Effective January 1, 2013, this Court’s General Administrative Order 2009-01 (eff. May 11, 2009), as amended by General Administrative Order 2011-07 (eff. May 2, 2011), is hereby amended as follows:

Pursuant to the Electronic Filing Standards and Principles of the Illinois Supreme Court, M.R. 18368 (eff. Jan. 1, 2013), the Electronic Filing of Court Documents Pilot Project of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (Clerk’s Office) is hereby extended until such time as the Clerk and this Court obtain approval from the Supreme Court to implement electronic filing (e-filing) pursuant to said Standards and Principles.

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Definitions.

Business Hours.  The Clerk’s Office shall accept electronically filed documents every day at all times.

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4.  Time of Filing, Acceptance by the Clerk’s Office, and Electronic Filing Stamp.

A.  Any document submitted electronically shall be considered filed with the Clerk upon review and acceptance by the Clerk’s Office.  Documents received by the Clerk’s Office before midnight on a day the courthouse is open for court business, unless rejected by the Clerk’s Office, shall be deemed filed that day.  If filed on a day the courthouse is not open for court business, unless rejected by the Clerk’s Office, the document shall be deemed filed on the court’s next business day.  While the case is pending, the clerk shall retain an audit trail of submission, acceptance, and filing of electronic documents by recording the dates and times transmitted, received, and accepted or rejected.  The transmission shall be endorsed with the Clerk's electronic file stamp setting forth the identification of this court, the Clerk, and both the date and time of filing.  This file stamp shall be merged with the electronic document and shall be visible when the document is printed and viewed on-line.  Electronically filed documents so endorsed shall have the same force and effect as documents file stamped in the conventional manner.

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5.  Electronic Service, Proof of Service, Effective Date of Service

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B.  The effective date of electronic service on other parties shall be complete on the first court day following transmission, pursuant to section (f) of Ill. S. Ct. R. 12 (eff. Jan. 1, 2013).

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10.  Privacy.

A.  Pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court's "Electronic Access Policy for Circuit Court Recordsof the Illinois Courts", and Ill. S. Ct. R. 15 (eff. Jan. 1, 2012); R. 138 (eff. July 1, 2013), filers shall exercise caution when electronically filing documents containing personal identity information and shall refrain from including, or may redact where inclusion is necessary, the following personal identifiers, unless otherwise ordered by the court:

i.          Social Security number;

ii.         birth date;

iii.        mother's maiden name;

iv.        drivers license number;

v.         financial account numbers; and

vi.        debit and credit card numbers.

If disclosure of any of an individual’s Social Security number is required for a particular filing, only the last four digits of that number shall be used.

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Dated this 28th day of December, 2012, and effective January 1, 2013.  This order shall be spread upon the records of this Court and published.