Late last month the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's order extending the federal eviction moratorium.
As of Friday, Peoria and Tazewell county courts have already collectively approved five eviction petitions.
Peoria County has seen 38 new filings since August 1, according to data provided to WCBU.
Of those, six were dismissed, 29 are pending and three resulted in "repossession of property" the legal term for eviction.
Tazewell County has seen 30 new filings since August 1.
Of those, two were dismissed, one resulted in an agreed-upon resolution between parties, 28 are pending and two resulted in repossession of property.
Pending cases are subject to judicial review.
Evictions cases are heard Tuesday mornings in Peoria County and Wednesday afternoons in Tazewell County.
Gov. JB Pritzker recently extended the eviction moratorium through Sunday, Oct. 3, however an amended order from the Supreme Court allows evictions to take place if petitions meet certain criteria.
It's not clear why some landlords in Peoria and Tazewell County dismissed their petitions, but many landlords across the state are finally receiving federal aid
As of this week the Illinois Rental Payment Program has dispersed more than $252 million in rent repayment assistance.
The IRPP provides up to 12 months — or up to $25,000 — of past-due rent and up to three months of future rent payments.
While both tenants and landlords can apply for aid, money is paid directly to the landlord to cover missed rent payments beginning June 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Tiffany Harvey is an attorney with the Prairie State Legal Services. She expects foreclosure-related assistance to come next.
"It's a hardship for many landlords that they have gone so long without getting paid, so that program has been rolled out first," she said.
Delayed aid
Just a little over half of the $500 million in federal funds directed toward rental relief has been dispersed to date.
In total, Illinois has received 98,865 completed applications from renters and landlords in 100 of Illinois' 102 counties, according to a Thursday press release from Gov. JB Pritzker's office.
Of the nearly 100,000 applications received, the Illinois Housing Development Authority has reviewed more than 70,000, and approved aid for 29,433 applicants.
Payments for approved applicants have averaged $8,580 per household.
Pritzker's office said the most significant delay in the processing of applications is collecting all federally required documentation needed to approve funding.
About 36,000 applications had incomplete or missing documentation, the release said.
IHDA is now in the process of emailing landlords and tenants detailing what is missing, with information on a timeframe and a process to submit the documentation to complete their application for processing.
Application approvals and payouts will continue through the end of September. To speak with an IHDA staffer about your application, call 866-454-3571.
WCBU will continue monitoring local eviction filing data.
Resources:
Heart of Illinois United Way Continuum of Care
Peoria Salvation Army
Prairie State Legal Services
Phoenix Community Development Services
Illinois Rental Payment Program
