Legislative Committee Update for Rural Practitioners

Proposal 25-09, offered by Legal Aid Chicago, would amend Illinois Supreme Court Rule 46 by adding a new subsection specifically addressing protective-order proceedings. The proposed amendment would require courts to create and maintain a record of all proceedings under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, Stalking No Contact Order Act, Civil No Contact Order Act, and the applicable Criminal Code provisions, using either stenographic reporting or an approved electronic recording system. The proposal would also clarify that a “proceeding” includes every court date at which a protective order is issued, extended, modified, terminated, vacated, published, or served, even when the proceeding is consolidated with another case. In effect, the proposal seeks to ensure that protective-order proceedings consistently have an official, reviewable record.

Proposal 26-07 would amend Illinois Supreme Court Rule 906 to strengthen qualification and education requirements for attorneys appointed to represent children in child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation, parenting time, and certain guardianship matters. In particular, it would require attorneys, before qualifying for appointment, to complete four hours of approved continuing legal education on intimate partner domestic abuse within the preceding two years, covering topics such as family violence, coercive control, the effects of domestic abuse on children and survivors, post-separation abuse, safety and risk management, and parenting plans; the proposal also recognizes specialized domestic-violence trainers, including Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professionals, as potential training resources.

Proposal 26-06 would modernize Illinois Supreme Court rules governing post-judgment enforcement proceedings by rewriting Rule 277 to clarify and expand procedures for citations to discover assets, including permitting proceedings against judgment debtors and third parties, allowing written answers in lieu of appearances, encouraging remote proceedings, clarifying citation liens, and authorizing attorney-fee sanctions for noncompliance. It would also create new Rule 278 establishing expedited procedures for judgment debtors to claim statutory exemptions from enforcement, including the ability to seek exemptions without a written motion at the return date, obtain expedited or automatic relief when uncontested, appear remotely, and use standardized statewide forms; the rule would require courts to liberally construe exemption statutes and recognize the ongoing nature of exemption rights. Finally, amendments to Rule 286 would clarify small-claims appearance and trial procedures, including allowing remote appearances and permitting courts to order written answers after the initial court date, while preserving the court's ability to conduct informal hearings.