Update: look here for information on the 2014-2015 winter moratorium
It is that time of year when Christmas is in the air and tenants across Cook County get a respite from eviction in the form of an eviction moratorium. On December 12, 2013, the Circuit Court of Cook County entered general order 2013-07 effectively stopping the Cook County Sheriff from enforcing eviction possession orders. The Sheriff of Cook County has been ordered to cease the execution of orders for possession beginning on December 16, 2013 (they don’t evict on weekends, so really, tenants who are not evicted by December 13 will be unaffected until the moratorium ends) and to resume evictions effective January 3, 2014 (a Friday, so, again, there really are no evictions until January 6, 2014).
In addition, the general order also provides that the Sheriff shall cease execution of eviction orders (1) whenever the outside temperature is 15 degrees Fahrenheit or colder on the actual day of the eviction or (2) whenever regardless of outside temperature, extreme weather conditions endanger the health and welfare of those to be evicted.
For landlords, this is just part of the business of being a landlord. Eviction orders are stayed from enforcement and no tenants will be forcibly evicted or removed from their properties during the moratorium period.
So this week is it for Sheriff evictions until the new year. Does that mean that the eviction courts shut down? NO! Eviction cases will continue unaffected. All that is impacted by the order is the Sheriff’s removal of tenants. This will, of course, add at least about 15 days to the wait for the Sheriff to come out and evict in Cook County, but this is nothing new for Chicago landlords.
The sheriff came out to evict me and my 4 kids on Dec.2,2013.They asked me was there any other adults present,my 20 year old daughter was there and they said she was an unknown occupant and the sheriff stopped the eviction.my landlords were furious at me and I had nothing to do with them stopping it.Well they instructed my daughter to go to court and file a motion within 7 days the sheriff said this would buy me more time it will be a while before we come back.my daughter filed a motion and was in court on dec.26,2013 the judge denied it.Will the sheriff be back within 6-8 weeks the time it took them before?
We don’t handle eviction defense, so I can’t assist except to say that the Sheriff can be out at any time after an Order for Possession is issued. You should consult with an eviction defense attorney to protect your rights.