AS SCOTUS STRIKES DOWN EVICTION BAN, ILLINOIS GOV. EXTENDS
Late on August 26, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Center for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium, which was to last until October 2021, finding that it lacked legal authority, essentially challenging Congress to pass its own version. The CDC’s first order was struck down by appellate courts in Texas and Alabama, but SCOTUS stayed enforcement pending appeal, in part because it was set to expire on July 31, 2021. The new opinion from the Supreme Court ends the federal moratorium, opening courts across the country to new eviction cases.
However, Illinois is not there yet. On August 20, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker extended the COVID-19 Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation, which stretches the state’s eviction moratorium for covered persons through September 18, 2021. A tenant is a covered persons if he or she falls into any of the four categories: (1) earns less than $99,000/yr; (2) is unable to make rent payments from COVID-19 related hardship; (3) is making best efforts to make partial payments; (4) eviction would render the individual homeless or force him into close quarters in a shared setting. In practical terms, most tenants are covered persons. However, a tenant is not a covered person if they fail to return the declaration. If a tenant is an immediate threat to the health and safety to the property, then they fall within the exceptions to the moratorium, and are beyond the scope of the order.
Previously, as the Governor’s eviction moratorium was set to expire, the Supreme Court of Illinois issued an order creating new rules for the administration of evictions for August, which stays trials and rulings on dispositive motions. With the extension of the Governor’s eviction moratorium, it is possible the Court may also extend its order.
We will continue to monitor all of these developments and bring you the most up to date information regarding this constantly changing legal landscape to assist you in ensuring your compliance with all applicable guidelines.
Thank you for your time in reviewing this. If you have any further questions regarding information contained in this alert or any other matter, please contact Mike Varak at michaelvarak@hsbattys.com, Julie Beyers at juliebeyers@hsbattys.com or Faiq Mihlar at FaiqMihlar@hsbattys.com to discuss in greater detail.