Illinois Supreme Court Rule Amendments Issued on September 26, 2019

The Illinois Supreme Court on Sept. 26 amended Rules 206, 212, 306, 308, 315, and 342. All changes go into effect Oct. 1.

Amended Rule 206 makes it explicitly clear that a “party has the right to use the video recording of a deposition or any part thereof in lieu of reading from a stenographic transcript of the deposition.”

Amended Rule 212 states that discovery depositions may be used “as a former statement, pursuant to Illinois Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2).”

Amended Rule 306 now includes a requirement that “[a]fter the petitioner has filed the petition [for interlocutory appeal] and supporting record and the time for filing any answer has expired, the Appellate Court, except for good cause shown, shall decide whether to allow the interlocutory appeal within 30 days.”

Amended Rule 308 now includes a requirement that when applying to certify a question of law, “[a]fter the applicant has filed the application and supporting record and the time for filing any answer has expired, the Appellate Court, except for good cause shown, shall decide whether to allow the interlocutory appeal within 30 days.”

Amended Rule 315 clarifies what items are excluded from the page and word count limitations for petitions for leave to appeal from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court. The amended Rule also alters the requirements for an appellee’s response.

Amended Rule 342 now provides that “the appellant's reply brief may include in a supplementary appendix other material from the record that also are the basis of the appeal or are essential to any understanding of the issues raised in the appeal.”