If the defendant, or any person for him or her, shall be in the act of removing any personal property, the officer may pursue and take the same in any county in this State, and return the same to the county from which such order for attachment issued.
4-116.Pursuit of property.
Article IV. Attachment · Part 1. In General · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceIf a debtor is caught moving personal property to dodge attachment, the officer may chase it into any county in Illinois and bring it back to the county where the order issued.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/4-116
Plain-English Summary
Section 4-116 is a narrow but practical exception to the county-bound levy rule in Section 4-112. If the defendant, or someone acting for the defendant, is in the act of removing personal property, the officer is not confined to the county where the order was entered. The officer may pursue that property into any county in the state and take it there.
Once seized, the property is returned to the county from which the order for attachment originally issued, keeping the case anchored to the court that entered the order even though the actual chase happened elsewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can an officer levy an attachment order outside the county where it was entered?
When the defendant, or someone acting for the defendant, is in the act of removing personal property, allowing the officer to pursue and seize it in any county in the state.
What happens to property seized in another county under this section?
The officer returns it to the county from which the order for attachment issued, so the case proceeds in the original county.
Does this section apply to real estate as well as personal property?
The text refers to pursuing and taking personal property in the act of being removed; it does not extend this cross-county pursuit power to real estate.
How does this section relate to the general county-limited levy rule?
Section 4-112 confines levy to the county where the order was entered except as provided in Section 4-116, making this section the specific carve-out for property being actively removed.
Does the officer need a new order to pursue property into another county?
No new order is described; the existing order for attachment is what authorizes the officer to pursue and seize the property being removed.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 83-707.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: pursuit of property attachment illinoiscross county attachment levydebtor removing property attachmentofficer pursue debtor property