act, in addition to any other action authorized by law, he may bring in the circuit court an action in the name, and on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois against such charitable organization and any other person who has participated or is about to participate in such solicitation or collection by employing such device, scheme, artifice, false representation or promise, to enjoin such charitable organization or other person from continuing such solicitation or collection or engaging therein or doing any acts in furtherance thereof, or to cancel any registration statement previously filed with the Attorney General. In connection with such proposed action the Attorney General is authorized to take proof in the manner provided in Section 2-1003 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(d) Upon a showing by the Attorney General in an application for an injunction that any person engaged in the solicitation or collection of funds for charitable purposes, either as an individual or as a member of a copartnership, or as an officer of a corporation or as an agent for some other person, or copartnership or corporation, has been convicted in this State or elsewhere of a felony or of a misdemeanor where such felony or misdemeanor involved the misappropriation, misapplication or misuse of the money or property of another, he may enjoin such persons from engaging in any solicitation or collection of funds for charitable purposes.(e) The Attorney General may exercise the authority granted in this Section against any charitable organization or person which or who operates under the guise or pretense of being an organization exempted by the provisions of Section 3 and is not in fact an organization entitled to such an exemption.(f) In any action brought under the provisions of this Act, the Attorney General is entitled to recover costs for the use of this State.(g) Any person who knowingly violates this Section may be enjoined from such conduct, removed from office, enjoined from acting for charity and subject to punitive damages as deemed appropriate by the circuit court.(h) Any person who violates this Section shall not be entitled to keep or receive monies, fees, salaries, commissions or any compensation, as a result of the solicitations or fund raising campaigns, and at the request of the Attorney General such monies, fees, salaries, commissions or any compensation shall be forfeited and subject to distribution to charitable use as a court of equity determines.(i) The Attorney General may publish an annual report of all charitable organizations based on information contained in reports filed hereunder stating the amount of money each organization received through solicitation and the amount of money which was expended on program service activity and the percentage of the solicited assets that were expended on charitable activity.(j) The Attorney General shall cancel the registration of any organization, professional fund raiser, or professional solicitor who violates the provisions of this Section.(k) Any person who solicits financial contributions or the sale of merchandise, goods, services, memberships, or advertisements in violation of the prohibitions of subsection (d-1) of Section 11 of this Act, or commits false personation, use of title, or solicitation as defined by Section 17-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012 shall, in addition to any other penalties provided for by law, be subject to civil remedy by cause of action brought by the Attorney General or a Public Safety Personnel Organization affected by the violation. In addition to equitable relief, a successful claimant or the Attorney General shall recover damages of triple the amount collected as a result of solicitations made in violation of this Act, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
A plaintiff in any suit filed under this Section shall serve a copy of all pleadings on the Attorney General and the State's Attorney for the county in which the suit is filed.
Amended by P.A. 097-1150,§ 460, eff. 1/25/2013. P.A. 91-301, eff. 7-29-99.