The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments on five proposals on November 15, 2023, at a public hearing beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, in Chicago. All proposals must be approved by the Illinois Supreme Court before they can take effect. The hearing will be livestreamed here. 

The Supreme Court Rules Committee invites public comments on the proposals. Written comments should be submitted no later than Wednesday, November 8, 2023, to RulesCommittee@illinoiscourts.gov or via mail to: Committee Secretary, Supreme Court Rules Committee, 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601. 

To be scheduled to testify at the public hearing, please register by sending an e-mail to the Rules Committee Secretary, as noted above, no later than Wednesday, November 8, 2023. 

More information is available at the Rules Committee Public Hearing page of the Supreme Court’s website here. 

James A. Hansen of Schmiedeskamp Robertson Neu & Mitchell, LLP, serves as chair of the Rules Committee. 

The following are the proposals which the Rules Committee seeks comment on: 

Proposal 20-10, which would amend Rules 472 and 558 clarifying that no fee shall be charged for motions seeking to correct errors in sentencing under either rule. 

Proposal 22-05, which would amend Rule 794 to expand the 6-hour professional responsibility MCLE requirement to include sexual harassment prevention as an additional option within that category. 

Proposal 22-06, which would amend RPC 8.4 and its Committee Comments to eliminate the prior adjudication precondition for discipline based on harassment or discrimination. The proposal would also specifically include sexual harassment in the definition of misconduct, and impose a “reasonably should know” standard, as well as other changes to the rule modeled after the ABA’s model rule on discrimination. The proposal would also amend Comment 2 to RPC 5.1 to clarify that lawyers with managerial authority have a duty to promote a firm environment free of harassment and discrimination prohibited by PRC 8.4(j). 

Proposal 23-01, which would cap the reinstatement fees for those removed from the master roll due to MCLE noncompliance in more than three MCLE reporting periods. Under this proposal, the reinstatement fees would be capped at the reinstatement fees assessed for the three most recent removals. 

Proposal 23-03, which would permit a certification for exemption from e-filing under Rule 9 to be filed in person, by e-mail, by mail, or by third-party commercial carrier. The proposal would also amend Rule 373 to clarify that the “mailbox rule,” in which a filing is considered filed on the date of mailing/delivery to a commercial carrier, applies to any filing that is exempt from e-filing under Rule 9, and not just documents filed by incarcerated self-represented litigants. 

(FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217.208.3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov.)