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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
IN THE MATTER OF: )
) GENERAL ORDER NO. 23-04
LOCAL RULES CHANGES )
ORDER
The Court, being vested with authority pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2071 to make and amend local
rules, proposed amendments to the Local Civil Rules. These amendments were submitted to the
District Advisory Committee on Local Rules and posted for public comment for 30 days.
Having received no comments, the proposed amendments were approved by the district judges.
It is hereby ORDERED that the amendments to Civil Local Rules 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 7.1(B)(1),
7.1(B)(4), 7.1.1, 8.1, 11.3, and 16.1(c), see Summary of Changes & Redlines, Ord. Attach.,
ECF No. 1-1, are effective August 9, 2023.
ENTERED: August 9, 2023
SARA DARROW
UNITED STATES DISTRICT CHIEF JUDGE
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Summary of Changes to Local Rules and Redlines/Complete Revisions
1. Civ. LR 5.3: Amended to improve clarity and eliminate “non-registered attorney
of record” because all attorneys must be registered through PACER to practice in
this district.
2. Civ. LR 5.4: Amended to maintain consistency and improve clarity, especially for
pro se parties. Includes revised version of Civ. LR 5.7(A)–(C). Changes are so
extensive a redline would not be helpful.
3. Civ. LR 5.5: Relocated a revised version of Civ. LR 5.7(D), streamlined the
language, and noted that answers to frequently asked questions are available on
the Court’s website.
4. Civ. LR 5.7: Eliminated. Parts were incorporated into Civ. LR 5.4 and 5.5.
5. Civ. LR 7.1(B)(1): The modification clarified that the word “Rule” refers to either
a Local or Federal rule.
6. Civ. LR 7.1(B)(4): Eliminated the character count and referenced only the word
limit.
7. Civ. LR 8.1: Eliminated Civ. LR 8.1 in light of the Supplemental Rules for Social
Security Review Actions Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), which were effective December
1, 2022.
8. Civ. LR 11.3: Renumbered to Civ. LR 7.1.1 to indicate alignment with Federal Rule
7.1 Disclosure Statement. Expanded categories of entities required to disclose
ownership information.
9. Civ. LR. 16.1(c): Eliminated.
Whenever a party reports to the court that a civil action is settled, the
presiding judge will enter an order dismissing the case without
prejudice as settled, with leave to reopen within 35 days if the
settlement is not finalized. The time to reopen may be extended by
order of the presiding judge upon a showing of good cause.
Because the Seventh Circuit has "repeatedly criticized the practice of dismissing
suits before they have been concluded, with leave to reinstate the suit," Goss
Graphics Sys., Inc. v. DEV Indus., Inc., 267 F.3d 624, 626 (7th Cir. 2001), Civ. LR
16.1(c) is deleted, leaving the judge to provide a deadline for the parties to file a
stipulation of dismissal.
1
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RULE 5.3 DEFINITIONS FOR ELECTRONIC FILING
-based system for
filing documents and maintaining court files in the District Court for
the Central District of Illinois.
in a non-
electronic, tangible format. The Clerk will scan the paper submitted
conventionally and file upload it towith CM/ECF, unless these Rules
provide otherwise.
-registered pro se party or non-registered attorney of record
means a person who is not registered to file papers or receive notices
by way of the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing System.
directly from the
Adobe PDF format, using CM/ECF, to
file that paper in the Sending a paper to the Court via
of Electronic (or NEF) refers to the notice that is
generated automatically by the CM/ECF System at the time a paper
is filed with the System, setting forth the time of filing, the name of
the party and attorney filing the paper, the type of paper, the text of
the docket entry, and an electronic link (hyperlink) to the filed
document, which allows recipients to retrieve the document
automatically.
automated system that allows an individual to view, print, and
download court docket information via the Internet.
Format. A document file created with a word processor, or a paper
document that has been scanned, must be converted to portable
document format before it can be electronically filed. Converted files
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RULE 5.4 ELECTRONIC, CONVENTIONAL, AND EMAIL FILING
(A) Registered Users. Registered users must file all documents electronically using
CM/ECF unless these Rules provide otherwise.
(B) Non-registered pro se parties. Non-registered pro se parties must file all
documents conventionally or by email unless these Rules provide otherwise.
(1) Email:
a. Case initiating documents must be submitted in pdf format to the
proper divisional office email address:
Peoria:
[email protected]
Urbana:
[email protected]
Springfield:
[email protected]
Rock Island:
[email protected]
b. All other documents must be submitted in pdf format to
[email protected];
c. Documents may not be submitted by email from a party who is
incarcerated;
d. The email must include the filer’s name, address, and telephone
number, and if the case has already been opened, the case number in
the subject line;
e. The document must be signed in the form “s/name”; and
f. No additional comments, questions, or other messages may be
included in the email.
(2) A document filed conventionally or by email will be deemed filed on the
date it was delivered to the Clerk’s Office.
(C) Filing Fee. Case initiating documents must be accompanied by the filing fee or a
Petition to Proceed in forma pauperis (without prepayment of prescribed fees).
Payment of the filing fee must be made by cash, cashier’s check, law firm check,
money order, or credit card. Credit card payments may be made using pay.gov or
by giving a credit card number by phone to the appropriate Clerk’s Office.
(D) Service.
(1) If a document is served but not filed, a certificate of service may be filed
but is not necessary unless ordered by the Court.
(2) The filing party is solely responsible for determining a party’s registration
status.
(E) Any judge of this Court may deviate from the electronic filing procedures in
specific cases, if deemed appropriate in the exercise of discretion, considering the
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need for the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of matters pending
before the Court.
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RULE 5.5 ELECTRONIC FILING PROBLEMS
(A) Corrections.
Once a document is submitted and becomes part of the case docket,
corrections to the docket are made only by the Clerk’s Office.Clerk. The
System will not permit the filing party to make changes to the document
or docket entry filed in error once the transaction has been accepted. The
filing party should not attempt to refile a document. As soon as possible
after an error is discovered, the filing party should contact the Clerk’s
Office with the case number and document number for which the
correction is being requested. If appropriate, the Court will make an entry
indicating that the document was filed in error. The filing party will be
advised if the document needs to be refiled.
(2
(B) Technical Problems.
(a) Technical Failures.
The Clerk’s Office will deem (1) Any difficulty connecting to the Central
DistrictCM/ECF System and any other
technical failure experienced should be immediately reported to the
Clerk.
(2) An E-Filer whose filing is made untimely as a result of Illinois
CM/ECF site to be subject to a technical failure on a given day if the
sitemay seek appropriate relief from the Court.
(3) If the CM/ECF System is unable to accept filingsfiling continuously
or intermittently over the course of any period of time greater than
one hour after 1012:00 a.m.noon, filings due that day. In the event a
technical failure occurs, and despite the best efforts of the filing party a
document cannot which could not be filed electronically, the party
should print (if possible) a copy of the error message received. As
soon as possible, the partysolely because of such technical failure shall
be due the next business day. Questions or concerns about this
extension should file this message with a Declaration That Party Was
Unablebe directed to File in a Timely Manner Duethe Clerk.
(4) Answers to Technical Difficultiesfrequently asked questions
regarding electronic filing are available on the Court’s website.
(b) Filer’s Problems.
Problems on the filer’s end, such as phone line problems, problems with the
filer’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) or hardware or software problems will
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neither constitute a technical failure nor excuse an untimely filing. If a party
misses a filing deadline due to such problems, the document may be
conventionally submitted, accompanied by a Declaration stating the reason for
missing the deadline and a motion for leave to file instanter. The motion,
document and declaration must be filed no later than 12:00 noon of the first day
on which the Court is open for business following the original filing deadline.
The Court will consider the matters stated in the declaration and order appropriate
relief.
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Civ. LR 7.1(B)(1):
Every motion raising a question of law (except summary judgment motions, which are
governed by Subparagraph (D) of this Rule) must include a memorandum of law
including a brief statement of the specific points or propositions of law and supporting
authorities upon which the moving party relies, and identifying the Local or Federal
Rule under which the motion is filed.
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Civ. LR 7.1(B)(4)
(b) A memorandum that exceeds 15 pages in length will comply with the type volume
limitation if
(1) It does not contain more than 7000 words or 45,000 characters, or
(2) It uses monospaced type and does not contain more than 650 lines of text.
(c) A memorandum submitted under the type volume limitation must include a
certificate by counsel, or by an unrepresented party, that the memorandum complies
with the type volume limitation. The certificate of compliance must state the number of
words, characters or lines of type in the memorandum. The person who prepares the
certificate of compliance may rely on the word or character count of the word
processing system used to prepare the document.
(d) All headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the page, word, character, and
line limitations.
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RULE 11.3 CERTIFICATE OF INTEREST7.1.1 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
To enable the presiding judge to determine whether recusal is necessary or appropriate,
an attorney for a non-governmental party or an amicus curiae must file a Certificate of
Interest stating the following information:
(1) The full name of every party or amicus the attorney represents in the case;
(2) If such party or amicus is a corporation:
(a) its parent corporation, if any; and
(b) a list of corporate stockholders which are publicly held companies owning
10 percent or more of the stock of the party or amicus if it is a publicly
held company.
(3) The name of all law firms whose partners or associates appear for a party or are
expected to appear for the party in the case.
The certificate must be filed with the complaint or upon the first appearance of
counsel in the case. The certificate must be in the following form:
[CAPTION]
The undersigned, counsel of record for [JOHN DOE, PLAINTIFF] furnishes the
following in compliance with Rule 11.3 of this court.
[LISTED BY NUMBER CATEGORY]
DATE ATTORNEY SIGNATURE
(A) Who Must File; Contents
(1) Nongovernmental party, proposed intervenor, or amicus curiae. A
nongovernmental corporation, limited liability company, partnership,
association, joint venture, syndicate, affiliate, or other similar entity appearing
as a party, proposed intervenor, or amicus curiae must file a disclosure
statement that states its name and the attorney(s) that represent it and:
a. identifies all parent companies and any publicly-held company or
individual that has a 10% or greater ownership interest (such as stock or
partnership shares) in the entity; or
b. states that there is no such company or individual.
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(2) Parent Companies. For the purposes of this rule, parent companies include all
companies controlling the specified entity directly, or indirectly through
intermediaries.
(1)(3) Pro Se Litigants. This rule does not apply to pro se litigants.
(B) Any disclosures required under Federal Rule Civil Procedure 7.1 and Civil Local
Rule 7.1.1 may be combined in one Disclosure Statement and filed at the time
specified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 or as otherwise ordered by the
court.
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RULE 16.1 PRETRIAL PROCEDURES
(A) Special Pretrial Conference.
A special pretrial conference may be held at any time by the presiding
judge on notice issued to the parties whenever it appears that such may
aid in disposition or preparation for trial. The special pretrial
conference will be by telephone conference unless otherwise directed
by the presiding judge.
(B) Settlement Conference.
The presiding judge may order the parties to submit to settlement
conferences at any time if it appears that a case may be resolved by
settlement. The settlement conference will be by personal appearance
unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge. In addition to the
attorney responsible for the actual trial of the case, someone with final
settlement authority must attend the settlement conference, either in
person or by telephone. The settlement conference in a matter to be
tried to the court must be conducted by a judge who will not preside
at the trial of the case.
(C) Cases Reported Settled.
Whenever a party reports to the court that a civil action is settled, the presiding
judge will enter an order dismissing the case without prejudice as settled, with
leave to reopen within 35 days if the settlement is not finalized. The time to
reopen may be extended by order of the presiding judge upon a showing of good
cause.
