Court Schedule:

9:00a.m.:                      Case Management Conferences/Status Dates/ Presentment

    of Motions Monday-Friday.

9:30a.m.- 11:30am:    Hearings/Pre-trials Monday-Thursday.

10:30a.m:                    First day of Trial Monday-Thursday.  

1:30 p.m.:                    Continuation of on-going Trials/Hearings Monday-Thursday.

9:30a.m. -1:30p.m.     Special set matters Friday

General Procedures:

Pursuant to Administrative Order 2023-10 and Presiding Judge Garcia’s standing Order,

Individuals may appear without advance authorization each Friday via Zoom for

presentment of motions, status, and case management conferences provided they follow

the Court’s rules regarding remote appearances that are published to the waiting room

before the start of court each morning. All other proceedings shall be held in person unless

advance permission is obtained from the Court for good cause shown upon written notice

of motion and motion.

Individuals who habitually have difficulty appearing remotely, e.g. connectivity issue,

technical difficulties, or inappropriate behavior will be required to appear in person.

Before court begins for the day or during periods of court recess, counsel shall check-in

with the Clerk. Participants on Zoom shall check-in using the Chat feature. When addressing

a case before the Court, counsel shall first state the case line number from that day’s Court

docket sheet, followed by the case name and number.

Once a contested hearing or trial commences it will proceed day to day, except on Fridays,

unless for good cause shown otherwise ordered by the Court. 

 Communication with the Court:

All communication with the Court must be via writing with all parties copied in on the

communication.  The Court does not accept ANY documents via email.

Courtesy Copies:

The Court does NOT accept courtesy copies of Motions/Petitions unless specifically

requested.

Orders:

No order is necessary when scheduling status, case management conference, and agreed

prove-ups excepting matters related to an order of protection.

A written/typed order is required for all other matters, including orders regarding orders of

protection.  Absent permission by the judge print orders must be presented prior to

leaving the courtroom.  With permission all other orders shall be submitted via Odyssey

within 24 hours of the case being addressed.

Orders shall be dated, identify the parties/ attorneys of record, and who

was present before the Court. If setting hearing/trial, the order shall list each

Motion/Petition and the corresponding date of filing.  If an order is not submitted timely it

will be rejected.  Failure to timely submit a proper order may result in cancellation of the

intended future court date.

A calculation sheet with data information must be attached to any order setting support.

In its discretion on a case-by-case basis the Court may accept for presentment and entry

agreed orders presented off-call.

Prove-ups:

Prove-up dates will be scheduled only after settlement documents have been signed by all

parties.  The original hard copies of all prove-up documents including, but not limited to,

the proposed Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, Marital Settlement Agreement, Name

Change Order, Support Order, Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage, etc. shall be

presented in open court. Do NOT submit these documents electronically unless otherwise

directed by the Court as it causes unnecessary work for the court and clerk.

Pre-Trials:

See the Court’s standing Order dated June 27, 2023.

Trials:

Trial memoranda and trial exhibits shall be exchanged between the parties

seven (7) days prior to commencement of trial.  The court does not accept trial exhibits

prior to commencement of trial. 

No scheduled Pre-trials will commence without the Court receiving from each party the following:

1.     Pre-Trial Memo (Maximum 10 pages in length, double-spaced, size 12 font, and stapled), no other exhibits will be accepted;

2.     Financial Affidavit (dated not later than 6 months prior to pre-trial, stapled without attachments), if property/financial matters are at issue; and

3.     Support calculations (e.g. Family Law/Fin Plan), if support is at issue.

Print copies of the above documents must be received by 4:30p.m. one (1) week prior to the Pre-Trial date unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Delivery may be via first class or overnight mail addressed to Judge Kennison at the courthouse or hand-delivered to courtroom 703 at the courthouse.  NO ELECTRONIC COPIES WILL BE ACCEPTED by the court.

The first page of the Pre-trial Memo shall contain:

1.     Date and time of the pre-trial;

2.     Date of filing for all pending Petition/Motion(s); and

3.     Names and contact information of the attorneys of record.

No courtesy copies of pleadings or documents other than those listed above will be accepted by the Court at Pre-Trial.

After the above documents have been exchanged, but before the pre-trial, the attorneys are urged to review the same and briefly conference with one another to confirm that they are ready to proceed to pre-trial.  If it is determined that the pre-trial should not proceed, counsel shall notify the court immediately so that the date can be used for another matter.

Failure to comply with the above may result in cancellation of the Pre-Trial and imposition of an attorney’s fees award pursuant to 750 ILCS 5/508(b).

Judge Kennison's Courtroom 703 Zoom Rules- effective 11-15-24

1.  Anyone permitted to appear remotely must have video and audio capability on their chosen device and must know how to use both features.
2. All people must use and display their legal first and last name on the Zoom platform to participate in remote court.
3. Upon entry participants must check-in with the Clerk using the Chat feature.
4. Participants must be appropriately dressed and conduct themselves as they would in a physical courtroom.
5. All participants must be in an environment free of video and/or audio distractions.
6. Participants should ensure any video background used is appropriate.
7. Participants are prohibited from drinking, smoking, chewing gum, driving, and any other distracting behavior while on Zoom.
8. When permitted entry into the Zoom meeting, participants will be on mute.  Stay on mute until your case is called and you are asked to identify yourself.
9. Participants present in the courtroom will be called first so please be patient.
10. Before advising the clerk that you are ready for your case to be called, participants shall have already spoken to the opposing party/attorney to confirm what is scheduled before the court today; identify any areas of agreement that can be entered in a court order; and have agreed upon at least 5 future dates ready to propose to the Judge for the next court date.
11. Do not speak over other participants in the Zoom proceeding. 
12. There are NO contested matters heard via Zoom.
13. Failure to comply with these rules may result in removal from the remote proceeding and revocation of your ability to appear remotely in the future.