Late last month, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) released an updated Eviction Order.
The Eviction Order was revised as part of the ATJ Commission’s annual review process, which provides an opportunity to incorporate feedback from judges, lawyers, and other court stakeholders.
“The revised Eviction Order has completed a thorough annual review process and been improved through public comments and the suggestions of numerous court stakeholders,” said Alison Spanner, Assistant Director of the Access to Justice Division and Director of Strategic Planning at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
“While it has expanded in length from one page to two, the goal is always to account for the needs of the affected users and provide a form that balances competing interests while providing clarity and an effective document for the litigants and the courts,” Spanner said.
The Eviction Act (735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq.) requires the use of the statewide standardized form when awarding possession to a landlord. To ensure clients are receiving the most updated version of the Eviction Order, lawyers should confirm the date in the lower right-hand corner of the form is 03/21.
Preparing for a Surge in Evictions
The ATJ Commission expedited a form suite in February titled Orders in Eviction Cases in anticipation of a surge in evictions when state and national moratoriums are lifted. The Eviction Order is part of this form suite. The forms, which are required to be accepted in all Illinois courts, are ADA accessible and users can handwrite or type into the PDF form.
Eviction law is changing rapidly. Currently, the eviction moratorium in Illinois expires on May 29, 2021. The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association filed a lawsuit last year seeking to have the moratorium thrown out. After the lawsuit failed, the Association appealed and is waiting on a decision from the court.
Nationally, a federal judge struck down a nationwide eviction moratorium on May 5. The Department of Justice has filed a notice of appeal and intends to seek an emergency stay of the order pending appeal, per a May 5 press release.
According to Reuters, the judge agreed to temporarily put her ruling on hold and gave the landlord groups until May 12 to file a response opposing this delay.
Make sure to monitor the news to stay on top of rapidly evolving updates in eviction law.
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