Court Schedule

Please refer to the Chicago Schedule for information about dates and times that court will be held in Chicago for proceedings in Cook County Chapter 7 cases and all Chapter 11 cases.
 

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

SEE THE CHICAGO MOTION/ADVERSARY SCHEDULE FOR DATES THE JUDGE IS NOT SITTING.

Motions Granted Without Hearing

Routine motions (as defined in Local Rule 9013-9) and other motions to which no objection is expected may be listed as “Will Be Granted Without a Hearing in the Absence of Objection” on the call sheet for the hearing date. If a motion has been granted in chambers but the order submitted with the motion changed in any significant respect, it will be listed as “Granted as Modified.”
 

If a motion has been ruled on in advance, the motion will not be called unless a party objects to the ruling and asks the courtroom deputy before the motion call begins to have the motion heard.  All motions granted in advance in chambers will be marked as such on the Court Calendar by no later than 4 p.m. on the day before the motion is to be presented. 

Emergency Motions

See Local Rule 9013-2.  

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)

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:
 

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.

Service of Motions

For all contested matters (as defined in Bankruptcy Rule 9014), the motion or request must be served in compliance with Rule 7004. Corporations must be served as required under Rule 7004(b)(3) on an officer, managing or general agent, or on any agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process. Service on a corporation at a P.O. Box to which payments are sent is not sufficient under Rule 7004(b)(3). An insured depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) must be served under Rule 7004(h).
 

Parties are reminded that they must also comply with Rule 2002 regarding notice of motions and hearings.

Withdrawal of Motions

Parties may withdraw a motion and not appear, by moving counsel filing an electronic notice of withdrawal and informing all appropriate parties that the motion is being withdrawn, at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Movant is to also contact the courtroom deputy at (312) 435-6868 to inform chambers of the withdrawal. Thereafter, the matter will be stricken from the court calendar or marked as “withdrawn” on the court calendar.

Orders

All motions must be accompanied by a proposed, draft order filed on CM/ECF. The Administrative Rules require such orders to be submitted as Fillable Form Orders. Parties who fail to comply with the Fillable Form Order requirements may have the motion stricken for noncompliance with the Local Rules.
 

Certain exceptions may apply as follows:
 

Draft Order to Follow

When a motion has been heard by the court and the party seeking relief is to present a draft order after the hearing, the order is due within fourteen (14) calendar days of the hearing on the motion unless otherwise ordered by the court.
 

The draft order is to be filed on the docket and related to the original motion via CM/ECF using the event "Proposed Order," or hand delivered to the Clerk’s office before the deadline date.  Parties submitting a draft order via CM/ECF 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

For "first day motions" in Chapter 11 cases, the court requires two (2) physical sets of motions be delivered to the clerk’s office (Room 710) no less than forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the “first day hearing” on such motions.  If a demonstrable emergency exists, less than forty-eight (48) hours will be accepted, but parties should strive to give the court as much notice as possible.
 

For motions or briefs that attach in excess of fifty (50) pages (inclusive of exhibits), the court requires two (2) physical copies be delivered to the Clerk’s Office (Room 710) between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on the filing date or the next business day. Courtesy copies must be spiral bound (or in a three-ring binder) with the exhibits tabbed.

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.

Telephonic Participation
in Hearings

NOTICE CONCERNING COURT HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY TELEPHONE
 

In accordance with the court’s Amended General Order 20-03, all court hearings will be conducted telephonically using CourtSolutions, beginning March 23, 2020.
 

To participate in a hearing, you must register at least one day in advance of the specific hearing date by contacting CourtSolutions at www.Court-Solutions.com or (917) 746-7476.
 

• All questions about CourtSolutions should be directed to info@Court-Solutions.com.
• Advance chambers approval is required to participate telephonically.
• There is a fee to use CourtSolutions, but the service is free to pro se parties, pro bono and legal aid attorneys and all trustees.  

1.  No telephonic appearance will be allowed unless it is made through CourtSolutions.

2.  Parties filing a motion, application or other pleading, including, without limitation, an objection or response thereto, must participate by telephonic appearance.  Any party not submitting a pleading, but interested in monitoring the court’s proceeding, may participate by telephonic appearance in “listen-only” mode.

3.  To ensure the quality of the record, you must not use a speaker phone or call from a public place. Background noise is prohibited.  If you disrupt a hearing with background noise, the court may mute you or terminate your participation.

4.  Parties who appear by telephone must keep their phones on “mute” other than to make their appearance and unless and until addressed by the court.   Each time you speak, you must identify yourself for the record.  Do not place the call on hold at any time.  When the Judge informs the participants that the hearing is completed, you may disconnect.

5.  Remember that the practices observed in the courtroom are even more important during telephonic 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.

Pretrial Procedures

Status Hearings and Discovery: Each adversary proceeding is set for an initial status hearing, at which time a discovery cutoff will 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, 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.  Failure to do so will result in the imposition of sanctions. 

Trial Procedures

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