Six Months into Illinois’ Anti-Squatter Law, Not Much Has Changed

On January 1, 2026, a new provision in Illinois’ eviction statute went into effect allowing more swift and direct action against squatters who had re-entered a property after the sheriff had evicted the occupants.

The change to Illinois’ Forcible Entry and Detainer Act provides that nothing in the eviction statute may be construed to “prohibit law enforcement from enforcing the offense of criminal trespass,” or “to interfere with the ability of law enforcement officials to remove persons or property from the premises when there is a criminal trespass.” The language change allows law enforcement to get involved but does not mandate that they do.

Prior to the change, in cases where an occupant went through the often-lengthy eviction process through a court-ordered lockout performed by a county sheriff, some occupants still managed to break back in and reoccupy the property. In those situations, owners of the REO property had limited options to remove the occupants again.  

The sheriff’s offices explained to the owner that they had already executed the court order, and local police viewed such issues as a civil matter for the sheriff and the courts. The owner was left only with the option of filing a new eviction action.  

The hope was that with the new provision, it would be easier to get the police involved and keep REO property owners from having to start from scratch with a brand-new eviction.  

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Implementation Has Been Uneven

Six months later, the impact has been limited.

In speaking with the Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office regarding the number of repeat filings, a representative said, "Absolutely nothing has changed."

On the other hand, there are some bright spots. A source working with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office found the situation to be less than black and white. “It depends on where you’re looking. In the City of Chicago, we are still getting the same number of calls [about squatters], but in the suburbs, it’s a little different; they are municipalities. If we evict somebody and we get possession, but they break back in, I think the suburban municipalities are a lot better about getting them back out.”  

At the same time, this source reported that overall eviction filings were down and that the turnaround from the time an eviction order was entered to when the lockout is effectuated has gone down from 6 to 8 weeks to 3 to 4 weeks.  

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A Law Still Finding Its Footing

While the case of an evicted occupant breaking back in is rare, when it does happen there is still some real confusion as to what may happen next. For example, recently an eviction case in Illinois occurred where the police came out to the same property twice. The first time, the squatter was removed. After they broke back in, however, a second set of officers refused to remove them, forcing the firm to go through the eviction process again.

With all this in mind, the ground seems to be starting to shift, but there are a lot of open questions. At MDK Legal, we will be happy to work with you to make the most of this change in the law and to work with you on any eviction needs.  

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Related Reading

‍Prior to Illinois' anti-squatter law taking effect, Mike Varak examined the legislation and what it meant for REO property owners. Read his client alert here.