15th Judicial Circuit Court, Jo Daviess County, Illinois Filing Rules

Real-estate descriptions must include the property’s legal description and address, if any, and descriptions of beneficial interests must identify the trustee and provide other identifying information.

Required pretrial documents must also be served at least 10 days before the final pretrial conference.

Except as provided in Rule 2.13, the transmission time determines the filing time; pleadings received before midnight on an open day are filed that day, and filings on a closed day are filed the next business day.

With the specified approval, the Court may authorize or require e-filing in additional case types by written order, and the Clerk directs any phased implementation.

The Filer must ensure electronically filed documents and exhibits do not disclose impounded, sealed, or defined private information.

Counsel and SRLs should mark exhibits before trial with available exhibit stickers and identify them as Plaintiff’s, Petitioner’s, Defendant’s, or Respondent’s, as appropriate.

Absent extraordinary circumstances, anyone prejudiced by a filing being treated as filed on its first attempted filing date is entitled to an order extending the affected response date or other period for action.

Statutory filing fees must be paid to the Clerk as authorized through the EFM to achieve valid filing status, unless waived.

Any person may report a violation of the 60-day decision rule to the Presiding Judge or Chief Judge.

Whenever reasonably possible, an attorney or SRL setting a matter for hearing shall make a good-faith effort to work with the Court and all opposing attorneys or SRLs to set the hearing at a time and date that is mutually convenient and consistent with the Court’s docket. If an attorney or SRL has made this good-faith effort and obtained a mutually convenient time and date acceptable to the Court, the hearing may be set at that time, and notice shall be served accordingly.

Bulk combined PDFs and multi-case transactions are prohibited, with a stated citation exception; individual documents in one case may be submitted in one transaction if uploaded and titled separately.

Parties must provide the Court with courtesy copies when requested.