IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

COUNTY DEPARTMENT, CHANCERY DIVISION

MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE / MECHANICS LIEN SECTION

STANDING ORDER
JUDGE GERALD CLEARY
CALENDAR 63
312.603.3900

CONTESTED CALL: 11:00 A.M., COURTROOM 2810, M, T, W, TH

DEFAULT CALL: 3:00 P.M., COURTROOM 2810, M, T, W, TH

JUDGE CLEARY’S LAW CLERK: SARAH BALAS, CHAMBERS 2810, 312.603.3876

This standing order is a supplement to the Mortgage Foreclosure Courtroom Procedures. The
Mortgage Foreclosure Courtroom Procedures can be found at www.cookcountycourt.org
1. Court Call Times and Rooms
 Contested Motions: Room 2810 at 11:00 a.m., M, T, W, Th. This call handles any
motions where the defendant has filed an answer or a receiver has been appointed.
(Cases must be set for 11:00 a.m. and not 11:30 a.m.)
 Emergency Motions: Room 2810 at 11:00 a.m., M, T, W, Th, F. (See #2 below for
scheduling emergency motions).
 Motions for Default: Room 2810 at 3:00 p.m., M, T, W, Th. This call handles default
matters only. Contested motions will not be heard on the Default Call.
 Case Management: Case Management Conferences are scheduled on the Default
Call. Motions are not to be noticed or piggy-backed with Case Management
Conferences.
2. Emergency Motions
Due to the high volume of cases on Calendar 63, what may constitute an EMERGENCY
motion is limited to the following: (without prior review of the Court).
(A) Motion to Stay Judicial Sale (must include date of sale in motion, and any
document necessary to support the substance of the motion i.e. short sale
contracts, loan modifications, etc.).
(B) Motion to Stay Possession (must include date of possession in motion).
(C) Motion to Appoint Receiver/Mortgagee in Possession only when the verified
petition alleges an immediate health or safety threat.
 Movant must have an appearance on file.
 The court will not entertain oral emergency motions.
 Movant must give notice of the emergency motion to opposing parties according to
the circuit court rules.
 Movant must obtain a hearing date from the Judge’s Law Clerk in chambers 2810.
Emergency motions must be presented to the Law Clerk before 3:30 p.m. the day
before, and will not be scheduled over the phone.
Issued April 24, 2017
  After the date is scheduled, the motion and notice of motion must be filed in Room
802 and a file-stamped copy returned to the Judge’s Law Clerk.
3. Routine Orders (need not be presented in court)
 Motions to appoint a special process server.
 Motions to dismiss (as provided for in the courtroom procedures).
 Agreed orders must be presented in court. Agreed orders will be heard at the
beginning of the call as long as the Judge’s law clerk is made aware.
4. Courtesy Copy Requirement
Because the court files are stored in the Clerk of Court’s Office, the moving party
must provide copies of all briefs and motions to the court at least Seven Days (7) prior to the
hearing date, but not less than 4 court days in advance, so that the Judge can review them.
If courtesy copies are not provided to the court in advance, the matter will not be heard.
Because of limited storage in chambers courtesy copies should not be dropped off more than
two weeks in advance of the hearing.

Courtesy Copies printed double sided will not be heard and the party responsible for
courtesy copies will be charged with the task of re-noticing the scheduled hearing in
compliance with the Judge’s standing order.

All briefs citing to cases outside of Illinois or in federal court must have a printed out
case attached to the brief. This includes cases cited to in the 7th circuit.

5. Motions to Appoint of a Receiver

 Motions to Appoint Receiver or Mortgagee in Possession must be scheduled with the
Judge’s Law Clerk, in person, upon request of the movant.
 These motions are heard on Mondays at 11:00 a.m., and must be scheduled at least
one week before the presentment date.
 When scheduling the motion, the moving party shall provide, at a minimum, copies
of the complaint, mortgage, and note; curriculum vitae of the proposed receiver,
including rates/compensation; proof of service as required by section 15-1706(d) of
the IMFL; and a proposed order to appoint receiver.
 The receiver MUST be present in court when the motion is scheduled to be heard.
 A form order for the appointment of a receiver is available in Courtroom 2810. An
electronic copy may be obtained from:
www.cookcountycourt.org/divisions/chancery/docs/receiver_order_2011.pdf
 Motions to appoint a receiver and motions to be placed as mortgagee in possession
are only heard on the contested call.
6. Receivers’ Bonds
 The bond must be issued by a court-approved surety and signed by a court-approved
“attorney-in-fact.” See Cook County Circuit Court Rule 9.2.
 The bond must have: (1) a raised seal, (2) the signature of the receiver, (3) a
complete case caption, and (4) a signature block for the judge.

Issued April 24, 2017

  The bond must be signed by the Judge and not simply filed in Room 802. (After
the bond has been entered, the Clerk of the Court files the original bond with the
Surety Section of the Circuit Court of Cook County and enters it into the case
docket. In addition, a photocopy is placed in the court file).
 The order appointing the receiver will not become effective until the Judge has
approved the bond.
7. Additional Requirements for Motions for Order Approving Sale where the
plaintiff is seeking a personal deficiency on either the default or contested call
 The following must be included in the courtesy copy packet in addition to the
standard documents as laid out in the section order:
o Proof of service on the defendant of whom the deficiency is being sought
o Copy of complaint
o Copy of judgment of foreclosure order
o BPO / updated or recent appraisal
o Memorandum of Judgment
8. Continuances
 The judge does not continue cases over the phone. See Cook County Circuit Court
Rule 17.1.

9. Supreme Court Rule 304(a) Language

 No SCR 304(a) language may be added to non-final orders without first petitioning
the court by separate motion for such language to be added.

10. Withdrawing Motions Set for Hearing

 If a briefing schedule has been entered and a hearing date has been set, but the
movant knows in advance that it will be withdrawing its motion, the court requests
you notify the law clerk if any scheduled fully briefed matter has been resolved and
will not be heard.

11. Orders for Pick Up

 Any motion or order left for a party to pick up in the 28th floor reception area for
more than thirty days will be discarded.

12. Court Orders

 All court orders drafted by counsel must state the basis for the court’s ruling. For
example, when a motion is withdrawn, the order must state the reason it is being
withdrawn.

13. Interpreter
 If you need the services of an interpreter please let the court clerk know prior to the
beginning of the call. The only interpreters allowed will be ones provided by the
court. Interpreters will not be provided by the court for trials if the party needing an
interpreter is represented by counsel.

Issued April 24, 2017

14. Affidavits
 All affidavits submitted to the court for consideration must be all inclusive. The
court will not consider affidavits containing a stand-alone signature page or notary
page.

15. Service by Publication Affidavit

 All affidavits for service by publication must be accompanied by a sworn affidavit
and in compliance with Cook County Circuit Court Rule 7.3.

16. Compliance with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113

 If no loss mitigation affidavit is included in the courtesy copy packet for cases where
a defendant mortgagor has filed an answer or an appearance, the matter will be
subject to re-notice upon the discretion of the Court.

17. Piggy-backing
 Absolutely NO PIGGYBACKING unless expressly granted leave by the Court.

Issued April 24, 2017