Kane County mediation program has helped over 1,500 households avoid eviction

In the two years since Illinois ended its pandemic-related eviction moratorium in October 2021, an eviction mediation program in Kane County has helped over 1,500 households avoid the traumatic effects of an eviction by the sheriff.

Kane County’s 16th Judicial Circuit Court launched the mediation program to reduce the eviction surge triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program is free for both tenants and landlords. Chicago-based nonprofit Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) administers the program. It is funded by the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation.

Mediation brings together people who have a dispute. A trained, neutral third party guides them through a discussion, with the goal of helping them reach an agreement that settles the dispute. Kane County eviction mediations occur mostly via Zoom.

Eviction mediation can help tenants and landlords to reach agreements on their own terms, spend less time in court, tell their side of the story, and potentially avoid an eviction. Participants in RSI’s program can also be connected with rental assistance programs, as well as legal aid and financial counseling.

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