Illinois Supreme Court

For the first time in nearly 60 years, filing fees for reviewing courts in Illinois will increase effective January 1, 2015.

On August 12, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Public Act 98-0324. Under the new law, fees collected by the Clerks of the Supreme and Appellate Courts will be set by Supreme Court Rule, rather than by statute.

In addition, rather than transferring the funds collected into the General Revenue Fund, these fees will be deposited into the newly-created “Supreme Court Special Purposes Fund.” The new fund will be used to support the Supreme Court’s commitment to e-business initiatives, including the streamlining and upgrading of the case management system in the courts of review.

As authorized by the new law, the Supreme Court has amended Rule 313 to provide that, unless excused by law, petitioners and appellants filing cases in the Supreme and Appellate Courts will pay a filing fee of $50 instead of $25. Respondents and appellees will see filing fees increase from $15 to $30.

The Supreme Court Clerk also collects fees for producing official certificates with seals, issuing new law licenses, and performing registration and renewal of registrations for businesses formed for the practice of law. Both the Supreme Court Clerk and the Appellate Court Clerks charge fees for copying of documents, opinions, and orders, although the availability of many such documents at www.illinoiscourts.gov has eliminated much of the demand for copying services. These fees have not been increased.

Chief Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for an at-large Circuit Court vacancy in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

The vacancy is created by the retirement of Judge Patrick J. Londrigan on December 8, 2014. Judge Londrigan has been a Circuit Judge in the Seventh Circuit since 2004.

On Nov. 21, the Illinois Supreme Court amended its Rule 138 privacy provisions to remove a ban on publication of minors' names in civil cases. The ban, which would have taken effect January 1 if not for the amendment, was opposed by the ISBA and its Family Law Section Council. The ISBA testified against the ban at a public hearing of the Supreme Court Rules Committee in 2013.

Before Friday's amendments, Rule 138 was set to prohibit inclusion of "birth dates" and "names of individuals known to be minors" in court documents and exhibits. It would have allowed only minors' initials and birth years to appear.

Critics' principal objection to the ban was that it "conflict[ed] with other statutes that, for example, require a child's name and birth date to be included in unified orders of child support and joint parenting agreements," wrote Adam Lasker in the November 2013 Illinois Bar Journal. (Also see Janan Hanna's article in the February 2014 IBJ for more about the ban and critics' concerns.)

Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Eighth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Debra L. Wellborn as an associate judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Ms. Wellborn received her undergraduate degree in 1984 from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, and her Juris Doctor in 1986 from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Ms. Wellborn is currently affiliated with the State of Illinois Attorney General's Office in Quincy, IL.