§ 208 — Process

(a) Any action for a civil no contact order requires that a separate summons be issued and served. The summons shall be in the form prescribed by Supreme Court Rule 101(d), except that it shall require the respondent to answer or appear within 7 days. Attachments to the summons or notice shall include the petition for civil no contact order and supporting affidavits, if any, and any emergency civil no contact order that has been issued. (b) The summons shall be served by the sheriff or other law enforcement officer at the earliest time and shall take precedence over other summonses except those of a similar emergency nature. Special process servers may be appointed at any time, and their designation shall not affect the responsibilities and authority of the sheriff or other official process servers. (c) Service of process on a member of the respondent's household or by publication shall be adequate if: (1) the petitioner has made all reasonable efforts to accomplish actual service of process personally upon the respondent, but the respondent cannot be found to effect such service; and (2) the petitioner files an affidavit or presents sworn testimony as to those efforts. (d) A plenary civil no contact order may be entered by default for the remedy sought in the petition, if the respondent has been served or given notice in accordance with subsection (a) and if the respondent then fails to appear as directed or fails to appear on any subsequent appearance or hearing date agreed to by the parties or set by the court. (e) If an order is granted under subsection (c) of Section 214, the court shall immediately file a certified copy of the order with the sheriff or other law enforcement official charged with maintaining Department of State Police records.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-508, eff. 1-1-20 .)