Northern District of Illinois Local Rules: Filing, Motions, and LR 56.1

The Northern District of Illinois local rules are the district-specific requirements that supplement the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure for cases filed in the federal court serving Chicago, Rockford, and the surrounding counties. They govern admission, document formatting, electronic filing, motion practice, discovery, summary judgment, pretrial procedures, and professional conduct. Getting them wrong can mean a stricken filing, a denied motion, or facts deemed admitted against your client, so treating them as optional reading is not an option.

Pick the Right Rule Set First

The court publishes several parallel sets of rules, and the one that applies depends on the type of case. Civil litigation runs under the Local Rules (“LR”). Criminal cases follow the Local Criminal Rules (“LCrR”), which cover bail, speedy trial, and other matters unique to federal criminal practice. Patent disputes are governed by the Local Patent Rules (“LPR”), with their own timelines for claim construction and technical discovery. Separate rule sets exist for admiralty and bankruptcy.¹

A patent litigant who follows only the general Local Rules will miss mandatory LPR disclosure deadlines. Identify the right set before drafting anything.

Admission to Practice

An attorney must be admitted to the court’s General Bar before filing in the Northern District. The application requires two signed sponsor affidavits from attorneys already admitted to a state bar and a letter of good standing from the applicant’s home jurisdiction, each scanned as a separate PDF and submitted electronically with the application.² The admission fee is $199.³

Out-of-state attorneys who are not General Bar members can appear in a specific case through pro hac vice admission under Local Rule 83.14. The lawyer petitions the court using an approved form and pays a $150 fee, both handled electronically.⁴ Pro hac vice admission covers only the single case for which it is granted, so an attorney handling multiple matters here must apply and pay separately for each one.

Document Formatting

Local Rule 5.2 sets the baseline for every filing. Body text must be in at least 12-point font, footnotes in at least 11-point, with margins of at least one inch on all sides. Paper is 8½ by 11 inches, and typed filings must be double-spaced. These requirements apply equally to documents filed electronically.⁵

The first page of every filing must show the court’s name, the parties’ names, and the case number. A new civil case also requires a JS-44 civil cover sheet, which the clerk uses to create the civil docket sheet.⁶

Electronic Filing Through CM/ECF

Everything gets filed through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. Registration requires bar admission (General Bar or pro hac vice), a PACER account, and, in some cases, completion of online or in-person ECF training before full access is granted.⁷⁸

Documents must be standard PDFs. A single file cannot exceed 35 megabytes; anything larger has to be split into multiple PDFs.⁷³⁹ The system then issues a Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) that is the official record of the transaction.

Under Local Rule 5.5, a certificate of service is only needed when a filing goes to someone who is not a registered e-filer on the case docket. For registered parties, the NEF itself satisfies service.¹⁰

Motion Practice and Page Limits

Local Rule 7.1 caps briefs in support of or in opposition to any motion at 15 pages without prior court approval. Any brief that exceeds 15 pages must include a table of contents with page numbers and a table of cases. Non-compliant briefs can be stricken.¹¹

Under the current version of Local Rule 5.3, a judge may require a motion to be accompanied by a notice of presentment specifying the date, time, and judge before whom the motion will be presented. The presentment date cannot be more than 14 days after the motion is delivered to the court. Whether presentment is required depends entirely on the assigned judge’s procedures, which is why checking the judge’s webpage before filing matters.¹²

Discovery Disputes and the Meet-and-Confer Requirement

The court will not hear a discovery motion unless the parties have tried to resolve the dispute themselves first. Local Rule 37.2 requires every discovery motion to include a statement confirming that counsel met in person or by telephone in a good-faith effort to reach agreement. If consultation happened, the statement must give the date, time, place, and names of everyone who participated. If counsel tried to arrange consultation but could not, the statement must describe those efforts.¹³

Boilerplate does not survive scrutiny here. A documented record of real attempts to work the issue out is what supports intervention when the parties genuinely cannot agree.

Summary Judgment Under Local Rule 56.1

Summary judgment practice in this district revolves around Local Rule 56.1, which imposes a rigidly structured format that trips up experienced litigators. The moving party files a statement of material facts as to which there is no genuine dispute. Each fact goes in its own numbered paragraph with specific citations to affidavits, deposition transcripts, or other record evidence. The statement must also identify the parties and establish venue and jurisdiction. Without prior court approval, the movant is limited to 80 separately numbered statements. Failing to file this statement at all is grounds for the court to deny the motion outright.¹⁴

The opposing party files a point-by-point response, matching each numbered paragraph and citing record evidence for any disagreement, plus a separate section of additional facts requiring denial of summary judgment, limited to 40 numbered paragraphs without leave of court. The rule has teeth: any fact in the movant’s statement that the opposing party fails to controvert with cited evidence is deemed admitted. The same rule cuts in the other direction on the movant’s reply to additional facts.¹⁴

A response that says “denied” without a citation supporting the denial results in the fact being treated as admitted. Motions are regularly won or lost on the quality of the 56.1 statements rather than on the merits of the underlying claim.

Case Management and Pretrial Procedures

Under Local Rule 16.1, the court sets a scheduling conference within 60 days after a defendant appears or within 90 days after the complaint is served. Counsel should arrive prepared to discuss the pleadings, jurisdiction, venue, pending and anticipated motions, additional parties, the expected length of discovery, and settlement prospects.¹⁵

In complex cases, the court may direct the parties to follow the Manual on Complex Litigation as a procedural guide, order phased discovery, or require a joint written discovery plan under Federal Rule 26(f). Where phased discovery is ordered, the first phase focuses on information needed to evaluate the case, support a motion to dismiss or transfer, and explore settlement. The court sets a firm discovery closing date, and discovery requested before that date but not scheduled for completion before it does not comply with the order.¹⁵

Before trial, counsel must meet to agree on stipulations narrowing issues of law and fact, address non-stipulated issues, and exchange copies of documents that will be offered as evidence. Plaintiff’s counsel drafts the proposed final pretrial order based on statements submitted by all parties. Because individual judges may vary the format and procedures for these orders, the court advises contacting the assigned judge’s minute clerk for specific guidance.¹⁵

Consent to a Magistrate Judge

Under Local Rule 73.1, parties in a civil case may consent to have a magistrate judge handle the entire proceeding instead of a district judge. All parties must jointly file a written statement of consent. The court provides standard forms, but any joint filing that clearly expresses agreement works, including language in an initial status report or proposed case management order, as long as all parties sign. Parties can also consent to a limited transfer of only part of the case, following the same filing procedure.¹⁶

Individual Judge Standing Orders

The local rules set the floor. Individual judges raise it through standing orders that apply only in their courtrooms. A standing order might require courtesy copies delivered to chambers, dictate a specific format for proposed orders, impose page limits stricter than LR 7.1’s 15-page cap, or set unique procedures for discovery disputes and final pretrial submissions. Some judges have detailed preferences for how exhibit lists should be organized or whether briefs should be emailed in addition to being filed on CM/ECF.

Every judge’s standing orders are posted on that judge’s page on the district court’s website. The local rules themselves direct parties to consult the assigned judge’s webpage regarding motion procedures.¹² Checking those orders before filing anything is the single most practical step a practitioner can take.

Professional Conduct

The Northern District maintains its own rules of professional conduct at LR 83.50.1 through LR 83.58.9, with a numbering system designed for easy cross-reference to the ABA Model Rules. Violations are grounds for discipline, and the severity of any sanction depends on the circumstances, including how willful and serious the violation was and whether the attorney has prior infractions.¹⁷

The court treats these as “rules of reason” interpreted in light of the purposes of legal representation. Rules phrased with “shall” or “shall not” define mandatory conduct. Rules using “may” mark areas of professional discretion, but an attorney who acts outside the bounds of that discretion still faces potential discipline.¹⁷

1
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. Northern District of Illinois Local Rules
2
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. General Bar and Trial Bar Petitions
3
Northern District of Illinois. Fee Schedule and Services
4
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. Pro Hac Vice Application
5
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. Local Rule 5.2 Electronic and Paper Documents Filed
6
United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet
7
Northern District of Illinois. General Order on Electronic Case Filing
8
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. ECF Registration
9
U.S. District Court – Northern District of Illinois. Opening a Civil Case Part I – Open the Case
10
U.S. District Court of Northern District of Illinois. LR 5.5 Proof of Service
11
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. LR 7.1 Briefs – Page Limit
12
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. LR 5.3 Motions – Review Judges Procedures and Notice of Motions and Objections
13
United States District Court Northern District Of Illinois. LR37.2 Motion for Discovery and Production – Statement of Efforts to Reach an Accord
14
United States District Court Northern District Of Illinois. LR56.1 Motions for Summary Judgment
15
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. Standing Order Establishing Pretrial Procedure
16
United States District Court Northern District of Illinois. LR 73.1 Magistrate Judges – Reassignment on Consent
17
United States District Court Northern District Of Illinois. LR83.50.1 Rules of Professional Conduct