All local rules for N.D. Ill., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
Relief may be obtained only by filing a motion with the court, not through letters or calls to the Court's staff. Courtesy paper copies must be mailed or delivered to Operations Specialist Yvonne Pedroza in Room 2200. Please do not bring courtesy copies to chambers: they will not be accepted and no confirmation signature will be available. We do not have capabilities for faxed or e-mailed courtesy copies. If providing courtesy copies is too onerous on a party, such as a pro se party, the party can request to be relieved of this requirement. A simple one page motion would work. Alternatively, a party can verbally request to be relieved from the requirement by asking at a status or motion hearing, including any proceeding before the Magistrate Judge. DO NOT attempt to e-mail Judge Johnston directly. Proposed orders must be directed to Judge Johnston's proposed order inbox, and all other documents must be filed.
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
Neither a motion nor brief in support of or in opposition to any motion nor objections to a report and recommendation or order of a magistrate judge or special master, shall exceed 15 pages without prior approval of the court. Local Rule 7.1 ↗
STANDING ORDER: Anyone using AI in connection with the filing of a pleading, motion, or paper in this Court -- or in serving/delivering discovery requests, responses, or objections -- must comply with Rule 11(b) and Rule 26(g) of the FRCP, and any other relevant rule including applicable ethical rules. Johnston -- ai_disclosure_requirement ↗
(b) A judge may require a motion or an objection to a magistrate judge’s order to be accompanied by a notice of presentment specifying the date and time on which, and judge before whom, the motion or objection is to be presented. The date of presentment shall be not more than 14 days following the date on which the motion or objection is delivered to the court pursuant to LR 78.1. Local Rule 5.3(b) ↗
Except where a judge fixes a different time in accordance with this rule, the original of any motion shall be filed by 4:30 p.m. of the second business day preceding the date of presentment. A judge may fix a time for delivery longer than that provided by this rule, or elect to hear motions less frequently than daily, or both. Local Rule 78.1 ↗
Before requesting entry of a confidentiality order to preserve the confidentiality of materials disclosed in discovery, counsel shall carefully review Rule 26(c) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires, among other things, that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with other affected parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. See Citizens First Nat'l Bank v. Cincinnati Ins. Co. , 178 F.3d 943 (7th Cir. 1999) (Posner, J.); Jepson, Inc. v. Makita Electric Works, Ltd, 30 F.3d 854 (7th Cir. 1994); and Union Oil Co. v. Leavell , 220 F.3d 562 (7th Cir. 2000). For agreed confidentiality orders in civil cases, to the extent possible, counsel should use the model confidentiality order developed by the Northern District of Illinois which is located on the Northern District's website. If the proposed agreed confidentiality order differs from the model, in addition to a clean Word or WordPerfect version of the revised model order counsel must provide a red-lined copy showing the differences. The clean and red-lined copies shall be submitted to Judge Johnston's proposed order inbox: Proposed_Order_Johnston@ilnd.uscourts.gov. If the confidentiality order anticipates that any documents or confidential materials submitted to the court are to be filed under seal, the confidentiality order must include, at a minimum a carefully-drafted definition of the materials to be protected, with an explanation of why these documents are entitled to protection. No document shall be filed under seal unless counsel secures a court order allowing the filing of a document under seal. The parties are to refer to this Court's standing order on sealed documents for further guidance. Any designation of materials as "Confidential" must be made in good faith by counsel , and each page of confidential material must be marked "Confidential." If all confidential matters such as Social Security numbers have been redacted from a document, then it should not be marked "Confidential." When parties receive redacted documents they should not attempt to "unredact" the documents. For directions on the proper methods to redact a document that will prevent such attempt, several useful articles are available on the internet.
The court may set a briefing schedule. Oral argument may be allowed in the court’s discretion. Local Rule 78.3 ↗
Any judge wishing to refer a matter in a civil case pending on that judge’s calendar to a magistrate judge may do so following procedures approved by the Executive Committee. Local Rule 72.1 ↗
Courtesy paper copies must be mailed or delivered to Operations Specialist Yvonne Pedroza in Room 2200. Please do not bring courtesy copies to chambers: they will not be accepted and no confirmation signature will be available. We do not have capabilities for faxed or e-mailed courtesy copies. If providing courtesy copies is too onerous on a party, such as a pro se party, the party can request to be relieved of this requirement. A simple one page motion would work. Alternatively, a party can verbally request to be relieved from the requirement by asking at a status or motion hearing, including any proceeding before the Magistrate Judge. Source ↗
The Court will set all newly filed cases for an initial status approximately 45 days from the filing of complaint. Lead counsel must appear at the initial status hearing, must have knowledge of the case, and must be prepared to discuss all aspects of the case including anticipated discovery. At least four (4) business days before the initial status hearing or by the date set by the Court, any party that has appeared shall join in completing and filing this Court's Joint Initial Status Report (revised 6/25/2025). The parties must use the form available on this webpage and shall not edit or retype it. Any additional information the parties want to share with the Court or that does not fit on the form should be attached to the form. Source ↗
Supporting Memoranda and Exhibits All motions must be supported by memorandum, not to exceed 15 pages. See Local Rule 7.1. Alternatively, the motion may contain the principle argument and relevant authority that otherwise would comprise a supporting memorandum. Skeletal and unsupported arguments will not be considered and the argument will be deemed waived. See Perry v. Sullivan , 207 F.3d 379, 383 (7th Cir. 2000); American Family Mutual Insurance v. Roth , 2007 WL 2410074 at *2 (N.D.Ill. 2007)(collecting cases); McWilliams v. McWilliams , 2006 WL 3775952 (N.D.Ill. 2006)(collecting cases) Arguments raised for the first time in a reply brief will not be considered. See Hodgdon v. Northwestern University, 245 F.R.D. 337, 340 n.3 (N.D. Ill. 2007)(collecting cases). Cases that are published only on electronic databases such as Westlaw and Lexis must be attached as exhibits to the memorandum. Exhibits must be legible. For example, copies of portions of a deposition transcript should be printed as full pages, not as mini-scripts or condensed versions. The Court urges litigants to rely on cases that were decided in the same procedural posture. In memoranda supporting or opposing a motion to dismiss, cases that were decided on summary judgment (or on appeal of summary judgment) are not particularly helpful because of the differing standards. See, e.g., Winchester v. Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc. , No. 19-CV-01356-NJR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148760, *6-7 (S.D. Ill. Aug. 18, 2020) (discussing what is required to state a claim under the FMLA versus what is required to prevail upon a claim under the FMLA); Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 664 (2009) (“The question presented by a motion to dismiss for insufficient pleadings does not turn on the controls placed on the discovery process.”). Indeed, the Court is on dangerous ground when it relies on summary judgment opinions when it is deciding motions to dismiss. Kaminski v. Elite Staffing, Inc. , No. 21-1616, at 5-6 (7th Cir. Jan. 19, 2022); Carlson v. CSX Transp., Inc. , 758 F.3d 819, 827 (7th Cir. 2014). This applies to the inverse as well. See Lujan v. Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n , 497 U.S. 871, 889 (1990) (An opinion decided on a motion to dismiss “is of no relevance here, since it involved not a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment but a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss on the pleadings. The latter, unlike the former, presumes that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim.”) (cleaned up). As everybody hopefully learned in the first semester of law school, counsel should rely on decisions involving motions to dismiss when briefing a motion to dismiss and decisions involving motions for summary judgment (or Rule 50) when briefing a motion for summary judgment. Source ↗
Motion Practice If moving counsel is aware that there is no objection to a motion, or that the motion is agreed, that information must be stated in the title and body of the motion. Counsel or a party must appear in person for the presentment of a motion. Noticing a motion for presentment telephonically does not get around the Court's requirement that motions be presented in person. For status hearings, the Court may allow the parties to participate telephonically if, in its discretion, the circumstances of the case allow for a telephonic status. Status hearings will be telephonic only if ordered by the Court. During a telephonic status hearing, counsel shall not operate motor vehicles or heavy machinery during the call. Likewise, during telephonic status calls, counsel should be in a quiet location. By way of example, a hallway in the Daley Center, any property of or near the CTA, and counsel’s children’s day care are not considered quiet locations. Although a golf course might be a quiet location, it is not an appropriate location for a telephonic status hearing. Source ↗
Motion Practice If moving counsel is aware that there is no objection to a motion, or that the motion is agreed, that information must be stated in the title and body of the motion. Counsel or a party must appear in person for the presentment of a motion. Noticing a motion for presentment telephonically does not get around the Court's requirement that motions be presented in person. For status hearings, the Court may allow the parties to participate telephonically if, in its discretion, the circumstances of the case allow for a telephonic status. Status hearings will be telephonic only if ordered by the Court. During a telephonic status hearing, counsel shall not operate motor vehicles or heavy machinery during the call. Likewise, during telephonic status calls, counsel should be in a quiet location. By way of example, a hallway in the Daley Center, any property of or near the CTA, and counsel’s children’s day care are not considered quiet locations. Although a golf course might be a quiet location, it is not an appropriate location for a telephonic status hearing. Source ↗