Protecting the Rights of Consumers For Over 25 Years

An Illinois judgment can be enforced for 17 to 27 years (the shorter period applies to judgments on contractual consumer debts entered after January 1, 2020). It must be "revived" every 7 years, and not later than the 10th or 20th year.

The only "defenses" to a petition to revive a judgment are: (1) the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the original judgment, either because you were not legally served or because you were not subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois courts; (2) you have paid the judgment (including interest and costs) in full; (3) the party seeking revival is not the original judgment creditor and cannot show that it owns the judgment; (4) the party seeking revival is required to be licensed as a debt buyer or collection agency and does not have a license.

You have the burden of showing you were not served. There is often a corroboration requirement: your statement that you were not served or do not recall being served is not sufficient to overcome statements in the "return of service" that you were served.

If the party seeking revival is not the original judgment creditor, you need to request proof of a complete chain of assignments from the judgment creditor to the party seeking revival. This needs to be done (a) by objection with the court and (b) in writing in response to any "notice of debt" received from the alleged owner of the debt.

We offer free consultation to persons with debt collection problems. Please send whatever letters, court papers, or other documents relate to your problem and we will review without charge.