ILLINOIS BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Illinois Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
· UBE jurisdiction — portable score · MBE 50 / MEE 30 / MPT 20 · Passing score 266 · NextGen transition planned ~Feb 2028 (accepts NextGen scores from July 2026) — verify.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE — FLAG
· Own Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/) — NOT the federal rules · FACT PLEADING: complaint must plead ultimate facts for every element (not notice pleading) · § 2-615 = legal sufficiency of pleadings; § 2-619 = affirmative matter; 2-619.1 combined · § 2-622 attorney affidavit of merit in med-mal · Own venue rules (county of a defendant's residence or where transaction occurred); long-arm to due-process limits · SOL: PI 2 yrs; written contracts 10 yrs; oral 5 yrs; defamation 1 yr; med-mal 2 yrs / 4-yr repose; product liability 2 yrs.
3. EVIDENCE
· Illinois Rules of Evidence (2011) — track FRE but preserve IL common law · Retains FRYE (general acceptance), NOT Daubert · Dead-Man's Act (735 ILCS 5/8-201) bars interested-party testimony vs. estates · Statutory privileges (physician-patient and others) · Some hearsay/impeachment rules preserved in pre-codification Illinois form.
4. MARITAL PROPERTY / FAMILY LAW
· Common-law equitable-distribution state — NO community property · IMDMA § 503: divide marital property equitably (not equal); non-marital (premarital/gift/inheritance) excluded · Pure no-fault divorce (fault grounds abolished 2016) · "Allocation of parental responsibilities" — no "custody"/"visitation" · Statutory maintenance; income-shares child support.
5. WILLS / ESTATES
· NON-UPC — Illinois Probate Act of 1975 · 2 witnesses; NO holographic/nuncupative wills · Renunciation (elective) share: 1/3 with descendants, 1/2 if none · Intestacy: spouse 1/2 + descendants 1/2 (all to spouse if no descendants) · Spouse's/child's award (statutory family allowance, not UPC homestead) · Strict two-witness execution (witnesses sign in testator's presence).
6. REAL PROPERTY
· NOTICE recording act (765 ILCS 5/30) · Adverse possession 20 yrs (or 7 yrs with color of title + tax payment) · Statutory homestead exemption · JUDICIAL foreclosure (Mortgage Foreclosure Law) with reinstatement & redemption rights.
7. TORTS
· Modified comparative negligence — 51% BAR (barred if plaintiff >50%; recovers at exactly 50%) · 25% threshold (§ 2-1117): defendant <25% severally liable only · NO damages cap — noneconomic/med-mal caps struck down as unconstitutional (Best; Lebron) · Dram Shop Act (235 ILCS 5/6-21) = exclusive, capped remedy vs. seller.
8. CONTRACTS / UCC / ENTITIES
· UCC uniform · Written-contract SOL 10 yrs vs. UCC sales 4 yrs · Entities follow Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1983 (MBCA-consistent) + LLC Act — thin section; franchise-tax/annual-report quirks.
9. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
· Illinois RPC of 2010 (tracks Model Rules, modest variations) · Discipline via ARDC · MPRE required.
10. CRIMINAL LAW
· Death penalty abolished (2011) · NO CASH BAIL — SAFE-T Act / Pretrial Fairness Act (eff. Sept. 2023); release by risk + conditions (first state to abolish money bond).
KEY FLAGS
· Own Code of Civ Pro — FACT plead