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Court Rules
Judge

Judge Levander Smith Jr.

Individual Rules, Standing Orders & Policies

Rules last changed:
Circuit Court of Cook County

Limits & Logistics

Document Limits

Courtesy CopyCourt-wide
20 pgs

Communication

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Document Filing Requirements8 rules

Filing RequirementsMandatoryCivil cases

Written motions must be file-stamped before presentation to the acting courtroom coordinator, must state supporting facts and cite legal authority, and may be stricken otherwise.

Court's wording

All written motions must FIRST be file-stamped and THEN presented to the acting courtroom coordinator who will schedule it and provide the court with a copy, and all written motions must state supporting facts and cite applicable legal authority. They may otherwise be stricken or re-scheduled for proper presentation.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionMOTIONS
Filing RequirementsMandatoryCivil cases

Emergency motions must be in writing with an affidavit stating sudden or unforeseen circumstances, and must be tendered to the court and parties as soon as possible if not filed in advance.

Court's wording

EMERGENCY MOTIONS must always be in writing and meet the requirements of Cook County Rule 13.4(a)(ii)b—(sudden or unforeseen circumstances with an affidavit for the particular reason why the matter takes precedence) and must follow step 1 above, where practicable. Otherwise, a file-stamped copy of the emergency motion is to be tendered to the court and parties as soon as possible, regardless of any ruling or continuance entered.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionEMERGENCY MOTIONS
Filing RequirementsMandatoryCivil cases

The petition MUST be in compliance with IL Supreme Court Rule 299, General Order No. 26, 750 ILCS 5/508 and all applicable case and statutory law.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionFEE PETITIONS
Filing RequirementsImportantCivil cases

Oral motions for any type of Parent/Child visits and Return Home under an Order of Protection may be incorporated into a permanency hearing (PH); otherwise, the motion must be filed with proper notice to the parties, following #5 above.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionMOTIONS
Filing RequirementsImportantCivil cases

Running totals of all amounts awarded are to be included in each filed fee petition for all cases assigned to bar attorneys on August 1, 2025 & thereafter, in calendar 10J cases.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionFEE PETITIONS
Filing RequirementsImportantCivil cases

To be heard, the file stamped fee petition is to be provided to and scheduled through the acting courtroom coordinator. After it is scheduled, it is to be placed in the 10J shared drive and placed on the court red book and docket sheet. Then, the court will be emailed a copy.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionFEE PETITIONS
Filing RequirementsImportantCivil cases

Motions for Return Home, heard as part of a PH, and Motions for Case Closure, heard as part of a Progress Report on an Order of Protection, may be oral motions. Otherwise, these motions must be filed with proper notice to the parties, following #5 above.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionMOTIONS
Filing RequirementsImportantCivil cases

Exhibits & motions emailed to the court must include the hearing date and time in the email or document.

Child-Protection-Calendar-10J-Judge-Smith-Standing-Order-eff-09-08-2025 · Sep 2025 · p. 1|SectionOTHER

Filing & Service rules

Filing Timing and Cure Windows

Orders returned for changes must be amended and emailed by 4:00 p.m. of the same business day.

Orders returned to 10J attorneys for changes are to be amended and emailed to the court and copied to the parties and the deputy clerk by 4:00p.m. of the same business day.

Civil cases

Page 1 | OTHER

Attorneys must place all orders in the 10J shared drive no later than one hour after court adjourns; the deputy clerk emails the link to the court by noon each workday.

Attorneys are to place all orders in the 10J share drive no later than an hour after court is adjourned, including during duty week. Each work day, before noon, the deputy clerk assigned to 10J will email to the court a link of all of the orders placed in the share drive from the prior court day.

Civil cases

Page 1 | OTHER

Service and Proof of Service Rules

Orders returned for changes must be emailed to the court, copied to the parties, and copied to the deputy clerk.

Orders returned to 10J attorneys for changes are to be amended and emailed to the court and copied to the parties and the deputy clerk by 4:00p.m. of the same business day.

Civil cases

Page 1 | OTHER

Notice for fee petitions is given only to the State's Attorney and the court, via the Acting Courtroom Coordinator.

Proper notice is only to the Office of the State’s Attorney and the court, via the Acting Courtroom Coordinator.

Civil cases

Page 1 | FEE PETITIONS

Chambers Communication Rules

Attorneys must not include the court in email chains; the coordinator selects which chains to share.

The attorneys are NOT to include the court in email chains. The court coordinator will select which chains, if any, to share with the court.

Civil cases

Page 1 | OTHER

Court-wide rules

Applies court-wide

These 118 rules apply across Circuit Court of Cook County. Where this judge's own standing orders above address the same topic, the judge's requirement controls.

Communication

All 59
  • Contact
    Email

    Questions, comments, or concerns about the eFileIL e-filing system should be directed to Tyler Technologies at efiling.support@tylertech.com.

  • Contact
    Email to chambers

    Courtesy copies for Judge Daniel R. Degnan must be submitted via email to daniel.degnan@cookcountyil.gov.

  • Contact
    Email

    Stamped order inquiries for Judge Daniel R. Degnan must be submitted via email to tlhudson@cookcountycourt.com.

Filing Timing

All 12
  • Deadline
    60 calendar days

    Attorney fee petitions for court-appointed attorneys must be filed within 60 days after final order or 6 months after service/cost, whichever is earlier.

  • Deadline
    2 business days

    Decedent's estate agreed order requests must be filed and submitted 2-5 business days prior to the scheduled court date.

  • Deadline
    2 business days

    Pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court Remote Access Policy, after the judge signs an order, the Clerk of the Circuit Court will upload it to the Odyssey system, where it should appear within two (2) business days.

Filing Requirements

All 11
  • Applies to
    Complaint
    Must include
    caption

    Chancery Division complaints must include specific caption designations based on the relief sought.

  • Applies to
    Motion
    Must include
    caption

    Motions to correct errors in criminal cases must be in writing, accompanied by affidavit, and notice must be served on the prosecution.

  • Applies to
    Complaint
    Must include
    caption

    All initiating papers must include the court name and department/division/district in the caption; small claims complaints must be endorsed 'Small Claims'.

E-Filing

All 9
  • Applies to
    Civil case filing

    E-filing is mandatory for all Cook County civil cases through the eFileIL system as of July 1, 2018, except Quasi-Criminal, Housing, and Wills cases.

  • Applies to
    Verified status report

    In order to ask the Court to consider entering such agreed orders via e-mail, regular mail or courier, attorneys must first e-file a brief “verified status report” that explains the status of the case and the basis for the request.

  • You will not receive orders if your e-mail address is not accurate in the e-filing system and/or you have not filed as the attorney of record.

More categories

View all Circuit Court of Cook County rules
About Judge Levander Smith Jr.

Levander Smith Jr. is a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the trial court serving Chicago and suburban Cook County.

This judge's published procedures consist of a standing order for Child Protection Calendar 10J, effective September 8, 2025.

Common questions about Judge Levander Smith Jr.'s rules

What must be included with fee petition filings before Judge Levander Smith Jr.?

Fee petitions must comply with IL Supreme Court Rule 299, General Order No. 26, 750 ILCS 5/508, and all applicable law.

View ruleSource: page 1, section FEE PETITIONS

What must be included with motion filings before Judge Levander Smith Jr.?

Written motions must be file-stamped before presentation to the acting courtroom coordinator, must state supporting facts and cite legal authority, and may be stricken otherwise.

View ruleSource: page 1, section MOTIONS

How may parties contact Judge Levander Smith Jr.'s chambers?

Attorneys must not include the court in email chains; the coordinator selects which chains to share.

View ruleSource: page 1, section OTHER

When is a filing treated as filed before Judge Levander Smith Jr.?

Attorneys must place all orders in the 10J shared drive no later than one hour after court adjourns; the deputy clerk emails the link to the court by noon each workday.

View ruleSource: page 1, section OTHER

What service or proof of service rules apply before Judge Levander Smith Jr.?

Notice for fee petitions is given only to the State's Attorney and the court, via the Acting Courtroom Coordinator.

View ruleSource: page 1, section FEE PETITIONS
Complete rules summary for Judge Levander Smith Jr.

To be heard, a file-stamped fee petition must be scheduled through the acting courtroom coordinator, placed in the 10J shared drive and red book/docket sheet, and emailed to the court.

Fee petitions must comply with IL Supreme Court Rule 299, General Order No. 26, 750 ILCS 5/508, and all applicable law.

Written motions must be file-stamped before presentation to the acting courtroom coordinator, must state supporting facts and cite legal authority, and may be stricken otherwise.

Notice for fee petitions is given only to the State's Attorney and the court, via the Acting Courtroom Coordinator.

Exhibits and motions emailed to the court must include the hearing date and time.

Motions for Return Home (as part of a permanency hearing) and Case Closure (as part of a Progress Report) may be oral; otherwise they must be filed with proper notice.

Attorneys must place all orders in the 10J shared drive no later than one hour after court adjourns; the deputy clerk emails the link to the court by noon each workday.

Attorneys must not include the court in email chains; the coordinator selects which chains to share.

Oral motions for Parent/Child visits and Return Home under an Order of Protection may be heard at a permanency hearing; otherwise they must be filed with proper notice.

Emergency motions must be in writing with an affidavit stating sudden or unforeseen circumstances, and must be tendered to the court and parties as soon as possible if not filed in advance.

Orders returned for changes must be emailed to the court, copied to the parties, and copied to the deputy clerk.

Orders returned for changes must be amended and emailed by 4:00 p.m. of the same business day.

Fee petitions must include running totals of all amounts awarded for cases assigned to bar attorneys on or after August 1, 2025.

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