Many Illinois courts (including Cook Count, DuPage County, Will County and others) have shut down services and re-scheduled court dates months down the road for most cases due to the Covid-19 outbreak. There are exceptions to the shut down, and one such exception is Orders of Protection.
If you have been served with an Emergency Order of Protection, it is imperative that you speak with an attorney about your rights and the immediate next steps you need to take. Although the coronavirus pandemic has led to many court closures, virtually all of them are still open for business to handle emergency matters, including orders of protection. They are making sure they have judges on hand to hear petitions for orders of protection, despite the general closure orders.
There are serious ramifications to having an order of protection against you. Your information (and the fact that there is an order of protection against you) will be placed in the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (L.E.A.D.S.), which is searchable by law enforcement agencies throughout the State of Illinois. Orders of protection are filed with the court and are generally matters of public record. As such, having an order of protection against you may impact your employment or preclude you from certain future employment.
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