* As we’ve already discussed, Gov. JB Pritzker recently extended the eviction moratorium through September 18. But the US Supreme Court recently put a stop to the CDC eviction moratorium…

In a statement late Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “In light of the Supreme Court ruling and the continued risk of COVID-19 transmission, President Biden is once again calling on all entities that can prevent evictions - from cities and states to local courts, landlords, Cabinet Agencies - to urgently act to prevent evictions.”

And Illinois is complying.

* Grace Asiegbu takes a look at what that means in Illinois…

Under Pritzker’s latest order, courts won’t start hearing cases related to unpaid rent again until Sept. 18. [Michael Robin, an organizer with Autonomous Tenants Union] cautioned that landlords can sometimes abuse the process by getting emergency hearings on the pretext of health and safety issues. There’s also an exception for tenants who already had a hearing scheduled. They must show up to court or risk receiving an eviction judgment against them.

Does the federal eviction moratorium apply in Cook County?

Not anymore.

On Thursday night, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s moratorium, blocking an order issued through the CDC in early August that had banned evictions in counties experiencing “substantial” or “high” Covid-19 transmission rates through Oct. 3, a description that fits every Illinois county, according to the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker.

But the federal order wasn’t very robust, to begin with, said Michelle Gilbert, legal director of the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, or LCBH. The order only shielded tenants from being physically removed from their homes — the final stage in the eviction process that is carried out in Cook County by the sheriff. That left a lot of gray areas for local courts and judges to interpret.