Court & Hearings

If you disagree with an order of the court, you may be able to file a motion to reconsider.

You may file a motion to reconsider within thirty days after the court enters an order. You cannot file a motion to reconsider simply because you do not like the outcome. It is not enough that you want the court to change its opinion. Rather, Illinois law limits motions to reconsider to a few distinct situations.

Newly discovered evidence

You may file a motion to reconsider within thirty days if you discover new evidence Anything used to show that something is true . You must  not have known that it existed at the time of your earlier hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer . You will have to explain why you did not know about the evidence at the time. If you could have discovered this evidence before the hearing and simply failed to do so, the court can deny To refuse or say no the motion to reconsider and let the ruling stand.

Change in the law

You may file a motion to reconsider within thirty days if there has been a recent change in the law. For example, if the Supreme Court or Illinois Appellate Court ruled on an issue that affects your case.

Court made a mistake in the law

You may bring a motion to reconsider within thirty days if the court has made an error in applying the law.

Therefore, a motion to reconsider is not a weapon to be used to change the court's mind. It is a tool for the rare instances where new evidence comes to light, the law changes, or the court has made a mistake.