Illinois Foreclosure Laws

Illinois permits judicial or in-court foreclosures are only. Most foreclosures in Illinois take about one year. In order for a foreclosure to take place, a court must pass a judgment of foreclosure. This can take 90 days if the foreclosure is not contested and if all parties respond to their summons in a timely fashion. There is a 90-day reinstatement period that commences on the day of service. This means that a judgment cannot be reached until the debtor and other parties have been given 90 days to respond to and to consider the initial notice. Once the judgment has been passed, a sale may be scheduled at least one to three months after the judgment. This allows the debtor time to redeem the property. In some cases, courts may decide to lengthen the redemption period and this delays the auction process more.

Pre-Foreclosure

Lenders must check the title of a property before starting the foreclosure process. The property must be free of liens at the auction. Also, if there are multiple liens against a property, the lender must name junior lien holders as defendants.

To start the foreclosure process in Illinois, the lender must file a Complaint to Foreclose Mortgage. This complaint must be filed with the court and served to the defendants, including the debtor. In the event that some defendants cannot be found and served by a process server, the lender can publish the complaint. Once the complaint has been served or published, the defendants have thirty days to answer the complaint. If the defendants do not do this, the court can rule that the debtors are in default. If the defendants or debtors contest the default, the court system seeks an answer through litigation and potentially a trial.

Once a court finds the defendants or debtors in default, the debtor still has a 90-day redemption period. During this period, no sale or auction of the property can take place. If a property is abandoned, the court can choose to shorten the redemption period to thirty days. A court can also choose to lengthen the redemption period in some cases.

Foreclosure Sale

Once the redemption period has passed, the public foreclosure sale can be scheduled. In Illinois, this sale is usually conducted by the Sheriff, and is therefore sometimes called a Sheriff's sale. Before the sale can take place, a Notice of Sheriff's Sale must be published. The notice must be published once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper. The final publication must be at least seven days before the sale itself.

At the Sheriff's sale, the lender begins with the bidding with the total amount that is owed on the property by the debtor. The winning bidder at the sale is given a Certificate of Purchase. Within ten days after the Sheriff's sale, the Sheriff or the officer responsible for the sale must file a Report of Sale. In court, a Motion to Confirm Sale must be filed and the court has to confirm the sale. Once this is done, the winning bidder is given the Sheriff's Deed.