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Ex. AGY-ST-COURTS-032 Order Primary source read

General Administrative Order No. 2020-02: COVID-19 Emergency Measures, Resumption of Operations (eff. Aug. 21, 2020, as amended Sept. 3, 2020)

Resumption of operations from July 6, 2020 with all matters by videoconference to the extent reasonably possible, no jury trials, remote work for judges and employees, masks in all courthouses, six-foot distancing and courtroom caps, and a stay of residential eviction filings and enforcement (sheriff to resume enforcement after Sept. 21, 2020)

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans, Circuit Court of Cook County · Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (Chicago and suburban Cook County; the largest unified trial court in the United States) (Court)

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The record

Jurisdiction
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (Chicago and suburban Cook County; the largest unified trial court in the United States) · Illinois
Level
Court
Authority
Ill. S. Ct. R. 21(b) (chief judge's general orders); 'the court's inherent authority'; Ill. S. Ct. M.R. 30370
Issued
2020-09-03 Sept. 3, 2020
Effective
2020-08-21 (as amended Sept. 3, 2020); operative provisions effective July 6, 2020 (read as 2020-08-21)
End
Superseded by G.A.O. 2020-07 (Nov. 23, 2020, Ex. AGY-ST-COURTS-033) (read as 2020-11-23)
In force
Aug. 21, 2020 to Nov. 23, 2020
Quarters
2020 Q32020 Q4
Limitation types
Telework mandateCapacity limitGathering capFace-covering requirementCourts and public offices
Addressees
  • all judges and employees of the Circuit Court
  • attorneys and litigants
  • the Sheriff of Cook County
  • landlords and tenants
Functions reached
  • CT courts and agencies (5.2 million residents; all civil, chancery, law, probate and municipal dockets)
  • SV servicing and collections (consumer debt, foreclosure, eviction dockets)
  • PM property management (eviction filings and enforcement stayed)
  • CL closings (foreclosure sales and chancery relief)
  • OF office and administration (remote work)
  • WF workforce (jury service; masks)
Collection
State courts AGY-ST-COURTS

Operative words

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, except as provided below or as otherwise ordered by the judge presiding, effective July 6, 2020, the circuit court will begin hearing all matters in all Districts and Divisions of the court with the exception of jury trials; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that... all matters in all Districts and Divisions of the court shall be conducted by videoconference to the extent reasonably possible... all judges and employees of the court, except those who are essential for essential court operations, shall work remotely... all persons must wear masks or other face coverings in the courthouse... no residential real estate eviction action shall commence unless a tenant poses a direct threat to the health and safety of other tenants... the sheriff of Cook County shall refrain from enforcement of eviction orders relating to residential real estate and shall resume enforcement of said orders after September 21, 2020... At no time shall there be more persons in the courtroom than the number established under guidance by the appropriate public health authorities;... all persons in the courtroom shall maintain a minimum distance of 6 (six) feet

Enforcement

General administrative order under Ill. S. Ct. R. 21(b); enforced through the court's scheduling, contempt and access-control powers and the Sheriff

Notes

Supersedes G.A.O. 2020-01 (eff. May 28, 2020, as amended) which had continued all matters 30 days at a time from Mar. 13, 2020.

Retrieval note

Scanned PDF read by Windows OCR (first three of ten pages). no text layer; the Sept. 3, 2020 amendment date is not printed on page 1.

A record of The COVID Project. The instrument's text is the source's; the summary fields are The COVID Project's reading of it. Not legal advice.