21st Judicial Circuit Court, Kankakee County, Illinois Filing Rules

A new chancery case filing costs $306.

An eviction complaint seeking rent has a $256 filing fee.

Any applicable filing fees must be paid before the petitioner may provide orders and bonds for the judge’s approval and signature.

The Presiding Judge must tender each proposed Administrative Order to the Chief Judge at least 7 days before its effective date.

Notices must comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 11.

A party seeking to present remote witness testimony should file a written motion with proper notice to the opposing party.

Contact Judge Claudio’s clerk at the listed number to schedule a case via Zoom.

As such, all communications with Judge Purcell (other than courtesy copy emails as discussed below) should be submitted through his clerk, Jana Fahrow.

Contact the Judge’s Clerk at 815-936-5740 for scheduling.

Proposed Administrative Orders must be tendered to the Chief Judge 7 days before their effective date.

The Initial CMC date is automatically set on the 9:00 AM call within 60 days of case filing.

The Circuit Clerk must serve jury summonses at least 30 days before service begins; prepaid U.S. Mail to the address in Jury Commission records is permitted.

Constructive service by posting is allowed only when personal service cannot be obtained and the summons is returned not served stating that service cannot be obtained.

A motion to continue must be filed with notice to the opposing party or their attorney.

Envelopes e-filed through eFileIL to the Illinois Supreme Court or Appellate Court Districts may not exceed 150 MB.

Courtesy copies provided to the court should include the brief or memorandum and all supporting exhibits in one combined PDF file.

Electronic signatures are acceptable on CMOs.

A personal representative requesting an accounting extension or less frequent accounting must file a verified petition stating the reasons for the request.

A party seeking to continue a matter or change its scheduled date must file a motion to continue with notice to the opposing party or attorney and contact the clerk to schedule presentment.

Prejudgment-interest motions may be filed but must remain pending and be continued generally, with all issues preserved, until appellate review is exhausted and the Illinois Supreme Court issues a final order.

Documents must be electronically filed with the Circuit Clerk through a Supreme Court of Illinois-approved system, unless exempted.

Orders cannot be filed through Kankakee’s E-Filing system.

When Judge Purcell requests courtesy copies of pleadings, motions, or related briefs, they should be sent to his courtesy-copy email address.

Each party must provide the judge a courtesy copy of their Financial Affidavit at least 7 days before a hearing or pretrial involving financial issues.

If a brief packet contains a brief exceeding 20 pages including attached exhibits, submit one complete hard-copy packet of all briefs to the Judge at least 10 court days before the hearing.

Briefs and memoranda supporting or opposing any motion are limited to 15 pages, excluding exhibits.

Briefs are limited to 15 pages, excluding exhibits.

The court will not entertain motions on the trial date; pre-trial motions and motions in limine are presented and heard at the final pre-trial.

Qualifying brief materials must be submitted as one complete hard-copy packet; piecemeal submissions are prohibited.