The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will seek comment at a public hearing in Chicago on a proposed amendment to a Supreme Court rule regarding personal identity information in civil case filings. The Committee will also consider comments on proposed rule changes involving motions in a reviewing court; appeals from final circuit court judgments in civil cases; and general rules governing appeals from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court.

All of the proposals will be aired at a public hearing of the Supreme Court Rules Committee on Friday, October 10 at 10 a.m. in Chicago. Copies of all proposals are available on the Supreme Court website at: www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Public_Hearings/Rules/default.asp.

Proposal 13-05 would amend Supreme Court Rule 138, removing birth dates and names of individuals known to be minors in documents or exhibits filed in civil cases. The proposal would also eliminate birth dates and minor's initials on redacted filings as permissible personal identity information available for the public record.

Originally adopted by the Supreme Court in October 2012, Supreme Court Rule 138 is designed to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of sensitive information through electronic filing.

The rule prohibits the use of personal identity information such as whole social security numbers, taxpayer-identification numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and debit and credit card numbers in documents and exhibits filed with the court in civil cases.

The rule went into effect July 1, 2013. Two provisions of that rule, requiring that birth dates and the names of minor individuals be excluded from documents or exhibits filed in civil cases, were deferred until January 1, 2015 to allow attorneys and agencies that handle volumes of affected cases more time to adapt to the requirements. In the interim, the Rules Committee held a public hearing in October 2013 to consider recommendations to improve efficiency of the rule's procedures designed to keep personal identity information out of the public file. The current proposal represents further refinements to the rule.

Proposal 14-02, submitted by the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), would amend Supreme Court Rule 303(a) by adding language allowing a notice of appeal to be filed by any party or any attorney representing the party appealing, regardless of whether that attorney has filed an appearance in the circuit court case that is being appealed.

Other submitted proposals from the CBA would amend Supreme Court Rules 308(c) and 315(f) ex-tending the deadline for submitting answers to requests for leave to appeal in both the Appellate and Supreme Court from 14 days to 21 days. An additional proposal would amend Rule 315(a) pertain-ing to grounds for filing a petition for leave to appeal from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court.

Submitted by the Appellate Lawyers Association, Proposal 13-09 would amend paragraph (d) of Supreme Court Rule 367. The proposed rule change would limit the number of pages submitted for an answer to a petition for rehearing to 27 pages, and limit the reply to 10 pages, unless authorized by the Court or a judge thereof. The proposed rule change would add that each document must be supported by a certificate of compliance in accordance with Rule 341(c). Proposal 13-09 also would amend paragraph (b) of Rule 361 to provide a five day response period when the motion is served via email.

The Rules Committee invites public comments on the proposals. Written comments should be submitted by Friday, September 26, 2014 to jzekich@illinoiscourts.gov or by mail to:

• Committee Secretary
• Supreme Court Rules Committee
• c/o Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
• 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor
• Chicago, IL 60601

Those wishing to testify in person at the hearing on any of the proposals, please send an e-mail or written request to the Rules Committee secretary, as noted above, no later than Friday, October 3, 2014.

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in Room C-500 of the Michael A. Bilandic Building at 160 N. LaSalle Street in Chicago. Brett K. Gorman, an attorney with Schmiedeskamp Robertson Neu & Mitchell in Quincy, is chair of the committee.

Justice Thomas L. Kilbride serves as Supreme Court liaison to the Rules Committee.

No proposal would take effect unless it is specifically approved by the Illinois Supreme Court.