What is the current status of residential eviction prosecution in Illinois and Cook County? How much have the procedures and fees changed since COVID first took hold, and are these changes permanent?
A dizzying glance at the Federal laws, State Executive Orders, Supreme Court Rules and Circuit Court General Orders passed since March 2020 prove their unified aim was to forbid housing providers from removing any residential occupant except in rare emergency situations. In Illinois, until the eviction moratorium was lifted in early October, no exception was made for small property owners or housing providers at risk of foreclosure due to non-payment of rent by civil trespassers, other illegal occupants or legal tenants who stopped paying rent but refused to apply for rental assistance. Every jurisdiction has taken a broad, one-size-fits-all position regardless of the damage done to housing providers and affordable housing.
Since October 2020, housing providers’ rights and legal remedies have changed on a monthly, and sometimes weekly, basis, but we were able to file residential eviction lawsuits on a conditional basis. Since October 3, 2021, when the Illinois moratorium expired, we’ve been able to file evictions without the State requirements. In Chicago, the Chicago Covid Impact Ordinance will still apply until 12/3/21.
The federal moratorium was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in August but there are contradictory opinions regarding the requirement to still serve the 30-day notices on federally-financed property. Therefore, even without the Illinois moratorium, housing providers are constrained by additional rules and procedures to file a residential eviction. Here are the daunting steps you must follow to file an eviction in Illinois today:
Since October 2020, housing providers’ rights and legal remedies have changed on a monthly, and sometimes weekly, basis.Effective 10/3/21, you no longer have to serve the Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury form before you can serve a demand notice for rent or termination. You may throw away those forms and may immediately serve the appropriate demand notice.
This Chicago “Covid” notice requirement expires on 12/3/21.The intent of mediation is allegedly two-fold: to reduce the trial workload of the judges and to ensure the tenant has access to free legal assistance. As each judge is assigned only a specific number of cases a day, it is my opinion that an increase in evictions filed creates no “backlog” for the court as cited by the Governor and tenants’ attorneys. Each courtroom schedules a finite number of daily cases and court clerks and deputy sheriffs only work eight hours a day – it is the housing provider (again) who will suffer because it will take much longer to get to trial. No, the intent of the mediation process is strictly to allow tenants access to free legal assistance and thus to force the housing provider to forgive the thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in order to have his property returned to him.
The Illinois Supreme Court mandated a mediation process for all residential evictions prior to a trial.Time frame: Currently, we’re assigned 4-6 week hearing dates. You may no longer set your own Alias Summons date without a court order which sets the date in another 4-6 weeks. Of course, you’re in the lucky 25% if the Sheriff serves the original summons; the average is 2.5 hearings, at least a month apart, before service is effected, at which time the judge assigns you to mediation. It will be another minimum four weeks to either settle the case in mediation or be transferred for a trial date. Trials are averaging 4-6 appearances per case and the tenant is given an average of 21-30 days to move. Jury trials are now being set at Daley Center four months down the road. (As of mid-November, the earliest jury trial date available was in March 2022).
Jury trials are now being set at Daley Center four months down the road. (As of mid-November, the earliest jury trial date available was in March 2022).“Emergency Evictions” exempt under the Governor’s Executive Order were absolutely no faster than regular evictions. They only allowed a housing provider to file an eviction against a “covered person” without first serving the Declaration form, or even if a tenant had returned a signed Declaration, because that tenant constituted a serious threat to the safety of the other tenants or property. Once the eviction suit was filed, your attorney had to file a motion for a finding by the court that the case qualified under the exemption and that court order must be provided to the Sheriff. Of course, these “exempt” cases are now moot, as the Executive Order expired in October.
We were hoping the mediation process would end with the moratorium. Let me be clear – it has not. The question now is whether it will ever end. Tenants’ attorneys are actively campaigning to retain it, of course, so we have to hope that the cost far outweighs any political benefit. There has been very little “mediation” involved to date. This has primarily been a delaying tactic and leverage to force settlement.
“Emergency Evictions” exempt under the Governor’s Executive Order were absolutely no faster than regular evictions.
We also hoped that the mandatory sealing of residential eviction records would terminate with the moratorium, but it also has not. Therefore, there is still no public record of any residential eviction filed in Illinois and no record to be found by credit reporting agencies or housing providers processing applications. The ultimate damage this will do to the rental housing industry is almost incalculable. How can a housing provider approve an applicant without access to eviction records? If providers have to house criminals because of no available criminal history, and serial delinquents because of no available eviction history, the end result must be increased rents and increased security deposits to compensate for increased risks – thus damaging the very tenants short-sighted lawmakers are allegedly “protecting.”
Finally, if you have Cook County rentals outside of Chicago, Evanston and Mt. Prospect, please ensure you have a lease in compliance with the new 6/1/21 Cook County Residential Tenant and Housing provider Ordinance and ensure you review the entire Ordinance – not just the Summary directed to the tenant. Yes, it’s one of the most poorly drafted laws you’ll ever see, but it’s still the law.
We were hoping the mediation process would end with the moratorium. Let me be clear – it has not.
Regarding evictions, please note the CCRTLO overrides Illinois law and will not allow a housing provider to file an eviction suit on a Five-Day Notice more than 30 days after the notice has been served. This will reduce the time you have to make an agreement with a tenant, or allow them to pay, because you’ll forfeit your right to file the eviction on day 31 and be forced to serve another Five-Day. This is another ridiculous notion that will backfire for tenants, as it limits the time the tenant has to pay and will force housing providers to file suit faster than previously to avoid having to re-serve the notice.
With the lifting of the moratorium, housing providers breathed a sigh of relief that they may once again pursue evictions, but they’re not evictions as we remember them – they will cost more, be more frustrating and take 2-3 times longer. And to leave on an optimistic note, you still have the new Cook County Ordinance, the looming prospect of rent control, impounded eviction records and mandated mediation to keep you from throwing away your pain meds.