The old saying “you learn something new every day” was certainly true on September 3 for me. I have been under the mistaken assumption that the Illinois Responsible Property Transfer Act (IRPTA) was still the law of the land in Illinois. This 1989 law invented a whole new industry of environmental consultants and cumbersome requirements that required the delivery and recordation of statutorily prescribed forms disclosing the presence of underground storage tanks or storage of certain hazardous materials. But the law was repealed 9 years ago. Illinois statues no longer require disclosure and recordation. Now, any such disclosures are merely among the many matters to be negotiated between sellers, buyers and lenders. Phase I and Phase II Environmental Reports have become such a natural extension of what commercial brokers have to deal with on virtually every sale transaction, I figured IRPTA was still the driving force. Live and learn! Thanks to attorney Bob Gorecki for telling me.