Court News and Announcements

CM/ECF Training for Attorneys and Law Office Staffs Now Available Online (no charge)

Click here for details.

Revised Standing Order Regarding Attorney Fees
For Debtor's Counsel in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Cases for the Springfield Division

A revised Standing Order regarding attorney fees for debtor's counsel in Chapter 7 and 13 cases is effective January 1, 2012 for the Springfield Division.  This Order is posted on the court's internet site under Standing Orders. 
Click here to view

Elimination of BNC Notice of Meetings of Creditors to Debtors’ Attorneys

On November 5, 2011, the court began operations under Bankruptcy CM/ECF Release 4.2. Release 4.2 supports an additional noticing-related improvement provided by the court’s Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) contractor.

Prior to this release, you received the 341 notice by notice of electronic filing (NEF) with the debtor’s redacted Social Security number (SSN) and by U.S. Mail through the BNC with the debtor’s full SSN. The improvement provided with CM/ECF Release 4.2 allows the BNC to send you an email containing a secure hyperlink to the unredacted 341 notice in place of a paper notice. The BNC will send one summary email per day containing hyperlinks to one or more notices. Each hyperlink provides one free look to the full notice. You will no longer receive the paper 341 notice from the BNC.

A sample BNC email notification is provided at the following web page: http://ebn.uscourts.gov/documents/Attorney341Email.pdf

CM/ECF Version 4.2 Conversion Issues

There are some software conversion issues of which the Court is aware and the Court's IT Staff are working on a resolution.  These issues include:

NEF's (Notice of Electronic Filing) were not emailed for a short time period while corrections were being made to the NEF subject line.  The time period for which NEF's were not generated was from Tuesday, November 8 at approximately 2:15 pm to Wednesday, November 9 at approximately 9:30 a.m.   Please access PACER to view any court filings for that time period.  The Court is working to implement a CM/ECF Version 4.2 NEF Summary Report which will allow users to regenerate a NEF Summary for any specific date and time.  This will be on the CM/ECF Utilities Menu.  Work to enable this report should be completed early next week.

CM/ECF Version 4.1 updates for Attorneys and Staff offered on-line

CM/ECF Version 4.1 is coming!  The Central Illinois Bankruptcy Court will upgrade to a new version of CM/ECF soon (late summer/early fall). This new release will include several modifications.  E-filers are encouraged to take part in the Court's on-line WebEx presentations. These presentations are designed to outline the major changes you will find in CM/ECF version 4.1. These online sessions will be repeated several times over the next couple months in an effort to accommodate all E-filers.

Click below for more information and to register for a session:
http://www.ilcb.uscourts.gov/cmecf/WebEx/expert_filer.aspx

June Experienced E‐filers Seminar - Registration Open! (Posted 5/11/11)

Don't miss the opportunity to attend the Experienced E‐filers Seminar scheduled June 28, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Springfield, IL. This FREE seminar is hosted by the Court's staff and will provide participants with operational and procedural guidance for utilizing the Court's ECF filing system. Attorneys and their staff are invited to attend. Please refer to this brochure for registration requirements. An email blast will also be sent to all ECF registered attorneys on May 12, 2011. Space is limited so register early!

Attention Debtors : Making Home Affordable Program (Posted 11/30/10)

The Making Home Affordable Program is a critical part of the government's effort to stabilize the housing market and help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The Making Home Affordable Program provides an opportunity for eligible homeowners in bankruptcy to modify their mortgage to make their payments more affordable through the Home Affordable Modification Program ("HAMP").

Click here for the HAMP Fact Sheet and HAMP FAQs.

Technical Change That Could Affect NEFs (Posted 11/29/10)

The federal courts are switching our data centers from Sprint to AT&T.  This means your Notice of Electronic Filing (NEFs) will be coming to you from a different computer (IP address).  If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) 'blacklists' senders via IP address, you will need to notify them to 'whitelist' these new IP addresses in order to continue receiving NEFs.  The larger ISPs, such as Hotmail and Yahoo, have already been notified.  To 'Blacklist' means to permanently block all emails (NEFs) from the court.  To 'Whitelist' means to permanently allow all emails (NEFs) from the court.

In light of the fact that most paper notices have been eliminated and notice will only be provided through NEF, it is important to emphasize that it is the attorney's responsibility to carefully manage their CM/ECF User Accounts and e-mail accounts as well as to monitor case activity to ensure they are receiving NEFs.

Please click here to see the PDF file which lists the new addresses.  You may send this along to your ISP.

If you have any questions, please call the Illinois Central Bankruptcy Court's CM/ECF Help Desk at 217-492-4114 or Toll Free at 877-678-1714.

Change in Procedure Regarding Deficiencies in New Cases filed in the Peoria Division (10/1/2010)

7 Day Notice Orders - The practice in the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois, Peoria Division, has been that when attorneys or parties failed to file deficient documents for new case filings within the time frames set by the Bankruptcy Code and Rules or by the Court, the Court routinely issued form orders granting an additional 7 days for compliance.  The practice of the Court routinely issuing such 7 day extensions for new case filing deficiencies is discontinued effective immediately.  Parties and their attorneys should comply with all statutory or court-ordered deadlines or affirmatively seek extensions of time to do so.  Motions must outline specific reasons with a reasonable extension time requested.  Failure to comply with new case deficiency deadlines will result in immediate dismissal with no further notice.

SUMMONS IN AN ADVERSARY CASE (posted 9/29/10)

Effective 10/01/2010, a summons in an adversary case will not be generated at case opening.  After review by the Clerk's Office, a summons will be docketed.  Attorneys will receive the NEF (Notice of Electronic Filing) of the summons and should print the summons for service from this notification.  If you do not print from the NEF, you will need to log into PACER to obtain a copy of the summons.

ATTENTION:  NEW AND AMENDED BANKRUPTCY RULES AND AMENDED BANKRUPTCY OFFICIAL FORMS EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2010 (posted 9/24/10) 

The Supreme Court of the United States has approved the following proposed rules amendments and new rule: Bankruptcy Rules 1007, 1014, 1015, 1018, 1019, 4001, 4004, 5009, 7001, 9001, and new Rule 5012.  These rules will take effect on December 1, 2010, unless Congress enacts legislation to the contrary.  The amendments may be accessed at http://www.uscourts.gov/RulesAndPolicies/FederalRulemaking/PendingRules.aspx

On September 14, 2010, the Judicial Conference of the United States approved amendments to eight official forms, which are B9A, B9C, B9I, B20A, B20B, B22A, B22B, and B22C.  Additionally, one amended official form, B23, was approved by the Judicial Conference in September 2009.  Copies of the amended forms and Committee Notes can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees/Forms/BankruptcyForms/BankruptcyFormsPendingChanges.aspx
The amended forms become effective December 1, 2010.

OCTOBER EXPERIENCED E-FILERS SEMINAR - REGISTRATION OPEN! (Posted 9/9/10)

Don't miss the opportunity to attend the experienced e-filers seminars scheduled in October at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This is a FREE seminar hosted by the Court's staff that will provide participants with operational and procedural guidance for utilizing the Court's ECF filing system.  Attorneys and their staff are invited to attend.  Please refer to the brochure located here for registration requirements and seminar dates.  The seminars will be held throughout the district in Springfield, Peoria and Danville.

Space is limited so register early! 

Click to register!

EFFECTIVE JULY 12, 2010, THE BANKRUPTCY NOTICING CENTER WILL NOT MAIL NOTICES TO A CREDITOR IF ADDRESS IS INVALID (Posted 7/8/10)

When a bankruptcy court mails notices to a creditor, the court is required to use the address a debtor provides on its creditor mailing list unless a creditor has provided the court with a different address.  The court uses the Bankruptcy Noticing Center ("BNC") to mail notices, but the BNC can only do so if an address is valid.  If an address is not valid, the United States Postal Service ("USPS") treats this as sending mail to an "undeliverable address."   Reasons for undeliverable mail may include: incomplete address; moved to a foreign address; moved and left no forwarding address; post office box closed; and forwarding order expired.  In some instances the USPS will forward mail when a creditor has given the USPS a forwarding address, but only for a limited time.  It is up to the debtor or creditor to file a change of address with the court.

Since the start of the BNC program, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has authorized the BNC to bypass notices with incomplete addresses.  Now, the BNC will no longer print and mail notices to undeliverable addresses for the additional reasons stated above.  Instead, the BNC will mail a notification to the debtor or debtor's attorney stating that the notice was bypassed.  The bypass notification will: (1) include a copy of the notice that the BNC did not mail to the undeliverable address; (2) identify the creditor and the undeliverable address; (3) instruct the debtor to immediately mail the undelivered notice to the creditor; and (4) inform the debtor that the BNC will not mail future notices to the undeliverable address.

A single corrected address should be electronically filed with the court using the text-only event Bankruptcy>Miscellaneous Events>Address Change (Text Only Event).  Multiple corrected address changes should be filed using the event Bankruptcy>Miscellaneous Events>Address Change - Multiple Addresses (PDF Required).

The BNC will continue to identify undeliverable addresses for creditors on each BNC Certificate of Notice under the category "Bypassed."  The BNC will also include the reason why a creditor's address was bypassed and state that the debtor or debtor's attorney was notified that the address was undeliverable.

Please note that the BNC will continue to mail notices to undeliverable addresses under the following conditions: (1) the address is for a debtor; or (2) the address is for a creditor who, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(f), has filed a preferred address with the BNC for all cases or who, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 342(e), has filed a preferred address with the court for a particular case.  The BNC will attempt to contact the preferred address recipient regarding the need for address correction.

Providing valid addresses will reduce the volume of returned mail that the debtor, debtor's attorney and the courts receive, and it will avoid unnecessary postage costs.

Toll free number for CM/ECF Help Desk (Posted 6/17/10)

Today, we announce a new toll free number to reach our CM/ECF Help Desk.  It is 877-678-1714.  The local Springfield number, 217-492-4114, will not be changing and will continue to connect callers to the CM/ECF Help Desk.

New! On-line ECF Training for Limited Filers (Creditor-Claimants) (Posted 5/7/10)

On May 7, 2010, we will begin offering an on-line ECF training class for Limited Filers (Creditor-Claimants).  The successful completion of a skills test performed in our CM/ECF Training system will still be required in order to obtain an ECF login.

While this new on‐line ECF Training will be our preferred method of providing training, one hour, over‐the‐phone training with a court trainer is available for anyone having difficulty understanding the on-line demonstration.

Details on this new on-line alternative training are available on the Training section of our CM/ECF Electronic Case Filing page.   Follow this link.

New Bankruptcy Forms Effective April 1, 2010 (Posted 3/29/10)

Automatic adjustments will be made effective April 1, 2010 to dollar amounts stated in various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and in (7) Official Bankruptcy Forms. The adjustments apply to cases filed on or after April 1, 2010.

The dollar adjustments reflect calculations made at 3 year intervals based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.

The dollar amount changes affect the following Official Forms:

B1 Voluntary Petition

B6C Schedule C- Property Claimed as Exempt

B6E Schedule E- Creditors Holding Unsecured and Priority Claims

B7 Statement of Financial Affairs

B10 Proof of Claim

B22A Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation (Chapter 7)

B22C Statement of Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period and Disposable Income (Chapter 13)

B200 Required Lists, Schedules, Statements and Fees

B283 Chapter 13 Debtor's Certifications Regarding Domestic Support Obligations and Section 522 (q)

In addition, there is a new Director's Form B240A (Reaffirmation Documents) which integrates the Reaffirmation Agreement disclosures and other documents necessary for a debtor to reaffirm a debt.

You may view the Forms by clicking on this link:

http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees/Forms/BankruptcyForms.aspx

Revised Standing Orders Regarding Attorney Fees
For Debtor's Counsel in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Cases (Posted 12/15/09)

Revised standing orders regarding attorney fees for debtor's counsel in Chapter 7 and 13 Cases go into effect January 1, 2010.
Click here to view

Orders on Trustees' Objections To Claims (Posted 11/4/09) 

Effective November 4, 2009, most orders on trustees' objections to claims in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases will be text-only.  This means that the text of the docket entry will serve as the order.  There will not be a  pdf order attached to the docket entry.  Interested parties who are not registered ECF users will receive a copy of the docket entry by mail through the BNC (Bankruptcy Noticing Center).

Notice to Bar Re: Amendments to Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Effective 12/1/2009 (Posted 10/8/09)

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, as well as similar changes to the appellate, civil, and criminal rules, become effective 12/1/09.  These Amendments address the method in which time is calculated in the federal courts, making it simpler and more consistent.  A total of ninety-one bankruptcy rules were changed as well as nine sections of the Bankruptcy Code.

Effective December 1, 2009

New Official Forms   (Posted 10/8/09)

Official Form B27- Reaffirmation Agreement Cover Sheet

This new required form gathers certain financial information, including information necessary for the court to determine whether reaffirmation agreement creates a presumption of undue hardship under '524(m) of the Code, and  it allows the debtor to provide additional information that may rebut such a presumption. To implement the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 4008(b), the form also provides for a disclosure of any differences between the income and expenses reported on schedules I and J and the income and expenses reported in the debtor=s statement in support of the reaffirmation agreement, together with an explanation of any such differences. Finally, the form requires a certification that the information supplied is true and correct. This form can be found at  http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.

Official Form 1, Exhibit D

Statement 3 at the top of page 2 is modified to conform to the new seven day deadline. This form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.

Official Form B 23 Debtor=s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Financial Management

Modified to conform to a pending amendment of B.R. 1007 that extends the deadline for filing the form in a Chapter 7 case.   This form can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bankform/index.html.

Scanned Documents at 300 Pixels Per Inch (Posted 9/03/09)

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts works with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regarding archival preservation of documents filed in the Judiciary's CM/ECF systems. NARA has updated their standards recently. Therefore, effective immediately, we are requiring that scanned images filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois be produced on scanners that are set at 300 pixels per inch (ppi) or higher. This is the new NARA standard.

Questions related to this new standard should be directed to our Help Desk, 217-492-4114.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois would like to make CM/ECF filers aware of certain security concerns relating to a software application or "plug-in" called RECAP, which was designed by a group from Princeton University to enable the sharing of court documents on the Internet.

Once a user loads RECAP, documents that he or she subsequently accesses via PACER are automatically sent to a public Internet repository. Other RECAP/PACER users are then able to see whether documents are available from the Internet repository. RECAP captures District and Bankruptcy Court documents, but has not yet incorporated Appellate Court functionality. At this time, RECAP does not appear to provide users with access to restricted or sealed documents. Please be aware that RECAP is "open-source" software, which can be freely obtained by anyone with Internet access and modified for benign or malicious purposes, such as facilitating unauthorized access to restricted or sealed documents. Accordingly, CM/ECF filers are reminded to be diligent about their computer security practices to ensure that documents are not inadvertently shared or compromised. The full implications of using RECAP or related-software are as yet unknown.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will continue to analyze the implications of RECAP or related-software and advise you of any ongoing or further concerns. If you have questions, you can call our Help Desk at 217-492-4114.

Federal Records Center (FRC) Case Information Search (Posted 8/19/2009)

Cases closed prior to April 4, 2004 are stored at the Federal Records Center (FRC) in Chicago. Form NAFT 90 is used to request copies of documents from these older cases If you are interested in retrieving a bankruptcy case or a bankruptcy document that has been archived to the FRC, there is a now a new search tool available on our webpage that can be used to look up the location number of the bankruptcy case you are interested in. The location number must be included on the Federal Records Center's Form NAFT 90.

To access this new search tool, select Case Info and Copy Requests from our main web page and then go to Federal Records Center Case Information Search . Search tool instructions are located on the main search page.

If you have any problems finding a case using the new tool, you can always call the Clerk's Office in Springfield (217-492-4551), Peoria (309-671-7035) or Danville (217-431-4820). We will be happy to find the locations numbers for you.

1. Effective immediately, the Judges in this District will enter an Order Striking an Incorrect or Incomplete Document when a pleading is so deficient that it cannot be acted upon. Examples include: 1) document filed in the wrong case, 2) pdf is unreadable, incomplete, or missing 3) pdf does not match the docket entry or the case.  If the stricken pleading was filed pursuant to a statutorily set or court ordered deadline, that deadline is not extended by the entry of the order striking. The striking of pleading is generally without prejudice. Stricken pleadings may not be amended but may be refiled. If a filing fee was required for the stricken pleading, it will not be refunded and a new filing fee may be required if a corrected pleading is filed.

2. Motions for Refund of Filing Fee- The Judicial Conference of the United States generally prohibits the refund of filing fees. However, fees may refunded when no fee was due for the relief requested; i.e the filer incorrectly selects a (fee) event in ECF to file a pleading that does not require a filing fee. Effective immediately, the court will enter a sua sponte order refunding a filing fee when no fee was due for the relief requested. A Motion for Refund of Filing Fee may be filed for any reason. The Judges will review such Motions and take whatever action on them they deem appropriate.

3. Practitioners should be reminded that pursuant to this court's Standing Order in re Filing of Payment Advices Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 521(a)(1)(B)(iv), copies of all payment advices or other evidence of payment received within 60 days before the date of the filing of the petition by the debtor from any employer of the debtor must be provided to the trustee at least seven days prior to the first date set for the meeting of creditors.

4. Judge Mary P. Gorman's procedural requirements for cases filed in the Springfield Division have been posted to the court's webpage.  Go to www.ilcb.uscourts.gov and click on Judge Mary P. Gorman's Procedural Requirements for Cases Filed in the Springfield

Procedural changes include stricken pleadings; service of Chapter 13 Plans, Amended Plans, and Motions to Modify; and the discontinuance of 7 Day Notice Orders.

Upon completion of plan payments, the court will send a Notice re: Compliance with 11 U.S C. 1328 (h) in all Chapter 13 cases filed on or after 10/17/05. This Notice sets a 15 day deadline for any interested party to file a response to the notice and a request for a hearing if they have reasonable cause to believe that 11 U.S.C. 522(q)(1) is applicable to the case. If no such response is filed, the Court may enter a discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 1328(a) without further notice or hearing.

Amendments to Schedules Must Be Verified By the Debtor(s) (Posted 11/21/2008)

Effective immediately, the Judges in this District will require that amendments to all petitions, lists, schedules, and statements include an unsworn declaration signed by the debtor(s), pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 1008.

You may use either the last page of Official Form 6 -Declaration Concerning Debtor's Schedules or you may include the following statement at the bottom of the amendment:

                                                                            Signature ______________________

                                                                            Debtor

                                                                            Signature________________________

                                                                            Joint Debtor (if any)

The debtor's signature, (if a joint case, both spouse's signatures) must be included on the unsworn declaration.

Pursuant to the Third General Order Authorizing Electronic Case Filing , documents requiring the signatures of non-Filing Users are to be filed electronically with the signature represented by a "/s/" and the name typed in the space where a signature would otherwise appear, or as a scanned image. Documents that are electronically filed and require original signatures other than that of the Filing User must be maintained in paper form by the Filing User until all time periods for appeals expire. On request of the court, the Filing User must provide original documents for review.

Attention Bankruptcy Practitioners (Posted 5/18/2008)

Please be aware of the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 9037-Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court.

The responsibility to redact filings rests with counsel, parties, and others who file documents with the court.

The Bankruptcy Clerk's Office is not required to review documents filed with the court for compliance with this rule.

Click here for Important Privacy Act Information