This Standing Order No. 2 applies to all cases in which, at the parties' request, the Court has specially set a trial or contested testimonial/evidentiary hearing at which parties or witnesses will testify and/or the Court may admit exhibits. Unless otherwise ordered or waived by the court, this Standing Order applies to pre- and post-dissolution proceedings, as well as to all proceedings in parentage cases. This Standing Order does not apply to plenary hearings in Order of Protection ("OP") cases unless the Court, at a party's request or on its own motion, specifies in a written order that it is applicable to a particular contested case.

Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rules 201(c) and 219(c), and in order to make efficient use of the parties' and the Court's time, to allow for adequate preparation, to prevent unfair surprise and to facilitate settlement, the Court orders each party to prepare, exchange with the opposing party or his/her counsel, and/or submit to the Court (as indicated below) the following documents and information at least five (5) business days prior to the scheduled hearing date:

Each party shall prepare a proposed form of Order the party will ask the Court to enter if he or she is successful in obtaining the relief he or she seeks, and shall provide a copy of the proposed Order to the other party (or his or her counsel) and to the Court no later than five (5) business days before the hearing. In all cases in which some form of financial relief is sought, the proposed form of Order shall contain the proposing party's mathematical calculations along with specific dollar figures for each category of relief sought. All proposed Orders shall contain proposed findings of fact which, if supported by the evidence at the hearing and adopted by the Court, would support the relief set forth in the proposed form of Order. The Court may, in its discretion, cancel or continue any hearing with respect to which it has not received proposed orders as required by this Standing Order.

If the issues in dispute involve financial matters (including, but not limited to, a party's ability to make payments), the parties shall exchange and submit to chambers current, sworn and signed Financial Affidavits. The parties shall use the Illinois Supreme Court's statewide approved form of Financial Affidavit or an alternative which is in substantially the form set forth in Appendix O to the Local Rules for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit ("Local Rules").1 The parties may not waive this requirement without leave of Court.

If the hearing is a final hearing in a pre-dissolution case involving the “Disposition of property” (750 ILCS 5/503), the parties shall exchange and submit to chambers current,

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