Section 715 ILCS 5/5 - Newspaper of general circulation definedWhen any notice is required by law or contract to be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county. If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an adjoining county having general circulation within the city or town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the term "newspaper" means a newspaper
(a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed matter per page; and (b) which is printed through the use of one of the conventional and generally recognized printing processes such as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than advertising; and (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or other announcements and notices, and news and information concerning current happenings and passing events of a political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and (e) which has been continuously published at regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation of two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously published at regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be considered as continuously or regularly published although its publication has been suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner, publisher, managing editor or other essential employee entering the active military service of the United States, if the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at least one year prior to its suspension and if its publication is resumed at any time not later than 12 months after such fire or Act of God, or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of the war in connection with which such persons entered such military service; and (f) which has the capability of placing notices required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website as required by Section 2.1.Amended by P.A. 096-1144,§ 5, eff. 12/31/2012.Amended by P.A. 096-0059,§ 5, eff. 7/23/2009.