Circuit Court of Whiteside County, Illinois (14th Judicial Circuit) Filing Rules

In jury trials, each party must provide a typed statement of the case for the Court to read to the jury.

A copy of the civil contempt judgment must be provided to the contemnor.

The mediator must prepare a statistical report for each case on the prescribed form and file it with the Court Administrator at least quarterly.

Typewritten or printed papers must have at least 1½ inches of blank space at the binding end.

A scheduled hearing cannot be cancelled by agreement of the parties without the assigned judge’s concurrence.

Until mandatory paper filings are eliminated, a document served by email must also be filed with the Circuit Clerk as an original paper copy with original signatures, unless it was e-filed under permissive e-filing.

A party requesting a telephonic hearing must reserve the call time with the court's approval and consult beforehand with any pro se party and attorneys of record.

Petitioner shall complete and file the document(s) no later than two court days prior to the hearing date, then on the same day hand deliver a file stamped paper courtesy copy to the judge and to respondent via email, facsimile or hand delivery.

Motions and writings supporting or opposing motions are limited to 10 pages total, excluding supporting documents, unless the court grants prior leave.

The party scheduling a telephonic hearing must initiate and pay for the call unless the parties agree otherwise or the court orders otherwise.

In an effort to limit identity theft, the following information should not be contained in pleadings open to the general public and filed with the Circuit Clerk: a. Date of Birth b. Social Security Number (it is acceptable to identify the last four digits in the public portion of the record) c. Driver’s license Number d. Children’s Date of Birth (acceptable to identify the age of the child at the time of the pleading) e. Children’s Social Security Number 2. The information identified in paragraph f (1) above should be filed with the Circuit Clerk under seal using the form called Confidential Disclosure Statement as set forth in the Forms portion of these rules, and hereinafter called f (1) Confidential Disclosure Statement.

All grounds attacking a pleading or paper must be brought in one motion, which remains subject to the 10-page limit.