Illinois Eviction Process for Landlords

An Illinois landlord evicts by serving a written notice, filing an eviction case in the circuit court of the county where the rental sits, winning an eviction order, and having the sheriff enforce it. State law requires 5 days for unpaid rent, 10 days for other lease violations, and 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy. In Chicago and suburban Cook County, local ordinances add a one-time right for the tenant to pay and stay. Chicago requires 30 to 120 days' notice before you end or decline to renew a tenancy; covered suburban Cook County rentals require 60 days.

Which notice do you serve first?

The Eviction Act (735 ILCS 5/Article IX) sets the notice for each reason:

Partial payments during a 5-day notice. A partial payment does not cancel your notice if the notice prominently includes this sentence from the statute: "Only FULL PAYMENT of the rent demanded in this notice will waive the landlord's right to terminate the lease under this notice, unless the landlord agrees in writing to continue the lease in exchange for receiving partial payment." Leave it out and accepting part of the rent can void the notice. Under state law, collecting past-due rent after filing a nonpayment case does not invalidate it. For covered Chicago and suburban Cook County rentals, accepting rent knowing of the default can still mean giving up your right to end the tenancy for that breach, even after filing. Chicago's rent-acceptance rule excludes payments under the one-time cure right described below.

Serving the notice. You can hand it to the tenant, leave it with a person 13 or older who lives there, or send it by certified or registered mail with a return receipt. Posting on the door is allowed only when no one is in possession of the unit. Keep a record of how and when you served it. In Cook County you file the notice and an affidavit of service with the complaint.

In Chicago, a month-to-month termination or a non-renewal needs the 30- to 120-day Fair Notice periods described below. Covered suburban Cook County rentals require at least 60 days' written notice for month-to-month termination or nonrenewal. If you fail to give that notice, the tenant may remain on the same terms for up to 120 days after the required written notice is given.

How to file and what happens in court

1. Wait out the notice. File only after the notice period ends and the tenant has not paid, cured, or moved.
2. File the complaint. File in the circuit court for the county where the property sits. You can add a claim for unpaid rent, but a money judgment requires personal service on the tenant; if the tenant can only be served by posting, the court can grant possession but not the rent claim.
3. Name only adult occupants. Since January 1, 2026, a complaint that names anyone under 18 must be dismissed against every defendant and sealed. You can refile against the adults, but you pay the filing fees again, and a minor named willfully and wantonly can recover $1,000 plus damages and attorney's fees.
4. Arrange service of the court papers. Have the sheriff or an authorized process server serve the issued summons and complaint on each defendant before the court date, even if you seek only possession.
5. Attend the court dates. The judge decides possession and any rent owed. An eviction order may include a stay, a date before which the sheriff cannot enforce it.
6. Enforce within 120 days. An eviction order cannot be enforced more than 120 days after it is entered unless you file a motion and the court extends it.

Cook County filings. The Clerk of the Circuit Court lists the documents a landlord files to start a case: civil action cover sheet, eviction complaint, eviction summons, the Early Resolution Program flyer, the plaintiff's certification of compliance, a tenant declaration form if applicable, the eviction demand or notice with its affidavit of service, and the written lease if there is one. First court dates are held on Zoom or by phone.

Mediation and legal aid in Cook County. Every unrepresented tenant and landlord who appears in a Cook County eviction case is referred to the Early Resolution Program on the first court date. It offers free legal aid, mediation, and connections to rental assistance, and small landlords without a lawyer can use it before filing. The hotline is 855-956-5763.

How the sheriff enforces the eviction order

Only the sheriff can remove a tenant. In Cook County, you file the certified eviction order with the Sheriff's Eviction Office online or in person at the Daley Center:

• Fee. $65 to e-file or $95 to file on paper at the Daley Center, non-refundable. You also complete an eviction disclosure form.
• Scheduling. Evictions run roughly in filing order, grouped by area. The Sheriff's Office calls you one working day ahead with the date and time window, so give an accurate phone number.
• Eviction day. Someone representing you must meet the deputies at the property. Deputies remove the people named in the order but not their belongings, then turn possession over to you and post a no-trespassing notice.
• Delays. The court cancels evictions in extreme weather. If the eviction is called off at the site or your representative does not show up, rescheduling costs another $65 or $95.

Weather delays can push an order toward its 120-day limit, so file with the sheriff as soon as the order's stay, if any, allows.

Chicago and suburban Cook County rules

One-time right to pay and stay. In Chicago, a tenant facing eviction for nonpayment can cure once, at any time before the court issues an eviction order, by paying the rent owed from the date of your termination notice to the date of payment, plus your filing fees, court costs, and service of process fees. Attorney's fees are not included. If the tenant cures in time, the court must dismiss the case on a motion by either the landlord or the tenant. Suburban Cook County's ordinance gives tenants the same one-time right, counting rent from the date of nonpayment, and if you refuse to state the total, the tenant can cure with a good-faith payment of the amount the tenant believes is due. Give the tenant a written total to avoid a dispute over the amount.

Chicago Fair Notice periods. Under Chicago Municipal Code 5-12-130(j), you must give written notice before the end date of the rental agreement to end a month-to-month tenancy, decline to renew a lease, or raise the rent:

If your notice is late or defective, the tenant can stay on the same terms for up to 60 days (120 days for a tenancy over 3 years) after the date written notice is given to the tenant. An April 2026 amendment requires you to wait out that period before filing an eviction case; if you file early, the tenant can raise the short notice as a defense and you cannot recover possession until the period ends. These Fair Notice rules apply even in owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units, which are otherwise exempt from most of Chicago's ordinance. For how the same notice periods apply to rent increases, see Illinois rent control and increase rules.

What you cannot do: lockouts and shutoffs

Illinois requires a court case for every eviction, and only the sheriff can enforce the order, even after you win. Changing locks, removing doors, shutting off utilities, or removing a tenant's belongings to force them out is an illegal lockout.

Suburban Cook County's ordinance bans lockouts by any of those means, including cutting heat, water, electricity, gas, phone, or internet service. A tenant who proves a violation gets the unit and belongings back and recovers the greater of up to two months' rent or twice their actual damages, plus reasonable attorney's fees. The lockout ban applies even to units otherwise excluded from the county ordinance, such as owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units. Chicago's lockout ban, Municipal Code 5-12-160, also covers small owner-occupied buildings. A Chicago tenant who is locked out can recover twice the monthly rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, the city can fine the landlord $200 to $500 for each day the lockout continues, and the Chicago Police Department must investigate lockout complaints.

Before you file

• Fix any repair problems the tenant has reported in writing, because unaddressed repairs can become a defense or rent offset; see Illinois maintenance and repair obligations.
• Confirm the right notice period, especially for a Chicago non-renewal; see how to end a month-to-month rental agreement.
• Plan the deposit accounting for after the tenant leaves under Illinois security deposit laws.

For a state-neutral overview of the court process, see the steps for eviction proceedings.