(a) As used in this Section, "COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period" means the period beginning on March 9, 2020, when the Governor issued the first disaster proclamation for the State to address the circumstances related to COVID-19, and ending on March 31, 2022.
9-122.COVID-19 emergency sealing of court file.
Article IX. Eviction · Part 1. In General · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSection 9-122 automatically seals the court file in any residential eviction action filed during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period, from March 9, 2020 through March 31, 2022, with narrow paths to unseal it later.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/9-122
(b) The court file shall be sealed upon the commencement of any residential eviction action during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period. If a residential eviction action filed during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period is pending on the effective date of this Act and is not sealed, the court shall order the sealing of the court file. In accordance with Section 9-121.5, no sealed court file, sealed under this Section, shall be disseminated.
(c) If the court enters a judgment in favor of the landlord, the court may also enter an order to unseal the court file under this Section. A court shall order the court file to be unsealed if:
(1) the action is not based in whole or in part on the nonpayment of rent during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period; and
(2) The requirements of subsection (b) or (c) of Section 9-121.5 have not been met.
(d) Subsections (d) through (h) of Section 9-121.5 shall also be applicable and incorporated into this Section.
Plain-English Summary
The "COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period" runs from March 9, 2020, when the Governor issued the first disaster proclamation for the state, through March 31, 2022. Any residential eviction action filed during that window gets its court file sealed automatically at the outset, and a case from that period still pending and unsealed when this Act took effect had to be ordered sealed too.
If the landlord wins judgment, the court may unseal the file, and must unseal it if the action wasn't based, in whole or in part, on nonpayment of rent during that period, and the requirements of Section 9-121.5(b) or (c) weren't met.
The section leans on the now-repealed Section 9-121.5 for its ban on disseminating a sealed file, and expressly incorporates subsections (d) through (h) of that section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which eviction cases get automatically sealed under this section?
Residential eviction actions filed during the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period, from March 9, 2020 through March 31, 2022.
Can a landlord who wins the case get the file unsealed?
The court may unseal it after a judgment for the landlord, and must unseal it if the action wasn't based, in whole or in part, on nonpayment of rent during that period, and certain conditions from Section 9-121.5 weren't met.
What happened to residential eviction cases from that period that were still pending and unsealed?
The court had to order them sealed.
Does this section still rely on Section 9-121.5, even though that section was later repealed?
Yes, this section incorporates subsections (d) through (h) of Section 9-121.5 and refers to it for the ban on disseminating sealed files.
When did the COVID-19 emergency and economic recovery period end for purposes of this section?
March 31, 2022.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 102-5, eff. 5-17-21.)
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
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