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Court Updates (IL) - Kluever Law Group

COVID-19 and Illinois Courts
The Illinois Shelter in Place Order expired at the end of May and a phased approach to reopening the state is underway.  Accordingly, most counties have either set an expected date to resume hearing mortgage foreclosure cases or already have begun hearing them. The most current information on courts reopening, which continues to change as new information is released and individual courts reassess their responses, can be found here: http://illinoiscourts.gov/Administrative/covid-19.asp. Updates for the largest counties in Illinois are set forth below. 

Cook County

Cook County remains the largest county in Illinois that has not yet reopened.  However, recent updates from the court differ from previous directives and include significantly more detail regarding the Court's plan to reopen, along with specific direction for how the court wants matters handled going forward.  Based upon the level of detail included in these recent updates and our communication with the court, it is our belief that Cook County will reopen on July 7, 2020.
 
The Circuit Court of Cook County Amended General Administrative Order (issued May 28, 2020) and the Chancery Division Administrative Order (issued June 2, 2020) provide for the following:
  • All non-emergency Court dates from June 1 through July 6, 2020 will be entered and continued at least 30 days, with new hearing dates to be set by the Court.
  • All residential evictions are stayed until July 6, 2020, while orders for possession expiring before July 6, 2020 are extended 60 days or until August 17, 2020, whichever is earlier.
  • A moratorium through July 6, 2020 on any action the court determines to be in furtherance of a foreclosure including, but not limited to,:
    • Judgment of  Foreclosure;
    • Foreclosure Sale; and,
    • Order Approving Sale.
  • Service of process by private process servers will be stayed from July 1, 2020 through July 6, 2020 in Cook County. Service conducted prior to or after this window may proceed as normal. 
    • Service by publication and service by sheriff may proceed as normal before, during and after this window (July 1st – July 6th). 
What is still being delayed? What is being allowed to go forward?
  • Mediations/Case Management Conferences
  • Motions for Judgment (i.e., judgments of foreclosure and sale)
  • Motions for Entry of an Order Approving Sale (“OAS”)
  • Non-emergency Court appearances
  • Holding sales before July 6, 2020
  • Evictions
  • Filing new cases (“First Legal”)
  • Completing service of process before July 1, 2020 or after July 6, 2020
  • Placing publication notices
  • Filing and scheduling motions for hearing on or after July 6, 2020
  • Scheduling new sales after July 6, 2020
  • Completing discovery
  • Hearing Emergency Motions via video or telephone conferencing













 
Collar Counties

All counties surrounding Cook County are open and no longer have moratoriums or mandatory stays on foreclosures. Each county has specific requirements regarding scheduling, noticing, and attending hearings. However, we have developed processes and procedures to ensure all individual court requirements are met in order to mitigate further delays as much as possible. Collar Counties includes the following:
  • Lake
  • McHenry
  • Kane
  • DuPage
  • Kendall
  • Will
Most other counties throughout the state are also open. We are aware of a handful of counties in rural areas that still have a stay on sales and/or court hearings; however, there is not a high volume of cases in these counties. We will update those on case by case basis via your preferred method of communication. 

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

The newest order entered May 26, 2020 no longer extends filing deadlines in civil cases. Hearings and settlement conferences may be scheduled and conducted by remote means without delay. Civil jury trials will not be conducted before August 3, 2020.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - Bankruptcy Court

Each judge continues to hold their calls telephonically. All matters can be scheduled without delay, and hearings are not being continued due to COVID-19.

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