Circuit Court of Cook County “Pauses” Most Legal Proceedings, Eviction Enforcement, and Final Relief in Foreclosures

*** THE FOLLOWING IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR SHOULD YOU RELY UPON IT AS THE SAME ***

On March 13, 2020, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans of the Circuit Court of Cook County issued General Administrative Order 2020—0001 (“Order”). The Order, seeking to help mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus / COVID-19, essentially “paused” the vast majority of legal matters before the Court and rescheduled them for continuation in thirty days.

The Order also ordered:

• The Sheriff of Cook County to “cease execution of eviction orders relating to residential real estate effective March 14, 2020 [… for …] 30 days.” This means that no residential tenant within Cook County will be forcibly removed from the property they occupy by the Sheriff for that time period.
• The Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County to effectuate a “moratorium on final judgments and executions of judgments in mortgage foreclosure proceedings. This means that there will be a temporary pause on the final stages of foreclosure lawsuits.
• A suspension on Grand Jury empaneling until May 1, 2020, and an extension of any currently empaneled Grand Juries to cover the gap.

Please note that the foregoing explicitly does not relieve parties of their general legal duties vis a vis rent, mortgage payment, or jury service.

We, at Cameron & Kane LLC, are sincerely pleased to hear of our primary court’s leadership taking proactive health and safety measures in these trying times. We have incorporated this “pause” into our practice and are working diligently to ensure our clients’ matters before the Circuit Court of Cook County continue to be zealously advocated for.

*** AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS THIS FIRM ADVISING YOU TO TAKE OR FOREBEAR FROM ANY COURSE OF ACTION ***