Court Schedule

Please refer to the Chicago Schedule information about dates and times that court will be held for proceedings in Cook County Chapter 7 cases only and all Chapter 11 cases regardless of the debtor’s residence.

Please refer to the Joliet Schedule for information about dates and times that court will be held for proceedings in Will, LaSalle, Kendall, and Grundy County Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases only.

CLICK HERE FOR DATES THE JUDGE IS NOT SITTING.

Hybrid Hearing Procedures

All regularly scheduled motion calls before Judge Hunt will take place in person in Courtroom 719 of the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse at 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604, and remotely via Zoom for Government. Regularly scheduled motion calls will have the same meeting ID 161 165 5696 and passcode 7490911. Parties may appear by video at this link: https://www.zoomgov.com/join, or participate by telephone by calling Zoom for Government at 1-669-254-5252 or 1-646-828-7666 and then entering the meeting ID and passcode.

1. Upon joining the meeting, you will be placed in a waiting room. Please wait patiently while court staff assists in moving you from the waiting room to the main room where the hearing will take place.

2. Please make sure that your appearance name is your full first and last name. If you have any issues with changing your name, notify court staff and they will assist you.

3. A participant joining by telephone may be moved into a separate breakout room for further clearance before being admitted into the hearing.

4. You are encouraged to join the hearing at least fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled hearing time for the first matter on which you intend to appear. Breakout rooms will be open so that attorneys may conduct business just as they would if appearing in person.

5. Attorneys who are appearing to represent parties are expected to turn on their cameras when participating in the hearing and to be in appropriate business attire. All others should keep their video off and audio on “mute” until their cases are called. If you are participating by telephone, under no circumstances should you place the call on hold.

6. To ensure the quality of the record, it is highly recommended that all parties use a headset or earbuds with a microphone for court hearings. Using a separate headset microphone instead of a built-in computer microphone reduces distortion, eliminates background noise, and ensures that everything you say will be picked up. The use of speakerphones is prohibited.

7. Local Rule 5073-1 prohibits participants from recording or broadcasting court proceedings.

8. Remember that the practices observed in the courtroom are even more important during hybrid hearings. You must (a) say your name slowly and distinctly, (b) speak slowly at all times, and (c) make every effort not to interrupt others.

Motions Granted Without Hearing

Motions to which no objection is filed pursuant to Local Rule 9013-1(F) may be marked as “Will Be Granted Without Hearing” on the Court Calendar by no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day before the presentment date. Motions marked “Will Be Granted Without Hearing” will not be called in open court unless a party (a) informs the movant in advance of their intent to ask that the motion be called on the presentment date and (b) asks the Courtroom Deputy to call the motion during the hearing. All other matters will be called in open court.

Emergency Motions

See Local Rule 9013-2. If the Application to Set Hearing on Emergency Motion is granted, the movant must notice the motion as required under Local Rule 9013-2(E).

Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay

All motions for relief from the automatic stay must be accompanied by a properly completed Required Statement to Accompany All Motions for Relief From Stay, pursuant to Local Rule 4001-1(A). Parties are required to use the Model Lift-Stay Order.

Motion to Extend or Impose the Automatic Stay

Motions to extend the automatic stay in effect pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) or to impose the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(4) must:

A.  State the case number of previous cases dismissed within one year of the filing of the present case;

B.  Include copies of Schedules I and J from previous cases dismissed within one year of the filing of the present case, and Schedules I and J from the current case;

C.  State in detail the basis for continuing the stay in effect or imposing the stay; and

D.  Be accompanied by a factual affidavit from the Debtor(s) explaining the reason(s) why each of the previous cases were dismissed and why the automatic stay should be continued, extended, or imposed in the present case.

Motion for Default Judgment

Motions for default judgment must be accompanied by: (1) an affidavit establishing the default per Bankruptcy Rule 7055; and (2) as applicable, an affidavit establishing compliance with the Service Members Civil Relief Act, including an attached Status Report generated in accordance with such Act.

Motions for default judgment must also be accompanied by 2 orders: (a) an order granting the motion for default judgment; and (b) a judgment order.

Orders

All motions must be accompanied by a proposed, draft order filed on CM/ECF as Fillable Form Orders.

Certain exceptions may apply as follows:

1. If the draft order is made on an approved court form that is not readily adaptable to the Fillable Form Order requirement (e.g., bar date orders);

2. If the draft order contains original signatures (e.g., agreed orders signed by the parties or counsel); or

3. If the draft order is so complex so as to not be readily adaptable into the Fillable Form Order requirement (e.g., orders with multiple exhibits, or in excess of two pages or containing complex formatting).

Draft Order to Follow

When parties request to present a draft order after the hearing, the order is due within fourteen (14) calendar days of the hearing date unless otherwise ordered by the court.

The draft order is to be filed on the docket via CM/ECF and related to the original motion using the event “Proposed Order.” The parties must call the Courtroom Deputy to advise that the proposed order has been filed.

If the draft order is not received by the deadline date, the motion will be reinstated on the next court calendar. Counsel must appear and provide the draft order, or the matter may be denied/dismissed for want of prosecution.

Courtesy Copies

None unless specifically required by the Court.

Applications for Awards of Attorney Fees

Cases filed under Chapters 7, 11 and 12: Attorneys or other professionals filing applications for compensation in cases under Chapters 7, 11, and 12 must submit an itemization of their time in tenths of an hour and in the format required under Local Rule 5082-1.

Cases filed under Chapter 13: Attorneys filing applications for compensation in cases under Chapter 13 must comply with Local Rule 5082-2 and must attach an executed copy of the Court-Approved Retention Agreement, if applicable.

Pretrial Procedures

Status Hearings and Discovery: Each adversary proceeding is set for an initial status hearing, at which time a discovery cutoff will usually be set. The court may extend that deadline for good cause, but generally, at the status hearing following the close of discovery, a firm trial date will be set.

Final Pretrial Order: The final pretrial order will contain a deadline for the filing of the parties’ prehearing statement, briefs, stipulations of fact, disputed facts, and witness and exhibit lists. In addition, a deadline will be set for objecting to witnesses and exhibits and exchanging the exhibits themselves. Strict compliance with the final pretrial order is required.

Trial Procedures

Discussed in court on a case-by-case basis.