Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

I'm evicting a tenant and we are in discovery right now. It's a holdout case, the tenant is on a month to month and I've delivered the notice appropriately. The tenant just started not paying during the case. The tenant's attorney has not responded yet so I don't know what defense they are using but I'm suspecting a habitability defense. I should have striked the motion for a jury trial but learning the hard way right now. I've been told getting a summary judgement is hard at the next status call but what is my option now to get a judgement to move out the tenant? Could I get a partial judgement and get the tenant moved out? I've been doing a lot of research at the county law library. Thanks!


Asked on 6/02/11, 7:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

Why don't you look at the Chicago Residential Landlord & Tenant Ordinance too since you're clearly doing this yourself. If the rental unit is covered by the Ordinance your right to evict and collect full rent may have been compromised by habitability issues. But this is why people hire attorneys; we can't guess what the defense will be either, and until we are informed what it is, it could be anything, but if it was habitability you'd think the tenant would have withheld rent or the allowed portion of it (if the rental unit was covered by the Ordinance) prior to eviction.

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Answered on 6/02/11, 12:32 pm


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