The Illinois citation to discover assets: appear, or risk arrest

If a judgment has been entered against you in Illinois and a document arrives with capital letters warning about arrest, you have received a citation to discover assets. It is the main post-judgment enforcement tool in Illinois, and the statute that creates it also builds in the protections the debtor needs.

The single most important thing about it is the least legal: you have to show up.

What it is for

735 ILCS 5/2-1402(a):

A judgment creditor, or his or her successor in interest when that interest is made to appear of record, is entitled to prosecute citations to discover assets for the purposes of examining the judgment debtor or any other person to discover assets or income of the debtor not exempt from the enforcement of the judgment, a deduction order or garnishment, and of compelling the application of non-exempt assets or income discovered toward the payment of the amount due under the judgment. A citation proceeding shall be commenced by the service of a citation issued by the clerk.

Two functions in one proceeding: discovering assets, and compelling their application to the judgment. And note "or any other person" — a citation can go to a bank, an employer, or anyone believed to hold the debtor's property, not only to the debtor.

The warning the citation must carry

The statute prescribes the words, and requires them on the front in capitals:

All citations issued by the clerk shall have the following language, or language substantially similar thereto, stated prominently on the front, in capital letters: "IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR IN COURT AS DIRECTED IN THIS NOTICE, (1) YOU MAY LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO PROTECT MONEY IN YOUR BANK, SAVINGS BANK, OR CREDIT UNION AND OTHER ASSETS, AND (2) YOU MAY BE ARRESTED AND BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURT TO ANSWER TO A CHARGE OF CONTEMPT OF COURT, WHICH MAY BE PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT IN THE COUNTY JAIL."

That is not a scare tactic added by a collection firm — it is statutory text. Failing to appear is contempt, and the statute contemplates arrest.

The same subsection limits postponements: "The court shall not grant a continuance of the citation proceeding except upon good cause shown."

What must be served with it

Section 2-1402(b) requires a certification and a notice:

Any citation served upon a judgment debtor or any other person shall include a certification by the attorney for the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor setting forth the amount of the judgment, that the judgment is a consumer debt judgment if it qualifies as a consumer debt judgment under paragraph (b)(1) of Section 2-1303, the date of the judgment, or its revival date, the balance due thereon, the name of the court, and the number of the case, and a copy of the citation notice required by this subsection.

Then, where the citation goes to somebody other than the debtor, the debtor still has to be told:

Whenever a citation is served upon a person or party other than the judgment debtor, the officer or person serving the citation shall send to the judgment debtor, within three business days of the service upon the cited party, a copy of the citation and the citation notice, which may be sent by regular first-class mail to the judgment debtor's last known address. In no event shall a citation hearing be held sooner than five business days after the mailing of the citation and citation notice to the judgment debtor, except by agreement of the parties. The citation notice need not be mailed to a corporation, partnership, or association.

And for individuals, § 2-1402(b-1) raises the service standard:

Any citation served upon a judgment debtor who is a natural person shall be served by personal service or abode service as provided in Supreme Court Rule 105 and shall include a copy of the Income and Asset Form set forth in subsection (b-5).

So a citation mailed to an individual debtor does not comply — it takes personal or abode service, and the Income and Asset Form must come with it.

The exemptions the notice must spell out

The statutory citation notice tells the debtor, in terms, that exemptions exist and can be claimed. The notice sets out:

(1) Under Illinois or federal law, the exemptions of personal property owned by the debtor include the debtor's equity interest, not to exceed $4,000 in value, in any personal property as chosen by the debtor, of which $1,000 will be automatically applied to a debtor's bank, savings bank, or credit union account through the end of the hearing noted above; Social Security and SSI benefits; public assistance benefits; unemployment compensation benefits; worker's compensation benefits; veteran's benefits; circuit breaker property tax relief benefits; the debtor's equity interest, not to exceed $3,600 in value, in any one motor vehicle, and the debtor's equity interest, not to exceed $2,250 in value, in any implements, professional books, or tools of the trade of the debtor.

(2) Under Illinois law, every person is entitled to an estate in homestead, when it is owned and occupied as a residence, to the extent in value of $50,000 for an individual and $100,000 for two or more individual owners, which homestead is exempt from judgment.

…

(5) Pension and retirement benefits and refunds may be claimed as exempt under Illinois law.

Note the automatic piece in (1): $1,000 is automatically applied to a bank account through the end of the hearing. The rest of the $4,000 "wildcard" is the debtor's to allocate.

The notice also repeats the wage caps — the lesser of 15% of gross weekly wages, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 45 times the applicable minimum wage — which is the same formula that governs a wage deduction.

Claiming exemptions — at the hearing or earlier

The citation notice sets out both routes:

THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR HAS THE RIGHT AT THE CITATION HEARING TO DECLARE EXEMPT CERTAIN INCOME OR ASSETS OR BOTH. The judgment debtor also has the right to seek a declaration at an earlier date, by notifying the clerk in writing at (insert address of clerk). When so notified, the Clerk of the Court will obtain a prompt hearing date from the court and will provide the necessary forms that must be prepared by the judgment debtor or the attorney for the judgment debtor and sent to the judgment creditor and the judgment creditor's attorney regarding the time and location of the hearing.

So you do not have to wait for the scheduled date if money is frozen — you can ask the clerk in writing for an earlier hearing. As with a wage deduction, the debtor is responsible for sending the notice of that hearing to the creditor.

The Income and Asset Form

Section 2-1402(b-5) prescribes it, and its opening instruction is worth following literally:

Please complete this form and bring it with you to the hearing referenced in the enclosed citation notice. You should also bring to the hearing any documents you have to support the information you provide in this form, such as pay stubs and account statements. The information you provide will help the court determine whether you have any property or income that can be used to satisfy the judgment entered against you in this matter. The information you provide must be accurate to the best of your knowledge. If you fail to appear at this hearing, you could be held in contempt of court and possibly arrested.

How Illinois compares

A short checklist

1. Go to court on the date on the citation. Non-appearance is contempt and the statute contemplates arrest.
2. Fill in the Income and Asset Form before the hearing and take supporting documents — pay stubs, account statements.
3. Check how you were served. An individual debtor must be served personally or at their abode under Supreme Court Rule 105, with the Income and Asset Form attached.
4. If a bank or employer was cited instead of you, check you were sent a copy within three business days — and that the hearing is at least five business days after that mailing.
5. Identify your exemptions before the hearing — the $4,000 personal property wildcard, the $3,600 motor vehicle interest, the $2,250 tools of the trade, benefits, and pension or retirement money.
6. Remember $1,000 in a bank account is automatically protected through the end of the hearing.
7. If money is frozen and you cannot wait, write to the clerk and ask for an earlier hearing — then send the notice to the creditor as the form directs.
8. Check the certification on the citation — amount, date of judgment, balance due, court and case number, and whether it is marked as a consumer debt judgment.
9. Do not expect a continuance. The statute allows one only for good cause shown.

Where these rules live

• 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 — Supplementary proceedings
• 735 ILCS 5/2-1303 — Interest on judgment
• 735 ILCS 5/12-803 — Wages subject to collection
• 735 ILCS 5/12-804 — Exemptions from deduction orders
• 735 ILCS 5/12-1001 — Personal property exempt

This page explains what the statute says. It isn't legal advice, and the exemption figures quoted are those set out in the statutory citation notice; Supreme Court Rule 277, which governs the conduct of citation proceedings, sits outside this site's Illinois corpus.