Use the Evict a tenant Easy Form to make the forms you need.

Fill out and sign the forms listed below. Make 4 copies of each form.

• [no-lexicon]Eviction Complaint[/no-lexicon]: This form starts your eviction case and tells the court why you are filing the case and what you are asking for.
• [no-lexicon]Eviction Summons[/no-lexicon]: This form tells the tenant about the eviction case.

The Complaint must include: the notice, affidavits of service, and relevant lease provisions. A lease provision is relevant if a breach of that provision prompted eviction. If you do not attach all the required documents, you must fill out the Affidavit-Supporting Documents Not Attached to Eviction Complaint form. This applies if you lost the document, the document does not apply in your case, or you did not have a written lease agreement.

When filling out the Summons form, you can add the phrase “Unknown Occupants” as a defendant if you believe there are tenants in the unit whose names you don't know. Then, when the sheriff evicts the tenants, they will evict all of the people in the unit, even if they aren't named in the order.

Now that you have filled out your forms, you need to file them with the appropriate circuit clerk. You will need to electronically file ("e-file") them unless you have an exemption. 

Do this at the courthouse in the county where you live to start your court case.

In Cook County, file in the municipal district where the property is located. If you cannot afford the costs to file an eviction case, you can file a fee waiver. A fee waiver asks the court to waive some or all of the costs associated with the case.

After the forms are filed, take a copy of the Eviction Complaint and Summons to the sheriff's office or file the documents online with the sheriff's office. The sheriff will then try to serve a copy of the Eviction Complaint and Summons on the tenant. There will be a fee for this service.

Call the sheriff's office a few days before your court date to make sure the tenant was served. You may also be able to check the status of service on the sheriff's website. If the sheriff was not able to serve the tenant, you will need to try again. The case cannot go forward until the tenant is served. You can try sheriff service again or use a special process server.

If the tenant has been served with the Eviction Complaint and Summons, go to court on the return date listed on the Summons. Even if the tenant has not been served, go to the next court date or your case could be dismissed. Take the following to court with you:

• A copy of the eviction notice and Proof of Service signed by the notary public;
• A copy of your Eviction Complaint and Summons along with the attached notice, affidavits of service, and relevant lease provisions;
• A copy of the lease;
• Any witnesses to support your case; and
• Any objects, photographs, or other evidence that you want the judge to consider.

Court dates and even a trial date may occur online by video conference, such as on Zoom. If that is the case, you should file any documents that you want the judge to consider ahead of time. 

If court is happening in person, arrive about 15 minutes early. This will give you time to find your courtroom and sign in. Tell the clerk, who sits to the right of the judge, the name of your case. Then sit in the courtroom and wait for your case to be called.

When your case is called, approach the bench and tell the judge your name and that you are the plaintiff. If the tenant does not show up in court after they were served, the tenant will most likely be held in default. This means that you will win the case. The judge may give the tenant one more than one opportunity to show up to court before holding them in default.

In some counties, the trial will be held on the first court date. In other counties, the trial will be held on another day. Ask the court clerk how your county does it.

At the trial, you will first present your case for why the tenant should be evicted. Then, the judge will ask the tenant some questions.

If the judge rules for you, the court will grant an Eviction Order and may order the tenant to pay you the money that you asked for in the Eviction Complaint. Usually, the judge will give the tenant around 14 days to move, but it could be more or less.

If the tenant wins, your Eviction Complaint will be dismissed, and you will not get any amount of damages. The judge might also ask you to pay the costs and attorney's fees of the tenant.

If you win an eviction case against your tenant, the judge will sign an Eviction Order. This order will have the date the tenant has to move out by. The judge will probably give the tenant around 14 days to move out. You cannot do anything during this time.

If the tenant does not leave by the date stated in the Eviction Order, you can go to the sheriff's department with the Eviction Order and ask to have your tenant evicted. You may also be able to file the order with the sheriff's office online. You must do this within 120 days of the day the Eviction Order was entered. After that time, you must get a new Eviction Order.

Removing the tenant's property

Depending on the county where the property is located, the sheriff may or may not take the tenant's things out of the apartment. If they do not take the tenant's things, it will be your job to do so. Either way, you cannot just throw the tenant's items away. In some cases, you have to tell the tenant to take their belongings with them or put them in storage. In some other cases, you can put their belongings by the curb or an area designated by the sheriff.

Remember, only the sheriff is allowed to physically remove your tenant from the unit. You, as the landlord, cannot do it on your own. Doing so may be considered a "lockout," and lockouts are illegal and dangerous.