A park owner who willfully fails or refuses to pay the interest required
by this Act shall, upon a finding by a circuit court that he willfully
failed or refused to pay, be liable for an amount equal to the amount of
the security deposit, together with court costs and a reasonable attorney's
fee.
(c) A park owner, as landlord, shall hold in trust all security deposits received from a tenant in one or more banks, savings banks, or credit unions, the accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration Share Insurance Fund, or other applicable entity under law. A security deposit and the interest due under subsection (b) of this Section is the property of the tenant until the deposit is returned to the tenant or used to compensate, or applied to the tenant's obligations to, the park owner, as landlord, in accordance with the lease or applicable State and local law. The security deposit shall not be commingled with the assets of the park owner, and shall not be subject to the claims of any creditor of the park owner or any party claiming an interest in the deposit through the park owner, including a foreclosing mortgagee or trustee in bankruptcy; provided that this subsection does not prevent a foreclosing mortgagee, receiver, or trustee from taking over control of the applicable bank account holding the security deposits, which may include moving the security deposits to another bank account meeting the requirements of this Section, provided that the mortgagee, receiver, or trustee:
(1) shall continue to hold the security deposits in
trust as provided in, and subject to, the provisions of this Section; and
(2) is entitled to use a security deposit to