materials below
revised procedures for
arbitration, law magistrate & small claims
October 9, 2020
To: The McLean County Bar Association:
The Courts continue to move forward as best we can. There are no major changes since I last wrote you other than some upcoming changes to the SC/LM/AR docket.
Please recall that the Illinois Supreme Court recently entered an Order in M.R. 30370 temporarily allowing the use of “30-day summons” in place of a “date-certain summons” for all cases under $50,000.00 (except Evictions, Detinues and Replevins). We are finalizing policies and procedures to handle this change that will include the procedures necessary to obtain Default Judgments and Alias Summonses. We expect this change to continue through the end of the year or longer depending on the circumstances at that time, as well as future Supreme Court Orders. The procedures will be distributed during the week of October 12th, 2020 and I plan to address the Bar Association during the October 20th, 2020 meeting to discuss this and answer any related questions.
This change will also free up time for eviction cases that are expected to increase. Prairie State Legal Services has procedures in place to offer legal assistance during the morning dockets that you may wish to review if you represent landlords or tenants. You may also wish to contact Prairie State Legal Services for more information on rental assistance that may be available locally. The Illinois eviction moratorium is set to expire October 19, 2020, but the Federal CDC Eviction Rules last longer. We are still analyzing the CDC Rules as to how that will be handled locally in terms of how it operates and what is required for it to apply.
All other dockets are running in some fashion and the Judges continue to incorporate new and imaginative methods into their dockets as we adjust to this “new normal”. We hope that you are finding the new processes exciting and enjoyable despite the circumstances under which they arose.
Should you have any questions or concerns on court operations, please contact Trial Court Administrator William Scanlon at (309) 888-5266.
Stay safe and take care of yourself.
Best regards.
Chief Judge Mark A. Fellheimer
To: The McLean County Bar Association:
The Courts continue to move forward as best we can. There are no major changes since I last wrote you other than some upcoming changes to the SC/LM/AR docket.
Please recall that the Illinois Supreme Court recently entered an Order in M.R. 30370 temporarily allowing the use of “30-day summons” in place of a “date-certain summons” for all cases under $50,000.00 (except Evictions, Detinues and Replevins). We are finalizing policies and procedures to handle this change that will include the procedures necessary to obtain Default Judgments and Alias Summonses. We expect this change to continue through the end of the year or longer depending on the circumstances at that time, as well as future Supreme Court Orders. The procedures will be distributed during the week of October 12th, 2020 and I plan to address the Bar Association during the October 20th, 2020 meeting to discuss this and answer any related questions.
This change will also free up time for eviction cases that are expected to increase. Prairie State Legal Services has procedures in place to offer legal assistance during the morning dockets that you may wish to review if you represent landlords or tenants. You may also wish to contact Prairie State Legal Services for more information on rental assistance that may be available locally. The Illinois eviction moratorium is set to expire October 19, 2020, but the Federal CDC Eviction Rules last longer. We are still analyzing the CDC Rules as to how that will be handled locally in terms of how it operates and what is required for it to apply.
All other dockets are running in some fashion and the Judges continue to incorporate new and imaginative methods into their dockets as we adjust to this “new normal”. We hope that you are finding the new processes exciting and enjoyable despite the circumstances under which they arose.
Should you have any questions or concerns on court operations, please contact Trial Court Administrator William Scanlon at (309) 888-5266.
Stay safe and take care of yourself.
Best regards.
Chief Judge Mark A. Fellheimer