In September, the Illinois Supreme Court announced amendments to Supreme Court Rules 281, 552, and 589 and the adoption of new Rule 8. Rule 8 defines case and document confidentiality and is intended to ensure that access to secured information in the court file are the same at all levels of courts. The updates to Rules 281, 552 and 589 are in conjunction with new recordkeeping requirements in the circuit courts pursuant to the Manual on Recordkeeping, effective January 1, 2022. The new Manual on Recordkeeping for Cook County and the new Manual on Recordkeeping for Downstate Counties are available here.

The recordkeeping manual updates include several new and revised case category designations that will facilitate improved case organization, processing, and statistical collection. The new manual also more clearly defines how a civil case remains open and when it is considered closed.