(A) These rules set forth procedures for the Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. They are a supplement to the Domestic Violence Act, the Civil No Contact Order Act, the Stalking No Contact Order Act, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, and the Rules of the Illinois Supreme Court, and are designed to facilitate the adjudication of cases heard in the Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

(B) These rules are designed to accomplish the following:
(1) effective judicial oversight of case planning;
(2) effective coordination of the decision-making processes in related cases;
(3) use of effective case management to minimize delays in court proceedings;
(4) effective monitoring of compliance with and enforcement of the terms of orders of
protection and civil no contact orders; and
(5) a full, fair, and meaningful opportunity for all participants to be heard.

(C) These rules shall be liberally construed to accomplish the above goals.

(D) References in these rules to statutes incorporate the statutes as they may be amended from time to time.

For the purposes of these rules, the following words and terms shall have the following
definitions:

(A) domestic violence case: a domestic violence case is an action or proceeding for a civil no contact order arising under the Civil No Contact Order Act (740 ILCS 22/101, et seq.), an order of protection arising under the Domestic Violence Act of 1986 (750 ILCS 60/101 et seq.), a stalking no contact order arising under the Stalking No Contact Order Act (740 ILCS 21/1, et seq.), or a criminal case involving family and household members as defined in the Domestic Violence Act of 1986, in which the most serious offense charged is aggravated stalking, any class 4 felony, or any misdemeanor, except cases arising under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/1-1, et seq.), the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code (405 ILCS 5/1-100, et seq.), and the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/1-1, et seq.), as amended; it is also any case involving family and household members, as defined in the Domestic Violence Act of 1986, through the preliminary examination or indictment, pursuant to 725 ILCS 5/109-3.1, in which the most serious offense charged is a class 1, 2, or 3 felony other than aggravated stalking;

(B) case: a case is an action or proceeding;

(C) compliance: compliance means compliance with the terms and conditions of an order of protection;

(D) he, him, or his: words of the masculine gender apply equally to females;

(E) related case: a related case is a case involving the same family or household members;

(F) order of protection: unless otherwise stated, the term order of protection shall mean orders of protection, stalking no contact orders, and civil no contact orders.

(A) Presiding Judge
The Presiding Judge shall have general administrative authority to supervise the division, including authority to coordinate the division's operations, and shall promulgate general orders as necessary to administer the division.

(B) Emergency Calendar
The Presiding Judge or his designee, shall have the authority to establish other calls and calendars for the purpose of assuring effective access to remedies available in domestic violence cases.

(C) Compliance Call
At the direction of the Presiding Judge, each calendar judge shall establish a compliance call for monitoring the compliance of respondents and defendants with orders of protection.

(A) Filing and assignment
A petition for an order of protection not related to a criminal case shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, who will then randomly assign the case to a judge for hearing. A petition for an order of protection sought in conjunction with a criminal case may be filed only by the State=s Attorney pursuant to the Domestic Violence Act, the Stalking No Contact Order Act, or the Civil No Contact Order Act, as appropriate.

(B) Service
Service of petitions, motions and other papers shall be pursuant to the applicable law and court rules.

(C) Transfer of Cases
(1) When a petition for an independent order of protection is filed in the Domestic Violence
Division and there is a related case pending in the Domestic Relations Division, the order of protection case shall be transferred to the Domestic Relations Division by the judge to whom the case is assigned. The judge shall determine whether the transfer shall occur before or after a hearing on an emergency order of protection. When a petition for an independent order of protection is filed in the Domestic Violence Division prior to the filing of a related case in the Domestic Relations Division, the order of protection case shall be transferred to the Domestic Relations Division by the judge hearing the petition after a hearing on the emergency order of protection.
(2) A judge presiding over an independent order of protection case related to a case pending in the Domestic Relations Division may directly transfer the case to the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division for assignment. All other cases to be transferred shall be transferred to the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Violence Division for the purpose of transferring the case to another department, division or district.

(D) Reassignment of cases after disposition of criminal charges
Upon the nolle prosequi, dismissal without prejudice, or final disposition of criminal charges in a case pending in the Domestic Violence Division, cases containing the following may be transferred to the Presiding Judge for any further proceedings:
(1) unexpired order of protection entered in the same case,
(2) related independent order of protection, or
(3) unadjudicated petition for an order of protection.
Nothing contained herein precludes the judge who presided over the criminal case from entering an order of protection after disposition of the criminal charges, including an order continuing restrictions or conditions contained in the bail order.

(A) As of right
A motion for substitution of judge as of right shall be presented to the judge to whom the case is currently assigned. If the judge assigned to the case is unavailable, the motion shall be continued and heard when the judge returns. However, for good cause shown, the motion may be presented to the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Violence Division.

(B) For cause
A motion for substitution of judge for cause shall be presented to the judge to whom the case is currently assigned. Upon a determination that the motion should be heard by another judge, the judge to whom the case is assigned shall transfer the case to the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Violence Division, who shall assign the case to another judge for hearing.

(C) Orders granting a substitution of judge shall be accompanied by an order transferring the case to the Presiding Judge for reassignment.

(A) Generally
(1) All substantive motions shall be made in writing.
(2) All written motions shall have a title accurately describing the primary relief sought and be accompanied by a notice of motion.
(3) All written motions and related papers shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
(4) Notice shall be in accordance with the applicable statutes and court rules.

(B) Emergency motions, except petitions and motions for emergency orders of protection.
Facts identifying the nature of the sudden or unforeseen circumstances which give rise to the emergency and the reason(s) the matter should take precedence shall be stated with particularity in an verified motion or an accompanying affidavit. This section does not apply to petitions and motions for emergency orders of protection.

(A) Generally
(1) Initiation
A request for a rule to show cause or an adjudication of indirect criminal contempt or indirect civil contempt must be made by written petition, must specifically identify the order or provision alleged to have been violated, and must be properly served on the responding party. The petition shall state both the legal and the factual bases of the alleged contempt.
(2) Attachments
The petition must have a copy of the judgment or order alleged to have been violated attached as an exhibit.
(3) Issuance of Rule
Upon the presentation, pursuant to notice, of a verified petition or sworn testimony in open court seeking a finding of indirect civil contempt, which makes a prima facie showing of noncompliance, a judge may issue a rule to show cause. The court may issue a rule
notwithstanding the responding party=s request to file a written response.
(4) Form of order
When a judge issues a rule to show cause, the official form for a rule to show cause provided by the court shall be used.
(5) Service of rules
Unless otherwise directed by the court, service of any rule to show cause shall be as required by applicable court rules.
(6) Findings of Contempt
A finding or adjudication of contempt shall be by written order and shall contain specific
findings of fact. In cases involving child support arrears, the order shall state the exact amount of any arrearage found to be due and owing. Upon a finding of contempt that results in incarceration, a form order of commitment provided by the court shall be used.
(7) Return to Court
An order remanding a contemnor to the custody of the Cook County Department of Corrections for indirect civil contempt must include a provision that the contemnor will be returned to the court for status at periodic intervals, but in no event less frequently than every thirty (30) days.

(B) Appointment of Attorneys in Contempt Cases-Domestic Violence/Relations Lawyer Referral Program
(1) The Domestic Violence Division, in conjunction with any duly constituted, recognized bar association, will recruit attorneys to represent indigent litigants in contempt hearings in domestic violence cases. An attorney appointed by the court in such hearings shall be compensated as provided in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 299.
(2) The qualifications, rules of appointment, and administration shall be the same as found in Cook County Circuit Court Rule 13.8.

[Adopted December 29, 2010, effective immediately.]