Orland Park Construction Lawyer

Record it in the county where the particular parcel lies. Most of Orland Park is in Cook County, where liens are recorded with the Cook County Clerk's Office, Recordings Division. A portion of the village is in Will County, where liens are recorded with the Will County Recorder at 158 North Scott Street in Joliet. Under Section 7 of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/7, recording a sufficient verified claim in the correct county, or commencing suit, within four months after completion preserves the lien against creditors, encumbrancers, and purchasers. Confirm the county from the county records and title information for the parcel before recording, particularly on subdivisions near the county line. A wrong-county filing discovered after the four-month period usually cannot be corrected in time to protect your rights against third parties.

It depends on the waiver's operative terms. Review the amount, the work covered, the through-date, any language covering future work, and whether effectiveness is expressly conditioned on payment. The label "partial waiver" does not by itself control the scope of the release, and a document called partial may contain broader language. If payment is not received, enforceability may depend on the waiver's wording, consideration, and whether an owner, lender, or other party innocently relied on it; nonpayment does not automatically make every waiver ineffective, as the appellate court discussed in Cordeck Sales, Inc. v. Construction Systems, Inc., 394 Ill. App. 3d 870 (1st Dist. 2009). Separately, Section 1(d) of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/1(d), makes agreements to waive lien rights in anticipation of and in consideration for awarding a contract or subcontract unenforceable. The practical consequence is that you should read every waiver before signing and keep copies of each one.

Under Section 5(a) of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/5(a), the contractor must give the owner, and the owner must require before paying or advancing funds to the contractor, a statement under oath or verified by affidavit identifying the names and addresses of the parties furnishing lienable labor, services, materials, or equipment and the amounts due or to become due to each. Merchants and dealers in materials only are excepted. Construction escrows may also require updated statements with each draw. A sworn statement that lists a subcontractor and its balance puts the owner on notice and triggers the owner's duty to protect those funds, as the Illinois Supreme Court recognized in Weather-Tite, Inc. v. University of St. Francis, 233 Ill. 2d 385 (2009). Section 24 also dispenses with a subcontractor's separate owner notice when a qualifying sworn statement already identifies the claimant and the amount due, though protection may be limited to the amount stated. Do not assume the exception applies without confirming what statement the owner actually received. The practical consequence is that subcontractors should request copies of the sworn statements and check that their balances are listed correctly.

A private mechanic lien generally cannot attach to public real estate, so Illinois provides two other remedies. Section 23 of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/23, permits a lien on eligible public funds owed to the contractor. For a local public body, the sworn notice goes to its clerk or secretary before the funds are paid out, the claimant must promptly furnish a copy to the contractor, and the claimant must file the statutory accounting action within 90 days after serving the notice. The Public Construction Bond Act, 30 ILCS 550, generally requires a payment bond on public work over $150,000 as of 2026. A bond claimant must file a verified notice within 180 days after its last furnishing, send the contractor a copy within 10 days, and sue within one year after last furnishing. A public entity's name alone does not establish that a bond exists. The practical consequence is that you should request the bond at the start of the project.

It depends on the county of the parcel. For Cook County property, mechanic lien foreclosures are assigned to the Mortgage Foreclosure/Mechanics Lien Section of the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County at the Daley Center in Chicago, even though other Orland Park matters may be heard at a suburban courthouse. For Will County property, the foreclosure is filed in the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. Under Section 9 of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/9, suit generally must be filed, or a counterclaim asserted, within two years after completion. Section 11 addresses the necessary parties, which can include the owner, the contractor, other lien claimants, and lenders. The practical consequence is that a title search should be ordered before the complaint is drafted, so the case is filed in the correct court with every necessary party named.

You generally have 30 days to act. Under Section 34 of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/34, the owner or any interested person may serve a written demand requiring the lien claimant to commence suit to enforce the lien. A properly prepared demand contains the statutory warning in at least 10-point boldface type and is served by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service. If the claimant does not commence suit, or answer asserting the lien in a pending suit, within 30 days after receipt, the lien is forfeited. The demand does not automatically extinguish the contract claim against the party responsible for payment, but the security of the lien is lost. Owners often serve these demands before a sale or refinancing. The practical consequence is that a Section 34 demand needs immediate legal review, because the complaint must be filed in the correct county court within the period.