How to Respond to an Order of Protection in Illinois

You were served: what the emergency order means

Most respondents learn about the case when they are served with an emergency order of protection. Under 750 ILCS 60/217, part of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, a judge can enter an emergency order without notice to you. For most remedies, the petitioner must show that warning you would likely lead to the harm the remedy is meant to prevent. Removing you from a shared home has its own test, which weighs the danger of further abuse against your hardship. An emergency order is not a final decision. It is temporary relief that lasts 14 to 21 days unless it is extended or replaced (section 220).

Read every page. The order lists the remedies the judge granted. These can include no-contact or stay-away terms, exclusive possession of a home, terms about children and firearm surrender. The front page lists the next court date, time and courtroom.

In Chicago, many of these cases are heard at the Domestic Violence Courthouse at 555 W. Harrison St. Suburban cases may be heard at a municipal district courthouse. If the order was filed in a pending divorce or parentage case, it may be heard in the Domestic Relations Division at the Daley Center instead. Some hearings are held on Zoom. Check the Circuit Court of Cook County order of protection page for current instructions.

Do not contact the petitioner, even to resolve it

This is the most important rule. Once you have been served or otherwise know what the order says, knowingly violating certain remedies is a crime under 720 ILCS 5/12-3.4. Those remedies include the ban on abuse, exclusive possession of the home, stay-away terms, prohibition of entry and firearm terms (750 ILCS 60/223). Violations can also be punished as contempt of court.

• Do not call, text, email or message the petitioner unless the order allows it.
• Do not ask friends or relatives to pass along messages. The order may treat that as contact too.
• Do not go to places the order lists, even if the petitioner invites you.
• If you need belongings from a shared home, ask the court. Section 214 lets the court allow a respondent to retrieve clothing, medication and certain other items in a way the court sets.

Can a petitioner violate an order of protection? The order restricts you, the respondent, not the petitioner, unless a court has also entered a separate order against the petitioner. If the petitioner reaches out, the order still applies to you, and only the judge can change it. Save the message, do not reply and tell your lawyer.

Preparing for the return date and plenary hearing

The return date is the court date listed on the emergency order. At that date the petitioner may ask for a plenary order, and you can appear and contest it. Under section 219, a plenary order requires that you were served or appeared, that you answered or are in default, and that the requirements of section 214 are met for each remedy. If you were served and do not come to court, the judge can enter a plenary order against you by default. A plenary order entered on its own lasts for a fixed period of up to two years. One entered in a divorce or parentage case can last until that case ends or, if it becomes part of the final judgment, until a court vacates or modifies it (section 220(b)). Plenary orders can also be extended.

If the hearing is continued, ask whether the emergency order was extended, and read the new order.

Step by step in Cook County

1. Read the order and write down the court date, time and courtroom.
2. Follow every term from the moment you are served.
3. Talk with a family law attorney, and with a criminal defense lawyer if you were arrested or charged.
4. File an appearance and prepare your response and evidence.
5. Attend the return date in person or on Zoom, as the order or notice states.
6. At the plenary hearing, testify, present witnesses and exhibits, and cross-examine.
7. Read the final order and note when it ends.

Evidence and witnesses

• Texts, call logs, emails and social media messages, kept in full with dates.
• Photos, receipts, location records or work schedules that show where you were.
• Names and contact information for people who saw the events.
• Police reports or 911 records, if any.
• Existing court orders about children, support or the home.
• A private written timeline prepared for your lawyer.

Bring copies for the judge and the other side, and ask in advance how exhibits are shared at a Zoom hearing.

Two special rules can help. If the emergency order removed you from your home and you ask the court to re-open or vacate that part, section 224(e) requires a hearing on exclusive possession within 14 days, unless both sides agree to a later date. Under section 224(d), if you did not receive prior notice of the hearing and have a meritorious defense, you can file a verified petition to re-hear an emergency or interim order on 2 days' notice to the petitioner.

Overlapping criminal charges

If you were arrested or charged, the criminal case and the civil order of protection case are separate, and a criminal court can enter its own order of protection. You need a criminal defense lawyer for the criminal case. Chicago Family Attorneys handles only family law. Talk with your criminal defense lawyer before you testify in the civil hearing, because what you say under oath can affect the criminal case.

Agreed orders, dismissal and withdrawal

Not every case goes to a full hearing. Sometimes the parties agree to an order with specific terms. Sometimes the petitioner asks to withdraw or dismiss the petition. An agreed order is still a court order. It is enforced the same way, and violating it has the same consequences. Read every term before agreeing, especially terms about the home, children and firearms.

How to drop an order of protection in Illinois. The petitioner can ask the court to dismiss the petition or vacate the order, and a respondent can file a motion to vacate or modify. Either way, only the judge can end or change the order. Until the judge does, the order stays in effect, even if the petitioner says they want it dropped.

Motions to vacate or modify

Section 224 governs changes to an order of protection. Either party can ask the court to modify the parts of an order that deal with custody, parenting time or support, under the standards of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (section 224(b)). After 30 days following entry of a plenary order, the court may modify it only when changes in the law or the facts since the order was entered warrant a change (section 224(c)).

Section 224(f) says it does not limit other legal ways to vacate or modify an order. Depending on how and when the order was entered, those can include a motion filed within 30 days after a final order (735 ILCS 5/2-1301(e)). They can also include a petition for relief from judgment filed after 30 days and generally within two years of entry (735 ILCS 5/2-1401). Which tool fits depends on the facts, such as whether you received notice of the hearing. Read more about motions to vacate in Illinois family cases.

Firearms, the home and parenting time

• Firearms. If the order includes a firearms remedy under section 214(b)(14.5), the court orders you to surrender firearms and firearm parts, along with your Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card and any concealed carry license. Items on you or at the place of service go to the serving officers. Others go to local law enforcement within 24 hours of service. Follow the order's instructions exactly.
• The home. Exclusive possession under section 214(b)(2) does not change who owns the property. It controls who may live there while the order is in effect.
• Parenting time. An order can give the petitioner physical care of children and can set, restrict or deny the respondent's parenting time (sections 214(b)(5) and 214(b)(7)). When the facts support it, a lawyer can ask for a specific, safe schedule rather than none. These terms can interact with a divorce or parentage case. See orders of protection in custody cases.

Common mistakes respondents make

• Contacting the petitioner to explain, apologize or work things out.
• Skipping the court date or arriving late.
• Testifying about events tied to a criminal charge without criminal defense advice.
• Showing up without evidence or witnesses.
• Agreeing to terms you do not understand.
• Posting about the case or the petitioner online.
• Transferring firearms in a way the order does not allow.

How Chicago Family Attorneys can help respondents

Chicago Family Attorneys, LLC represents respondents and petitioners in civil order of protection cases in Cook, DuPage, Will and Lake Counties. Our order of protection attorneys handle:

• Review of the petition and the emergency order.
• Appearances and preparation for the return date.
• Representation at the plenary hearing.
• Negotiation of agreed terms when appropriate.
• Petitions to re-hear and motions to modify or vacate.
• Parenting time and home issues in a related divorce or parentage case.

For limited-scope help, drafting a response for you to file starts at $500, and appearing for you at one hearing starts at $1,200. Full representation is an initial payment of $1,500 to $2,500, then $500 to $650 per month beginning 30 days after the initial payment while representation remains active. See order of protection lawyer fees. The firm handles only the civil order of protection and related family law issues. If you face a criminal charge, hire a criminal defense lawyer for that case. No lawyer can promise how a judge will rule.

Related reading: do I need a lawyer for an order of protection? and the overview of orders of protection in Cook County.