J. Timothy Eaton
Michael W. Rathsack
Filing fees at the Illinois Supreme Court and the state’s five appellate court districts will double in 2015.
Beginning next month, petitioners and appellants will see fees rise from $25 to $50 in the courts of review; respondent and appellee fees will jump from $15 to $30.
Announced by the high court Tuesday, the hike will generate revenue for the courts’ committee operations as well as electronic filing and case management system updates.
The increase next month will mark the first time the fees have gone up since 1957. Illinois and Arkansas currently have the lowest review court filing fees in the country, Supreme Court spokesman Joseph R. Tybor said.
“It was really discovered quite a few other states used their filing fees to fund their needs for case management systems and e-filing,” he said.
“And with the budget considerations in Illinois, it was decided to go that route since Illinois has not increased its filing fees in nearly 60 years.”
A court-backed bill passed by the legislature last year gave the courts control of the money they collect from law license fees, appeals and other charges.
Prior to that change, the money was sent to the treasury, and lawmakers had to sign off on fee amounts through the budgeting process each year.
Giving those spending decisions to the court made Sen. Dale A. Righter, a Mattoon Republican, leery about separation of powers issues, and the possibility that the court could end up charging too much for access.
He couldn’t be reached for comment today, but during Senate floor debate on the measure — despite the fact the bill passed by narrow margins — he was the only one in either chamber who voiced such concerns.
“By passing this bill … you are surrendering the General Assembly’s — the legislative branch’s — ability to set fees for access to the court process,” he told colleagues last year.
He added: “[T]his money that has been taken out of your constituents’ pockets — and they’re spending that money to get access to the court system — you will have no say. No say in the way that money is spent.”
Some appellate lawyers aren’t concerned about the increase but are surprised the fees hadn’t gone up sooner.
“I think our fees for the appellate level have just never kept pace with inflation,” said Michael W. Rathsack, a sole practitioner and past president of the Appellate Lawyers Association.
“And the Supreme Court has got so much more to do now with different programs and trying to get everything automated. They’ve got more programs but no more money. So I think they had to do it.”
He said even with the increases, the fees are still inexpensive relative to other states.
And if the lawmakers thought the court was charging too much, he said, “the legislature could just take (the fund) back.”
J. Timothy Eaton, a partner at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP and immediate past president of The Chicago Bar Association, said he hopes someday circuit court fees will also be controlled by the high court, instead of going to individual county boards and potentially being used for unrelated purposes.
“At some point, I would love to see all filing fees at all levels go to the Supreme Court for their control so we have more uniformity statewide,” he said.