A Flat-Fee Eviction Lawyer for Illinois Landlords
I file every eviction for one published flat fee. The fee covers the case from the first notice through a contested trial. The fee is $895 in DuPage and $995 in Kane. Suburban Cook is $895 to $1,250 by courthouse. Chicago is $1,600, and a commercial eviction anywhere is $2,000. Court filing fees of $300 to $389 go to the circuit clerk. Those fees are the only addition. A tenant who contests costs you nothing extra. Under a flat fee, delay costs the lawyer, not you.
That callout is the whole pitch. The model is binary. A lawyer either publishes one fee that includes trial, or the lawyer bills by the hour. Under hourly billing, the final price is a guess. I publish the fee. The rest of this page shows the exact numbers. It marks what sits outside the fee. It also explains why the pricing model matters most in eviction court.
What Does a Flat-Fee Eviction Cost in Each County?
My eviction fees are published, not quoted. The same number appears in three places. It appears on this page, on each county page, and on your engagement letter. Each county name in the table links to the page for that courthouse.
| Court | Flat attorney fee | Court filing fee (paid to the clerk) |
|---|---|---|
| DuPage County (Wheaton) | $895 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Suburban Cook: Bridgeview courthouse | $895 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Suburban Cook: Skokie courthouse | $995 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Suburban Cook: Maywood courthouse | $995 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Suburban Cook: Markham courthouse | $995 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Suburban Cook: Rolling Meadows courthouse | $1,250 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Kane County | $995 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Chicago (Daley Center) | $1,600 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
| Commercial eviction, any county | $2,000 | $300 to $389 range statewide |
Every residential fee in the table includes a contested trial. The suburban Cook fees vary because the five municipal district courthouses run differently. Some courthouses call full eviction lines and resolve a case in two appearances. Some courthouses do not. So the fee tracks the courthouse, not a county average.
Is a Flat Rate the Same as a Flat Fee?
Yes. A flat rate and a flat fee are the same thing: one price for the whole case. Landlords search with both words, so this page uses both. Every number in the table above is that one price.
What Does the Flat Fee Include, and What Sits Outside It?
Inside the fee, I handle the whole case:
- I draft the termination notice.
- I plan the service of the notice around 735 ILCS 5/9-211.
- I prepare and file the eviction complaint.
- I arrange service of the summons.
- I appear at every court date the case requires.
- I negotiate any settlement worth taking.
- I try the case if the tenant contests.
Do not serve the notice the wrong way. A notice served the wrong way restarts the entire case.
The judgment for possession and back rent is part of the same engagement.
Outside the fee sit the county charges. Court filing fees run $300 to $389. You pay them to the circuit clerk. A private process server charges about $155 to serve the summons. I publish that figure on my Chicago evictions page. Sheriff enforcement of the eviction order is its own county charge. In Cook County, placement of the eviction order with the sheriff costs $65 by e-file or $95 in person. In Kane County, the sheriff charges $150 for the first hour of enforcement, per the posted 2022 schedule. In DuPage, the sheriff charges $200 for the eviction, which covers the first half hour, then $80 per hour after. My DuPage page lists the county costs. I quote your county's exact court costs at the consultation. So the all-in number is fixed before you spend a dollar.
One note for investors. If an LLC owns the property, you must hire counsel. Illinois law bars a company from appearing in court without a lawyer. The court dismisses an eviction that an LLC files pro se. Pro se means without a lawyer. I cover the details on my page about LLC court representation.
"Fifteen court appearances? Same price. That is the whole model."
Flat-Fee Evictions in 9 Illinois Counties. Trial Included. Free Consultation.
Tell me the property address and what the tenant has done. I will name the notice that starts the case. I will give you the exact flat fee and court costs for your courthouse. I will tell you how long the case should take. My office files more than 150 evictions a year. I am in court four or more days a week.
All consultations are confidential.
Why Does Hourly Billing Misalign Incentives in an Eviction?
Delay is the tenant's best strategy in an eviction. A tenant who pays no rent gains a free week of housing from every delay. So the tenant requests a continuance. The tenant demands a trial. The tenant files a motion.
Now compare what each billing model does with that delay. Under hourly billing, every continuance adds an appearance to the invoice. Every motion adds a block of billed research. The lawyer's revenue grows with the same delay that bleeds you. Nobody has to act in bad faith. The incentive structure does the quiet work. Under my flat fee, the same continuance costs me a morning and earns me nothing. So the person who pushes hardest to end the case is the one who holds the file.
Under a flat fee, delay costs the lawyer, not you. Under hourly billing, delay pays the lawyer. Hire under the model where your lawyer wants the case to end.
The dollar difference is large. Hourly eviction attorneys in Cook County typically charge $2,500 to $3,500 and up for a contested case. A "simple" eviction quoted at $300 per hour routinely lands at $3,500 to $5,000 once the tenant contests. I break down those figures on my Chicago evictions page.
Honesty requires the other half of the picture. The next table includes the rows where the alternative wins on price.
| Scenario | My flat fee | Typical hourly lawyer | Cheaper option |
|---|---|---|---|
| The tenant moves out after the notice, before the first court date | The flat fee applies. In Chicago, I refund $950 if the tenant moves before the first court date. | An hour or two of billed time. Often a few hundred dollars. | Hourly, honestly |
| The tenant never appears, and the case defaults at the first date | The same flat fee | A few billed hours. Sometimes under my fee. | Often hourly |
| You file in your own name, and the tenant folds | Not needed | Not needed | DIY, by a mile |
| The tenant contests, hires counsel, or raises defenses | The same flat fee | $2,500 to $3,500 and climbing | Flat fee |
| Motions, continuances, and a contested trial | The same flat fee | $3,500 to $5,000 is routine at $300 per hour | Flat fee |
You cannot know in advance which row your tenant lives in. In Chicago, the contested rows are where cases go.
Some cases end without a lawyer. The tenant leaves after the notice. Or the tenant never appears, and the case defaults at the first date. If your case looks like that, read my honest comparison of DIY eviction versus hiring an attorney first. Some cases do not need me. That page says which ones.
What Happens When a Case Gets Ugly?
The fee holds. That is the point of publishing it. A tenant can string the case out with continuances. A tenant can arrive with a legal aid attorney. A tenant can contest service. The number on your engagement letter does not change. Ten court dates cost what two court dates cost.
I can absorb the ugly cases because my volume includes enough clean ones. I price across the whole book, the way an insurer prices across a pool. A case I finish fast also frees my calendar. On a slow morning in Markham, my incentive is identical to yours. Get the order. Get the sheriff scheduled. Get the unit back.
The flat fee does not buy a promised result. No lawyer can guarantee the outcome of a lawsuit. A lawyer who guarantees an outcome violates the advertising rules. I point to my track record instead. My office files roughly 150 evictions a year across nine counties. I am in these courtrooms four or more days a week.
Still deciding on timing? My guide on whether to wait or file now walks through that decision. The step-by-step mechanics live in my Illinois eviction process guide.
What Is Not a Flat Fee? The Honest Boundary
A fee only means something if I mark its edges. The flat fee covers the eviction case itself. It runs from the notice through a contested trial and the judgment. It applies in the counties listed above. Court costs, process server charges, and sheriff enforcement fees are always separate. The county sets those charges, and you pay the county.
Work that is not an eviction gets its own fee. A lease dispute that turns into a damages suit is its own case. A building code defense is its own case. A closing is its own case. I never fold that work into an eviction quote. The boundary is simple. Appeals are not in the flat fee. Jury demands are not. Post-judgment collection of the money judgment is not. A 9-117 motion to extend enforcement of the eviction order is included. The fee carries the case through possession, and that motion protects possession.
Not ready to hire anyone? Start with the free forms. My eviction resources hub collects every guide on this site. The free notice library includes the 5-day, 30-day, and Demand for Immediate Possession forms. Those forms start a case. Landlords win or lose an eviction at the notice. Use a correct form even if you never hire me.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the flat fee include?
The fee covers the case from the notice to the judgment. I draft and serve the termination notice. I prepare and file the eviction complaint. I arrange service of the summons. I appear at every court date the case requires. I negotiate any settlement worth taking. I try the case if the tenant contests. The fee is $895 in DuPage and $995 in Kane. Suburban Cook is $895 to $1,250 by courthouse. Chicago is $1,600, and a commercial eviction is $2,000. Court costs are the only addition.
What if the tenant fights the eviction?
The fee does not change. A contested trial is inside the flat fee. That is the point of the pricing model. A tenant who demands a trial, requests continuances, or files motions costs me time. That tenant does not cost you money. Under hourly billing, each of those moves creates a new invoice. Under my flat fee, they only make the file longer.
Are court costs included?
No. Court filing fees run $300 to $389 by county. You pay them to the circuit clerk, not to me. Service of the summons is a separate county charge. Sheriff enforcement of the eviction order is a separate county charge. I tell you the exact court costs for your county before you commit. You know the total on day one.
Why do most eviction lawyers bill hourly?
A contested eviction is unpredictable. Hourly billing moves that risk onto the client. A lawyer who files a few evictions a year cannot price a tenant who contests. The meter protects that lawyer. My office files more than 150 evictions a year. I am in court four or more days a week. I know what these cases take. So I publish one flat rate that already absorbs the hard cases.