As you may recall, the Illinois Supreme Court postponed the enforcement of its newly-announced foreclosure rules because it was unclear whether those rules would apply to existing cases. The wait is over, and the Court has announced amendments to the rules that resolve the issue.
Rule 113 is effective May 1, 2013 and only applies to cases filed on or after May 1, 2013.
Rule 114 is also efffective May 1, 2013, but applies to current cases and newly filed cases. This means that before a Plaintiff can move for a judgment in a foreclosure action, it must submit an affidavit that details the loss mitigation options for which the homeowner was eligible, what efforts the lender took to explore those options, and what, if any, loss mitigation was ultimately offered to the homeowner.
While Rule 114 does not require a lender to offer a loan modification, requiring this disclosure may reveal non-compliance with obligations such as the National Mortgage Settlement. It will be interesting to see whether Rule 114 leads to an uptick in loan modifications in Illinois or whether judges consider the efforts (or lack thereof) of a bank before entering judgment.