Cook County Lenders: Administrative Order to Cause Significant Delays on Real Estate Foreclosures

In a move that, for the foreseeable future, will slow down a lender's ability to foreclose on commercial and residential property in Cook County, Dorothy Kinnaird, Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County's Chancery Division, recently issued General Administrative Order No. 2009-01. The order, which is a reaction to the dramatic increase in the number of foreclosures being handled in Cook County, attempts to establish a case management system for the Chancery Division's Mortgage Foreclosure/Mechanics Lien Section. As a result, every mortgage foreclosure case that is currently pending in Cook County will be scheduled for a case management conference during either July or August 2009.

To allow time for a property case management system to be established, the Circuit Court has, effective April 1, 2009, ordered the Clerk of the Court to prohibit the filing of Motions for Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale or Motions to Confirm Sale in any case that was filed after January 1, 2009. Further, all matters that had previously been scheduled on the court's default call for July or August 2009 have been stricken.

Until further notice by the Circuit Court, the only exception to the prohibition is when an Application for Leave to Schedule is granted for good cause. The order gives an example of good cause to be where an inspection within the last 30 days has shown the property to be vacant and abandoned. To be considered, the application must be supported by an affidavit.

Much Shelist will provide further updates as more information becomes available regarding which cases the court will allow to move forward under the good cause exception and when normal scheduling will resume. Though the exact effects of General Administrative Order No. 2009-01 are still unknown, it is clear that there will be an initial slowdown in the pace at which a secured creditor can recover on its collateral in Cook County. Nonetheless, the attorneys of Much Shelist will continue to do everything possible to move these cases forward on behalf of our clients while complying with the order.

If you have questions regarding this recent development or mortgage foreclosures in general, please contact Scott L. David, Steven L. DeGraff, Edward D. Shapiro or your Much Shelist attorney. Click here to view the full text of the order.

Editor's note: General Administrative Order No. 2009-01 does not affect mortgage foreclosures in other Illinois counties.