Court & Hearings

If the Illinois Court of Appeals rules against you, you can request to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. You do this by filing a Petition for Leave to Appeal (PLA). A PLA asks the IL Supreme Court to review and decide a case that was already decided by the Appellate Court. There is no right to an appeal with the Supreme Court. Very few cases are accepted. 

Note: This article doesn’t apply to appeals dealing with child custody, delinquent minors, or the IL Workers’ Compensation Commission. For these cases, contact the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

Deadlines

A PLA must be filed within 35 days of the Appellate Court deciding your case. You can file a Motion requesting an extension of time. This Motion must be filed within 35 days of the PLA’s original due date.

There is an exception. If a Motion to Publish a Rule 23 Order or Petition for Rehearing is filed, you have within 35 days from the Appellate Court's decision to file a PLA.    

Fees

The person filing the PLA is called the “petitioner.” The person must pay a $50 filing fee. The person answering the PLA is called the “respondent.” If the respondent wants to file an answer to the PLA, they must pay a $30 fee. If you can’t afford the fee, you can request a fee waiver.

Filing

E-filing is required for most civil cases in Illinois. This means that instead of filing paper forms at the courthouse, you can send forms to the court clerk through a computer. Learn how to e-file in Illinois. If you cannot e-file, you may qualify for an exemption.

The PLA can't be more than 20 pages or 6,000 words. The page count doesn’t include the Cover, Certificate of Compliance, Proof of Service, or the Appendix. You must send 13 paper copies of the PLA to the Clerk of the Supreme Court in Springfield within 5 days of the date your PLA was accepted and filed. The copies must be printed on one side and bound on the left side in a way that doesn't block the text. Any other motions must also be filed with the Clerk. They shouldn’t be filed into your existing appellate court case. 

Answering the PLA

An Answer to the PLA isn’t required from the respondent. But, they can file one if they want to tell the Supreme Court why the PLA should be denied. If the respondent wants to file an Answer, it is due 21 days after the due date for the PLA. The answer can't be more than 20 pages or 6,000 words.

Supreme Court order

The Supreme Court will either allow or deny the PLA. If the PLA is allowed, the appeal will move ahead. All future deadlines are based off of the date the Supreme Court allows the PLA. The party that filed the PLA must file a Notice of Election within 14 days after the PLA is allowed. This tells the Supreme Court if the PLA will be used as their brief or if they will file an additional brief. 

If the PLA is denied, the case will not move ahead. A mandate will be issued 35 days after the date the PLA is denied. If you want the Court to reconsider its decision, you must file a Motion for Leave to file a Motion for Reconsideration and a Motion for Reconsideration with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

Briefs

If you choose to file a new brief, it must be filed within 35 days after the PLA is allowed. If the respondent filed an Answer to the PLA, a Notice of Election must be filed within 14 days of the date the Appellant’s Brief is due. This tells the Supreme Court if they choose to file an additional brief or use their Answer to the PLA. If they choose to file a new Appellee's Brief, it must be filed within 35 days from the date the Appellant’s Brief is due.

Supreme Court’s decision 

The Supreme Court will decide whether it will hear the case. There is not a specific time frame for issuing a decision. The Court may enter a decision to affirm, reverse, deny, vacate, or any other order. If you don't agree with the Court's decision, you can file a Petition for Rehearing with the Clerk of the Supreme Court within 21 days after the decision is filed.

Forms and instructions

The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice now offers statewide forms for filing an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. The available forms include:

• Petition for Leave to Appeal
• Answer to Petition for Leave to Appeal
• Notice of Election
• Appellant’s Brief
• Appellee’s Brief
• Appellant’s Reply Brief 

You can also find these forms at ilcourts.info/forms under the “Supreme Court Forms” tab.