Debt collectors in Illinois

Credit cards: The Illinois Appellate Court (1st Dist.) in Portfolio Acquisitions, L.L.C. v. Feltman, 391 Ill. App. 3d 642, 909 N.E.2d 876 (2009) held that a credit card claim is an unwritten contract under 735 ILCS 5/13-205 (5 yrs) unless every essential term appears in the writing itself. Cardmember agreements and monthly statements that need parol evidence to establish liability do not qualify for the 10-year written-contract period of 13-206. A creditor that proves a complete signed writing could still argue 10 years, but 5 is the usual rule. Feltman was confirmed via secondary sources; the opinion was not read.

Payments and acknowledgments: The 13-206 proviso covers bonds, notes, leases, contracts and other written evidences of debt. A payment or new promise to pay made 'in writing' on one of them, within or after the 10-year period, starts a new 10-year period, so on written instruments it can revive a barred claim. No statute covers payments on unwritten contracts under 13-205, the category Feltman applies to most credit cards, and the Illinois common-law rule on part payment for such claims was not confirmed in this pass. Conservatively, a payment or written acknowledgment may restart the 5-year period. No consumer or debt-buyer revival ban was found.

Judgments: A judgment cannot be enforced more than 7 years after rendition unless revived (735 ILCS 5/12-108(a)). Revival is by petition in the original case (2-1602): in the 7th year after entry or after the last revival, or at any time within 20 years if the judgment is dormant (13-218: no later than 20 years after entry). Consumer debt judgments (against natural persons, arising from consumer debt; 2-1303(b)) may be revived only by a petition filed no later than 10 years after entry (2-1602(a-5)). Wage-deduction or turnover enforcement already under court supervision may continue if a judgment goes dormant (12-108(c)). Consumer debt judgments of $25,000 or less bear 5% interest (2-1303(b)). Child support judgments may be enforced at any time.

Other rules: The official ILGA site refused connections, so statute text came from FindLaw (current as of Jan 1, 2025). The consumer-debt-judgment rules (5% interest for judgments of $25,000 or less, and the 10-year revival cutoff in 2-1602(a-5)) were added by an amendatory act of the 101st General Assembly. The exact effective date was not verified, and the rules may apply only to judgments entered after it. Whether a consumer debt judgment can be revived more than once inside the 10-year window is not stated. Federal decisions in N.D. Ill. have generally applied 5 years to card debt as well; none were verified in this pass. No Illinois statute expressly banning suit on time-barred consumer debt was found, but the Collection Agency Act (225 ILCS 425/9) could not be loaded to confirm. Confirmed: 810 ILCS 5/3-118(a) is '(Blank)', so Illinois promissory notes fall under the 10-year written-contract statute (13-206).

• open account: 735 ILCS 5/13-205; Portfolio Acquisitions, L.L.C. v. Feltman, 391 Ill. App. 3d 642 (1st Dist. 2009)
• written contract: 735 ILCS 5/13-206
• oral contract: 735 ILCS 5/13-205
• promissory note: 735 ILCS 5/13-206 (promissory notes, 10 yrs; Illinois did not enact uniform UCC 3-118 per secondary source)
• judgment: 735 ILCS 5/12-108, 5/2-1602 (incl. (a-5)), 5/13-218, 5/2-1303(b)
• payment restarts: 735 ILCS 5/13-206 (proviso on written payment or new promise)
• other: 735 ILCS 5/13-210 (borrowing statute, per secondary source)

Sources: codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com