new case management system for civil...

New Case Management

System for Civil Division

Hon. Dorothy Brown

Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

Training Webinar

August 27, 2020

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New Case Management System for Civil DivisionTraining webinar

2I. Purpose – Overview of the Civil Division (4:00 – 4:10 p.m.)

A. Hon. Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County

B. Hon. E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge, First Municipal District, Cook County Circuit Court

C. Renee Banks, Executive Clerk, Court Operations and Administration, Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County

II. Goals & Objectives of the Webinar (4:10 – 4:12 p.m.)

III. Introduction of Panelists (4:12 – 4:15 p.m.)

IV. Panel Discussion (4:15 – 5:15 p.m.)

A. Historical Perspective on Technology in the Clerk’s Office

B. General Overview of the Odyssey Case Management System

C. How to Schedule New Cases and Motions for Civil Division

D. Public Access to Civil Case Type Data

E. New Supreme Court Rules on Electronic Notification of Case Management Notices

V. Q & A (5:15 – 5:25 p.m.)

VI. CLE Information/Wrap-Up (5:25 – 5:30 p.m.)

AGENDA

GOALS & OBJECTIVES OF THE WEBINAR

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• Information and instructions on the following Civil Division upcoming new Case Management System Enhancements:

New Case Scheduling

Motion Scheduling

Public Access to Civil Data: Website

and Digital Access Terminals (DATs)

Electronic Notification


Sam Williams

Associate Clerk, First Municipal/Probate/County Division, Clerk of the Circuit Court

PANEL DISCUSSION

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Moderator: HON. DOROTHY BROWN

CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Panelists:

Anthony McPhearson, Chief Information Officer

Christian Font, Project Manager, Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Janet Hunter, Chief Deputy Clerk, Civil Division

Susan Welfeld, Project Manager, CMS Scheduling

Lisa Dowdell, Chief Deputy Clerk, Web Services

Kelly Smeltzer, General Counsel

Anthony McPhearson, Chief Information Officer, Clerk of the Circuit Court

Strategic Pillar - 21st Century Technology

Technology Initiatives• Technical Infrastructure

• Automating Courts

• Financial Controls, Security, and Integration

• Records Management

• Integrated Criminal Justice Information Systems

• Imaging and Document Management

• Access to Case Information

• Piloting Electronic Filing

• Illinois Supreme Court Mandated Electronic Filing

Civil Case Management System• Legacy Electronic Docketing Systems

• Enterprise-wide Solution

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF

CLERK’S OFFICE TECHNOLOGY5

Christian Font, Project Manager, Tyler Technologies

OVERVIEW OF ODYSSEY

CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 6

What is Odyssey?

Odyssey® is a suite of software products that supports our courts and justice system.

Who will benefit?

• The Clerk’s Office staff in their daily tasks

• Court users in their interactions with the court system

• Citizens of Cook County in access to justice

What is File & Serve?

File & Serve™ – known to many of you as eFileIL™ – is a state-of-the-art platform for

electronic filing.

What are the benefits of Odyssey?

• Increases secure access to justice

• Expedites processing

• Increases data transparency

• Automates processes

• Generates useful reports

• Eliminates paper

• Captures electronic signatures

• Costs less

https://www.tylertech.com/products/odyssey

NEW CASE

SCHEDULING

CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING 7

CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – SELECTING CASE TYPE

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – ENTERING ATTORNEY CODE

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING –

PARTY INFORMATION

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – PARTY INFORMATION

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – FILINGS

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – FILINGS

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING –

FILINGS/OPTIONAL SERVICES & FEES

List of Optional Services and FeesAlias Citation - $6.00 each

Alias Citation (Gov’t) - $5.00 each

Alias Garnishment - $6.00 each

Alias Garnishment (Gov’t) - $5.00 each

Alias Summons - $6.00 each

Alias Summons (Gov’t) - $5.00 each

Alias Wage Deduction - $6.00 each

Alias Wage Deduction (Gov’t) - $5.00 each

Certification Fee - $6.00 each

Certified Copy Fee - $6.00 each

Certified Mail – Business, Return Receipt - $16.80 each

Certified Mail – Individual, Restricted Delivery - $22.10 each

Certified Mail – Individual, Return Receipt - $16.80 each

Certified Mail – Ordinance Violation - $33.60 each

Certified Mail – Parking Violation, Ordinance Violation - $33.60 each

Certified Mail – Postage - $10.50 each

Garnishments, Wage Deductions, Citations– Ad Damnum Does Not

Exceed $1,000 - $35.00

Garnishments, Wage Deductions, Citations– Ad Damnum Exceeds

$1,000 But Less Than $5,000 - $45.00

Garnishments, Wage Deductions, Citations – Ad Damnum Exceeds

$5,000 - $65.00

Mail Fee - $10.50 each

Mail Fee – Registered - $12.20

Posting Notice - $6.00

Small Claims Restricted Delivery - $22.10

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – ADDITIONAL FILINGS

List of Civil Division New Case

Additional Filing Options

Affidavit As To Military Service Filed

Affidavit Filed

Certificate Filed

Certification - Out of County Transfer

Exhibits Filed

Fee Waiver Petition Filed –

Defendant/Respondent

Fee Waiver Petition Filed –

Petitioner/Plaintiff

Motion to Consolidate

Notice of Filing Filed

Proof of Service Filed

Stipulation Filed

Summons - Issued and Returnable

Transfer Order Filed

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – PAYMENT

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – RETURN DATE

Scheduling for Civil Division new

cases (and alias summons) will

function the same as it does today.

You will select return date in the

return date section by clicking on

the calendar, selecting your

requested date, and clicking verify.

If your selected date is not

available the closest available date

will populate, with the message

Return Date Has Changed.

Or you can just click Verify and the

shortest available return date will

populate.

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – SUBMISSION

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING – SUMMARY REVIEW

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE SCHEDULING

In the Request a Hearing Box you will

select Do Not Schedule as you do

now.

If your case is one where the return

date is a court date, or if your case

type gets a system-generated status

date at time of filing, the hearing date

will be printed on the face of the

accepted document.

MOTION

SCHEDULING

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – CASE SEARCH

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – FILE INTO CASE

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – ENTERING ATTORNEY CODE

Please note that

the Motion Types

will no longer be

located in the

Case Cross

Reference section

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – SELECTING FILING CODE

Select a

motion

related

filing code

and the

Motion

Type

dropdown

box will

appear.

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING –

SELECTING MOTION TYPE

Civil District 1 Motion Types

Citation Hearing

City of Chicago Admin Hearing

City of Chicago Return

City of Chicago Set

County of Cook Housing Motion

Garnishment Hearing

Motion Hearing – Type Not Listed

Motion to Consolidate

Routine Motion Hearing – 11th Floor Non-Jury

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – UPLOADING DOCUMENT

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING – PAYMENT

Scroll to the

Filings section,

which is

collapsed. Click

on your Filing

Code (Motion

Filed in this

example) to

expand and

review the motion

type.

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING – SUMMARY REVIEW

In the Summary

screen, click to

expand the filings

section and verify

that the correct

Motion Type still

appears in that

section. If there is

no Motion Type,

or if it is the

wrong Motion

Type, you will not

be able to select a

date for your

hearing.

If you need to add or correct the

motion, type click Back at the

bottom of the screen. If everything

is okay, click Submit.

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING –

SUMMARY VERIFICATION

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – SELECTING A DATE & TIME

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – STAMPED DOCUMENT

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – POST JUDGMENT

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CIVIL DIVISION MOTION SCHEDULING – APPEARANCES

A return date will still be selected at time of filing.

However, pursuant to General Order 2020-16, answers

and appearances shall now be due 30 days after

service of process (excluding evictions).

The filing of an appearance on these cases will no

longer generate a hearing date. A party will have to

file and schedule a motion to schedule a hearing date.

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SUMMARY OF CHANGES


MOTION SCHEDULING

Everyone will have to select a motion type in the Motion Type dropdown

box. However, this dropdown box will no longer be in the Case Cross

Reference Section, it will now be located in the Filings section. Please read

through the entire list of motion types to ensure you are selecting the

correct one.

POST JUDGMENTS

All Civil Post Judgment matters (Citations and Garnishments) will now be

scheduled using the motion functionality.

APPEARANCES

The filing of an appearance will no longer generate a hearing date in District

1. These hearing dates will now be scheduled with the filing of a motion.

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PUBLIC ACCESS TO

CIVIL CASE TYPE DATA

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Public Website Access to Civil Case Type Data

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Public Digital Access Terminals (DATs)

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• Global search

across all divisions

and case types

• Search by record

number (case

number) or name

• Use of wildcard (*)

for name searches

• For Attorneys with

logins for Criminal

Access – Civil

information will be

available through

your authenticated

search

• Maximum of 200

records displayed.

Website and DATs

40Advance Filtering Options

Search a specific division

or

Search by ARDC number (Bar Number),

Attorney name, Business name,

…and more.

Website and DATs

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Website and DATs

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Search Results

Website and DATs

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Detailed Information

Website and DATs

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Detailed Information

Website and DATs

NEW SUPREME COURT

RULES ON ELECTRONIC

NOTIFICATION OF CASE

MANAGEMENT NOTICES

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CIVIL DIVISION NEW CMS SCHEDULING

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NEW SUPREME COURT RULE ON

ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION OF CASE

MANAGEMENT NOTICES

Rule 11(b)

E-mail Address. An attorney must include on the appearance and on all pleadings filed in court

an e-mail address to which documents and notices will be served in conformance with Rule 131(d).

A self-represented litigant who has an e-mail address must also include the e-mail address

on the appearance and on all pleadings filed in court to which documents and notices will be

served in conformance with Rule 131(d).

Amended July 15, 2020, eff. immediately.

Committee Comment

(July 15, 2020)

When a self-represented litigant has provided an e-mail address to the court pursuant to

subparagraph (b), courts retain discretion to determine if an alternative method of service of

documents or notices, either in addition to or instead of e-mail, is needed.

Committee Comment

(December 21, 2012)

New subparagraphs (b)(6) and (7) were created to allow for service of documents electronically.

The amendments facilitate electronic communications among the court, parties, and counsel and

complement the expansion of e-filing in the trial courts. However, electronic service may not be

appropriate in all instances. For example, absent a secure method for electronic service of

documents, other service options should be used for cases or documents filed confidentially.

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Rule 131 (d)

(d) Name, Address, Telephone Number, and E-mail Address.

(1) Attorneys. All documents filed or served in any cause by an attorney upon

another party shall bear the attorney’s name, business address, e-mail address, and

telephone number. The attorney must designate a primary e-mail address and may

designate no more than two secondary e-mail addresses.

(2) Self-Represented Litigants. All documents filed or served in any cause by a self-

represented litigant upon another party shall bear the self-represented litigant’s mailing

address and telephone number. Additionally, a self-represented litigant who has an e-

mail address must designate a single e-mail address to which service may be directed

under Rule 11. If a self-represented litigant does not designate an e-mail address, then

service upon and by that party must be made by a method specified in Rule 11 other than

e-mail transmission.

Amended July 15, 2020, eff. immediately.

NEW SUPREME COURT RULE ON

ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION OF CASE

MANAGEMENT NOTICES

Q & A

48

CIVIL DIVISION NEW CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

49CLE INFORMATION

Attorneys that attended this training webinar for the

entire hour are eligible for one-hour CLE credits.

When you registered with your name and email address,

your ARDC number should have been included. We will

verify the time length of your attendance in the webinar

through the Zoom webinar report.

Your CLE credit certificate will be emailed to the email

address associated with your registration.

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UPCOMING WEBINAR SERIES

New Case Management System

in the Civil Areas of Law

FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.COOKCOUNTYCLERKOFCOURT.ORG

LAW DIVISION MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2020

4:00 - 5:30 p.m. [Sign-on starts at 3:30 p.m.]

Attendees Must Register for the Webinar.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/y5d94nga

SUBURBAN DISTRICTS 2 - 6 THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, 2020

4:00 - 5:30 p.m. [Sign-on starts at 3:30 p.m.

Attendees Must Register for the Webinar.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/y4bgbq93

CLE CREDIT FOR ATTORNEYS Information and instructions on the Odyssey Case Management System in the following Civil Areas of

Law (separate registration required for each divisional webinar chosen):

https://tinyurl.com/y5d94nga

https://tinyurl.com/y4bgbq93

Office of the Clerk of the

Circuit Court of Cook County

Hon. Dorothy Brown

Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

Contact Information:

General Information: Call (312) 603-5030

Website:

www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

51

Panelists Bios 52

Hon. Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of

Cook County, Illinois

Clerk Brown is now serving her fifth term in office. She is the

official keeper of records for all judicial matters brought into one of

the largest unified court systems in the world, and is responsible

for managing an annual operating budget of more than $100

million and has a workforce of 1,322 employees.

Clerk Brown manages the operations of the Circuit Court Clerk’s

Office through her focus on technology, customer service, and

community outreach. She is committed to increasing the public’s

access to justice. Clerk Brown created a Clerk’s Office mobile app,

developed several online court-related services, initiated the

scanning and digital storage of millions of court documents,

successfully transitioned her office to a statewide, mandated

eFiling system, and is implementing a $36 million new case

management system throughout the Clerk’s Office.

Clerk Brown brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her

post, which has enabled her to shape the Clerk’s Office into a

model of governmental efficiency.

Clerk Brown graduated with honors from Southern University in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has also earned an MBA with honors

from DePaul University; a law degree with honors from Chicago-

Kent School of Law; and she is a Certified Public Accountant.

Hon. E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge,

First Municipal District, Cook County Circuit

Court

Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. was appointed to the bench

and later elected in 1994, and has served in many of the

sections of the First Municipal District, including the civil

section, the felony preliminary hearings section, and the

traffic section.

Judge Wright was first appointed presiding judge of the

First Municipal District, the largest of the court’s districts,

in 2003. Prior to becoming a judge, he was a solo

practitioner in the private sector, specializing in criminal,

divorce, and probate real estate matters. Wright holds

both a law degree and a PhD in education.

As presiding judge of the county’s largest district, Wright

is credited with various efforts to make the courts

accessible to unrepresented residents, including

increasing a pool of pro bono attorneys and providing

court sessions before and after normal work hours.

Panelists Bios 53

Renee Banks, Executive Clerk of Court

Operations and Administration, Clerk of the


Renee Banks has over 35 years of experience in

various positions in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit

Court of Cook County. She holds a Bachelor of

Science Degree in Education from Eastern Illinois

University and has worked on various levels of

leadership in Clerk’s Office. She currently serves as

Executive Clerk for Court Operations, where she

oversees the operations of the entire Court Operational

areas in the Clerk’s Office.

Renee has served as Subject Matter Expert on

Criminal Matters for technology and community

projects within the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit

Court. She has worked tirelessly on the implementation

of the Odyssey Case Management System and has

served as a valuable lead and subject matter expert on

technology and innovation projects within the Clerk’s

Office.

Anthony McPhearson, Chief Information Officer,

Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County

As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Clerk of the Circuit

Court of Cook County, Anthony provides vision, leadership and

conscious management to a team of technology experts and

business analysts. Prior to working in the Clerk’s Office,

Anthony was the Managing Partner of an IT consulting and

staffing organization, TG Technology Talent Acquisitions (TTA),

a nationwide firm based in Chicago. Anthony is a technology,

operational strategy and leadership expert with more than 25

years of enterprise level experience.

Anthony served as the Chief Information Officer, Deputy Chief

Information Officer, and Chief of Staff for the Chicago Public

Schools’ Information and Technology Services department. He

also served in several other leadership roles over his 25-year

career.

Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in

Chicago, as well as several leadership and strategy certificates,

including one from Northwestern University and another from

the University of Chicago. He prides himself on his customer

focused approach to business, and champions productivity by

directing teams to streamline tangible results.

Panelists Bios 54

Kelly Smeltzer, General Counsel, Clerk of the


Kelly Smeltzer is a licensed attorney with 28 years of

compliance, human resources community engagement,

government and management experience in the Office of

the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

She currently serves as the General Counsel in the Office

of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Her principal responsibilities include advising the Clerk of

the Circuit Court and her Executive Staff on legal matters

critical to the Office’s mission: ensuring compliance with

applicable State, Federal, and local laws, rules and

policies; providing legal advice and leadership on

technology and operational project teams; and advising

senior management on legal matters related to project

implementation in the Office.

Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of

Southern California and a Juris Doctor from the University

of Cincinnati College of Law.

Samuel Williams, Associate Clerk, First

Municipal/Probate/County Bureau, Clerk of the


With over 30 years of Management and Leadership

experience. Employed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court

for over 26 years. Has had over 23 years of manager

experience for the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook

County and more than five years of management

experience outside of the Circuit Court.

He possesses strong knowledge of the court system,

procedures, and governing statues.

He currently serves as the Associate Clerk of the First

Municipal Bureau, where he manages the operations of

the Civil, Traffic, Probate and County Divisions of the

Clerk’s Office. He has served as lead and subject matter

expert on technology and innovation and court operations

projects throughout the Clerk’s Office.

Panelists Bios 55

Christian Font, MBA, Project Manager, Tyler

Technologies

Skilled in Consulting, Software Implementation, Project

Management, Business Process Documentation and

Re-engineering, Change Management, Government,

Strategic Planning, Public Speaking, and Local

Government, Christian Font is a strong information

technology professional with a Master of Business

Administration (MBA) focused in Management from

Nova Southeastern University.

He currently serves as Project Manager for Tyler

Technologies, where he led the implementation of the

Odyssey for Cook County Illinois’ Pilot Court for the

County Division.

Simultaneous to implementing the County Division,

Christian Font provided architect guidance on the

implementation of the Criminal Division, Juvenile

Division, the Civil, Law, Chancery, Probate and

Domestic Relations Divisions.

Lisa Dowdell, Chief Deputy Clerk, Web Services,


Lisa Dowdell has over 30 years of experience working in

Information Technology in Cook County and has held several

positions, from application developer to IT leadership roles, for

both the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the Clerk of the

Circuit Court.

She holds a Master of Science in Information Systems and

Technology Management and is currently pursuing her

doctorate in Information Technology.

Presently, Lisa serves as Chief Deputy Clerk of Web Services,

where she oversees the development and implementation of

web and server-based applications to support the operations

of the Clerk's Office and access to court case data for the

public and justice partners.

Lisa's role in the implementation of the Case Management

System is to ensure that court partners and the public have

real-time web access to essential case, calendar, and party

information through the web and digital access terminals.

Panelists Bios 56

Susan “Sue” Welfeld, Chief Deputy Clerk, Civil

Appeals Department and E-Initiatives Manager,


Sue has 31 years of progressive management experience in

the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her

current role as Chief Deputy Clerk of the Civil Appeals

Department and works tirelessly on teams to implement

innovation and technology into the Office of the Clerk of the

Circuit Court of Cook County.

Sue holds a bachelor’s degree from Robert Morris

University.

Janet Hunter, Chief Deputy Clerk, Civil Division,


Janet has been employed with the Office of the Clerk of the

Circuit Court of Cook County for 17 years.

For three years she served as a manager in the Motions,

1401 Post Judgement, and Return Date departments of the

Civil Division. She was promoted to Assistant Chief Deputy

Clerk of the First Municipal Civil Division and served in that

role for seven years, before advancing to her current

position of Chief Deputy Clerk.

Janet holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola

University of Chicago and Master of Business

Administration (MBA) degree from Lake Forest Graduate

School of Management.

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