DuPage Legal Answers
ORDERS OF PROTECTION
Resources for Orders of Protection
This website is intended to help people who do not have a background in the law but are trying to work their way through legal problems in DuPage County, particularly issues involving cases filed at the DuPage County Judicial Center. This page is thus intended to provide specific resources for those with concerns for their safety and well-being who are thus seeking an Order of Protection from the court. If you have concerns not covered by these topics, we recommend a search in the Illinois Legal Aid Online database or writing to the volunteer attorneys at Illinois Free Legal Answers.
An Order of Protection (or Protective Order) is "a court order available to 'family or household members' prohibiting the abuser from certain activities or ordering the abuser to take certain actions. An Order of Protection/Protective Order may include, but is not limited to the following: (1) Prohibiting the abuser from continued threats and abuse; (2) Barring an abuser temporarily from the home and ordering the abuser to stay away from the victim’s place of employment, school etc.; (3) Requiring an abuser to turn firearms over to local law enforcement if there is a danger of illegal use against you; (4) Awarding temporary child custody and prohibiting child abduction and requiring the abuser to undergo counseling; and/or (5) Ordering the abuser to pay child support, medical costs, and legal expenses." For more information, visit the DuPage County Judicial Center's page on
Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence.
Illinois Court Services has developed a webpage which includes forms, basic directions, and links to walk you through the process for obtaining an order of protection. The site takes you through a questionnaire that confirms what relief you may be eligible for and where you should file to seek such relief. At the end of the questionnaire, there is also a helpful list of organizations you can contact for help getting through it all: CLICK HERE to visit the Order of Protection website. Information about the state's EZ form for orders of protection can also be found on ILAO's page (CLICK HERE) which includes a video on the subject (which is also available here).
E-Filing is Required of anyone participating in a court proceeding in DuPage County. The local rules require that you file an "appearance" and any pleadings necessary to your case through an electronic filing system which makes most of the filings in a given case available to the parties, the court, the clerk's office, and the public at large. Anyone seeking to represent themselves in DuPage County should therefore visit the courthouse website page on e-filing, DuPage County E-Filing Information, to make sure they get familiar with the system and how it works. There are also a couple of training videos you may find useful on the Court Info page of this website and both the state-wide e-filing provider, Odyssey, and others (like i2file), provide access to training materials on their landing pages. If those resources prove difficult to navigate, you should know that Illinois Legal Aid Online also has a page on e-Filing Basics and the DuPage County Law Library has a knowledgeable professional staff who can often explain things better than any video or printed word. The e-filing systems are fairly easy to use in the end, it bears emphasizing in this context, but it may take you a bit of time to get the hang of it. Hopefully these resources will help you get there!