Eviction Early Resolution Program Resources for Courts | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts

 Latest update: 5/30/2025

New Court-Based rental Assistance Program

• Effective September 13, 2021, all residential eviction summons must include a notice about court-based rental assistance.
  • For the full Supreme Court order, click here.
  • All residential eviction summons must include a notice about Court-Based Rental Assistance in English and in Spanish. Check with your local court because they may have additional or different required information (for example, Cook and DuPage counties).
  • Courts may give parties more time to access rental assistance, legal aid, and mediation and continue any eviction matter for good cause shown.
• Courts may give parties more time to access rental assistance, legal aid, and mediation and continue any eviction matter for good cause shown.

How to refer tenants to legal aid, mediation, and other resources

• Statewide: Visit Eviction Help Illinois, call 855-631-0811, or text 844-938-4280.
  • Eviction Help Illinois Flyer: English | Español.
• Cook County: Visit Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt or call 855-956-5763.

Approved Statewide Agreed Orders in Eviction Cases to help facilitate resolution

• View orders

Eviction Video Resources

Rental assistance is available

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Watch Video

National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Resources

• National Center for State Courts’ Eviction Diversion Diagnostic Tool and Guidance
• Eviction Diversion Tiny Chat (less than 10 minutes long)

Samples of Eviction Early Resolution Programs in Illinois

• Program that connects to (a) rental assistance and (b) legal aid
  • Coming soon
• Program that connects to (a) rental assistance, (b) legal aid, and (c) mediation
  • 14th Judicial Circuit’s Eviction Diversion Program, Administrative Order No. 21CA-14
    • 14th Judicial Circuit Resources:
      • Eviction Toolkit and Mediation Information, including process overview, fillable agreements, orders, and motions, and other information
      • Eviction Diversion Program Flyer.
• Program that connects to (a) rental assistance, (b) legal aid, (c) mediation, (d) case management services, and (e) community partners
  •  Cook County’s Early Resolution Program, General Administrative Order No. 2020-09 (Amended April 22, 2021)
    • Cook County Resources:
      • Cook County ERP Website
      • Flyers appended to General Administrative Order No. 2020-09

Samples of Eviction Early Resolution Programs outside of Illinois

• Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 2020-17
  • Main features:
    •  Paragraph (2): Case prioritization;
    • Paragraph (6): Mandatory pretrial for nonpayment of rent cases where certain information is verbally relayed to all parties; and
    • Paragraph (8): Mandatory seven-day adjournment after pretrial is conducted for parties to negotiate settlement, apply for rental assistance, etc.
  • Michigan resources:
    • Michigan Supreme Court Guidelines re Administrative Order No. 2020-17;
    • Sample Flyer 1 - Lansing, MI
    • Sample Flyer 2 - Hillsdale, MI
    • Consent Order for Conditional Dismissal;
    •  Request and Order of Eviction after Conditional Dismissal;
    •  Order for Reinstatement of Case and Entry of Judgment.
  • Texas Supreme Court’s 35th Emergency Order
    • Main features for eviction cases involving nonpayment of rent:
      • Paragraph 5.a.: Plaintiff must review information about the Texas Eviction Diversion Program;
      • Paragraph 5.b.: Summons must include this brochure and the following statement (both in English and Spanish):
        
        • “If you and your landlord agree to participate in the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, you may be able to have up to 15 months of the rent you owe paid and stop your eviction. At your trial, the court will tell you about the Program and ask if you are interested in participating. Find out more about Misc. Docket No. 21-9015 Page 2 the Program in the attached brochure, titled State of Texas Eviction Diversion Program, at www.txcourts.gov/eviction-diversion/; and at https://texaslawhelp.org/article/texas-eviction-diversion-program. You may also call Texas Legal Services Center for assistance at 855-270-7655.”
      • Paragraph 5.c.: At trial, court must discuss the Texas Eviction Diversion program with parties and ask if they would like to participate; if they agree, the eviction action is abated for 60 days, all court records are sealed, and parties are informed of the reinstatement and dismissal procedures.
      • Paragraph 6: If the eviction is reinstated, trial will be set no later than 21 days after reinstatement and court records are unsealed; if the eviction is not reinstated, the court shall dismiss the entire action with prejudice and all court records remain sealed.
    • Texas resources:
      • General information about the Texas Eviction Diversion Program;

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