Law Clerk to Hon. Susan F. Hutchinson, Illinois Appellate Court, Second District

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 138 governs personal identity information. On December 24, 2013, the state's high court amended the rule in various respects.

The amendment removed language from subsection (a)(2), which had provided that the rule would not apply to petitions filed pursuant to section 11a-8 of the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/11a-8 (West 2012)). The amendment added language to subsection (d). That subsection now provides that personal identity information properly filed under subsection (c) shall be available to government agencies, legal aid agencies, bar associations, and pro bono groups; and litigants may prepare documentation to financial institutions "and other entities or persons which require such documents." The amendment further added language to subsection (e) providing that, if a clerk becomes aware of noncompliance with the rule, he or she may bring it to the court's attention. However, a court shall not order a clerk to review documents or exhibits for compliance with the rule.

The bulk of the amendment affects subsection (c), which specifies what information can be included in a redacted filing. Effective January 1, 2014, such redacted information may include the year of an individual's birth date and a minor's initials.

Importantly, the procedure for filing redacted personal identity information, as originally provided in subsection (c), has been expanded. Where personal identity information is required, a litigant shall file the document in redacted form and separately file the personal identity information in a protected form. The committee comment for subsection (c) provides an appended form titled "Notice of Personal Indentity Information Within Court Filing." The committee comment clarifies that "[T]he filing of a separate document without redaction is not necessary or required because the personal identity information will be available to authorized persons by referring to the 'Notice of Personal Identity Information Within Court Filing' form."

Recommended Citation: Charlie Ingrassia, Supreme Court Amends Rule 138, The Brief, (January 10, 2014), http://applawyers-thebrief.blogspot.com/2014/01/supreme-court-amends-rule-138.html.