2-615.Motions with respect to pleadings.

This is the section Illinois lawyers reach for first when a complaint fails to state a claim. It works only from the face of the pleading -- unlike 2-619, it doesn't test outside facts or affidavits. Subsection (a) requires every objection to a pleading to be raised by motion, specifying the defect and asking for concrete relief: striking all or part of the pleading as substantially insufficient in law, dismissing the action, requiring a more definite statement on a specified point, striking immaterial matter, or adding or dismissing parties.

Subsection (b) sharpens the standard for the most common use of this section -- a motion to dismiss or strike for legal insufficiency -- by requiring the motion to specify exactly where the pleading falls short. A generic assertion that the complaint fails to state a claim doesn't do the job; the motion has to point to the specific insufficiency. Subsection (c) lets the court reach back and consider substantial defects in earlier pleadings when ruling on a 2-615 motion.

Subsections (d) and (e) round out the section's reach. After ruling, the court can allow or require pleading over or amendment, or terminate the litigation in whole or in part -- so a successful 2-615 motion doesn't always end the case; it often just sends the pleader back to try again. And any party can seasonably move for judgment on the pleadings once the pleadings close, testing whether the undisputed pleaded facts entitle a party to judgment as a matter of law.

Because Illinois doesn't have a rule numbered like the federal 12(b)(6), 2-615 fills that role: it's the vehicle for arguing a complaint doesn't state a viable claim, tested purely against what's alleged. Section 2-619.1 lets a party pair a 2-615 motion with a 2-619 motion in a single, properly divided filing.