Circuit clerk issues statement regarding civil case e-filing

HILLSBORO (Heartland Newsfeed) — Starting January 1, 2018, all civil cases in Illinois must be e-filed and Montgomery County Circuit Clerk Holly Lemons wants to make sure court users are not caught off guard as the deadline is quickly approaching. An Illinois Supreme Court mandate requires all users of the court file electronically, including pro se litigants. “We want to encourage learning and utilizing the system early,” Lemons said. ” I don’t want users to run into issues once the mandate is put into effect. Get on board and ahead of schedule, so that way if you encounter any issues, we can have them worked out prior the mandate.” Montgomery County was among the first in the state to be approved for e-filing as a pilot county. To date, the majority of e-filings have been received through Judici.com, though recently filings have increased through the Odyssey eFileIL system. Those using the e-filing options have given great feedback. Registration is a one-time procedure and does not need to be repeated for subsequent e-filings once a user is set up in the eFileIL system. Filing fees are paid with a credit card at the time of filing. Attorneys that have previously used Judici.com are encouraged to register through the Odyssey eFileIL system, as it was approved by the Illinois Supreme Court as the centralized electronic filing manager (EFM) for the entire state of Illinois. E-filing allows for the filing of civil court documents electronically over the Internet rather than on paper. Filings and payments are completed electronically, which will help improve the efficiency and services to attorneys and the public and effectively extend the court’s hours of operation, even pushing filing deadlines to midnight on court business days. Service of copies to opposing parties is accomplished through the email address on file with the court. “We are entering into an exciting era for our court systems. Change is always hard which is why we want to encourage early participation. For users that have never electronically filed anything it may seem a bit overwhelming and daunting. We understand that and we along with the staff of Odyssey eFileIL are here to help and encourage this process as much as we can.” More information can be located on the Montgomery County Circuit Clerk’s website and by clicking on the “E-Filing now available” link.