A judgment is a court’s finding that someone owes you a specific amount of money. It is not a payment. In Illinois, turning a judgment into money is a separate proceeding with its own tools, its own paperwork, and its own timelines. This guide walks through that process the way a creditor experiences it, from the day the judgment is entered to the day the funds arrive.
Step 1: Make sure the judgment is final and enforceable
Enforcement starts when the judgment is entered and the time for post-judgment motions has run. In Illinois, a party has 30 days after entry to file a motion to vacate or reconsider or to file a notice of appeal. If the defendant never appeared and the judgment was entered by default, it is still enforceable, but the debtor can move to vacate it under 735 ILCS 5/2-1301 within 30 days or, with a showing of diligence and a meritorious defense, under section 2-1401 within two years. Enforcement can proceed while those windows are open, but a creditor should expect that a debtor who suddenly faces a frozen bank account may file a motion to vacate. Clean service and a complete record at the judgment stage make that motion much harder to win.
Confirm three numbers before you start: the principal amount of the judgment, any attorney’s fees and costs awarded, and the date of entry, which fixes when post-judgment interest begins to run. Most commercial judgments in Illinois accrue interest at 9% per year from the date of judgment under 735 ILCS 5/2-1303.
Step 2: Serve a citation to discover assets on the debtor
The citation to discover assets, authorized by 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 277, is the workhorse of Illinois post-judgment practice. The clerk issues it on the creditor’s request, and it is served on the judgment debtor by the sheriff or a special process server. It does two things at once. It orders the debtor to appear in court on a return date and answer questions under oath about income, bank accounts, receivables, vehicles, real estate, and anything else of value, and to bring the documents the citation lists. And from the moment it is served, it imposes a lien on the debtor’s non-exempt personal property and prohibits the debtor from transferring or disposing of that property until the court rules. A debtor who moves money after service of a citation risks contempt.
In Cook County, the return date on a citation is typically three to six weeks after issuance, depending on the courtroom. If the debtor appears, the examination happens that day or is continued to a date for the creditor’s attorney to question the debtor. If the debtor does not appear, the creditor moves for a rule to show cause, and continued non-appearance can lead to a body attachment order.
For the detailed mechanics, see our page on the citation to discover assets.
Step 3: Freeze what third parties hold with third-party citations
Most judgments are collected from third parties, not from the debtor’s own hands. A third-party citation is served on a bank, a customer of a business debtor, a title company holding sale proceeds, a tenant paying the debtor rent, or anyone else who holds the debtor’s property or owes the debtor money. Service freezes what the third party holds, up to the balance of the judgment, and requires the third party to disclose it. Banks handle these routinely and will typically freeze the account the day the citation arrives and file an answer stating the balance.
Where do you find the bank? From the debtor’s citation examination, from the back of a check the debtor once paid you with, from the ledger of a business debtor’s payments, or from public records. Creditors who kept copies of the debtor’s payments during the relationship start enforcement with a significant advantage.
Step 4: Obtain turnover orders
A freeze is not a payment. Once the third party has answered and the debtor has had notice, the creditor moves for a turnover order directing the third party to pay the frozen funds to the creditor. For an individual debtor, the court will account for exemptions under 735 ILCS 5/12-1001, which protect a portion of wages, a wildcard amount of personal property, retirement accounts, and other listed categories. Business entities have no personal exemptions. Turnover orders in Cook County are typically entered within a few weeks of the third party’s answer, assuming no dispute about ownership of the funds.
Step 5: Wage deduction, if the debtor is an individual with a job
If the debtor is an individual with wages, including an owner who personally guaranteed a business debt, a wage deduction proceeding under 735 ILCS 5/12-801 et seq. requires the employer to withhold a statutory share of each paycheck and pay it toward the judgment. The amount is capped at the lesser of 15% of gross wages or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 45 times the applicable minimum wage (735 ILCS 5/12-803). The deduction continues until the judgment, with interest and costs, is paid. We cover the process in detail in our article on wage deduction in Illinois.
Step 6: Record a judgment lien on real estate
Recording a memorandum of judgment with the recorder of deeds in any county where the debtor owns real estate creates a lien on that property under 735 ILCS 5/12-101. The lien lasts seven years from the date of the judgment and can be renewed after revival. The debtor cannot sell or refinance with clear title until the lien is satisfied, so for debtors who own property but have little cash, the lien is often what eventually produces payment, sometimes years later at a closing table.
Step 7: Keep the judgment alive
An Illinois judgment is enforceable for seven years from entry. After that, it must be revived by petition before further enforcement, and it can be revived within 20 years of the original judgment (735 ILCS 5/12-108; 5/13-218). Interest keeps accruing throughout. If you are holding an older judgment, the first question is whether revival is needed before anything else can happen.
What it costs and how long it takes
Enforcement costs are mostly clerk fees for issuing citations, sheriff or process server fees for service, and recording fees for liens, each typically in the tens to low hundreds of dollars. Attorney’s fees for enforcement are often handled on contingency. As for time, a cooperative debtor with a known bank account can be collected within two to three months of judgment. A debtor who hides assets or ignores citations can take considerably longer, and the realistic answer depends on what the debtor owns and how hard they work to keep it from you.
How we run enforcement
Every judgment we hold goes on a calendar: debtor citation issued the week the judgment is entered, return date, examination, third-party citations to each bank and payor identified, turnover motions, lien recordings, and periodic asset re-checks. Nothing waits for a reminder. If you are holding a judgment you have not been able to collect, including one another firm or agency obtained, see our judgment enforcement page or schedule a consultation.
This article is general information about Illinois law, not legal advice for your situation. Humza Ansari is licensed in Illinois only.