Is it legal for the board to levy "automatic" fines?

At the direction of the board, Management issued a "Proposed Fining Schedule" on January 14, 2019.

The schedule includes an "Automatic Fine", which means the owner is not provided with the opportunity to a hearing before the levying of the fine. This would seem to be in violation of Illinois Law. Specifically, the Illinois Condominium Act stipulates that the board may impose charges "after notice and an opportunity to be heard , to levy reasonable fines for the violation of declaration, by-laws and rules and regulations of the association."

The proposed fining schedule states (emphasis is the association's):

"All variances to the Rules and Regulations begin with a Courtesy Notice - which carries no fine. Fines are assessed every 14 days thereafter for non-compliance. The exception to this is the yearly census collection. Failure to submit any of the requested census documents by the established due date will receive an automatic $50 fine. Failure to return the requested documents within 14 days of this fine will result in the matter being sent to the Association attorney for collection.  Lastly, any Owner who is sent to the Attorney will be responsible for the associated legal costs."

According to the Illinois Condominium Act:

(765 ILCS 605/18.4) (from Ch. 30, par. 318.4) 
    Sec. 18.4. Powers and duties of board of managers. The board of managers shall exercise for the association all powers, duties and authority vested in the association by law or the condominium instruments except for such powers, duties and authority reserved by law to the members of the association. The powers and duties of the board of managers shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: 

(l) To impose charges for late payment of a unit

owner's proportionate share of the common expenses, or any other expenses lawfully agreed upon, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to levy reasonable fines for violation of the declaration, by-laws, and rules and regulations of the association.

I've sent an email to management about this and asked for a clarification. I also asked if the attorney had been consulted before the board made this decision. If so, I asked for a copy of the attorney's determination.

Rumor of a Large Fine is Inaccurate

Several days ago, while talking with neighbors, I was advised that a large fine had been levied on another resident at BLMH. This was purported to be $157 for a BBQ left on the grass, or so the neighbors stated. The Director of Rules and Regulations was walking by and she was asked how the Board could allow this.

Her response was that she was unaware of the alleged "fine" and she stated that it simply did not make sense, and that even the amount seemed strange. Violations are usually noted with a letter, but occasionally preceded by a verbal warning. After the letter is issued, if not corrected in a reasonable time, an initial fine is levied. Failure to pay or continued violations will result in increases in the fines as the amount of each is ratcheted upwards. She stated that she was unaware of a violation, of a letter or a fine. The initial amount of the fine is relatively low, as the goal is to encourage compliance with the rules.

The Director of R&R agreed to check into this. After she departed, the discussion with the neighbors continued. They were skeptical of management and stated so. They felt this was another example of "injustice" at BLMH. They stated that the person who was fined was experiencing a health issue, and stated in effect that they felt the Association should take this into account when enforcing rules. However, they agreed that the amount seemed strange and stated they would talk further to the individual who had been allegedly "fined". The conversation devolved into a re-hashing of the truck incident. The tractor portion of a tractor trailer had been towed off of the property several months ago. This, they stated was "unjust". etc., etc.

I have since been informed by another resident that the amount was not a fine, but was a charge for services. To explain, it is not uncommon for certain types of work by contractors which includes common elements and unit owner responsibility to be billed to the Association. In such a case, the contractor bills the Association and the management, in turn, bills the unit owner for their portion of the work. In essence, the Association makes a short term "loan" to the unit owner, who then repays the Association for the money advanced to the contractor. For example, this is the approach that is being used for the "dormer" style windows which are being replaced as part of the roofing projects.

I'll post further information on this particular issue, as it becomes available. However, Association financial information as it applies to individual unit owners, or fines, are treated as confidential matters by the Association, the Board and the Management.