Renter leaving before end of lease

[Steve B.]

Hi all, Please help me out. I have a tenant who notified me he can no longer afford to rent due to life changes(kids and work). He notified me in April and he paid rent for May stating he needs to move out at end of month and get utilities out of his name. His lease doesn't end until November 30th and it states he pays for rent and utilities for duration of lease whether occupied or not. I have already advertised it and shown it a few times with his permission. I have only received a few apps back and no viable tenants at this time. I'm hoping to have a good tenant ready by the time he moves out and if that's the case I have no problem as he gave me good notice and has been a good tenant for 6 months However, if I do not, what actions do you recommend? I am in Illinois. This is a single family home. Do I just let him leave and not pursue any payments to prevent any issues? If so can I keep deposit for lack of rent and utilities? Do I tell him ahead of time he needs to pay rent and utilities until I have a renter? Or does that put me at risk for him to damage property or set up camp and quit paying, forcing eviction? Do I wait until he's got his stuff out? Do I try to force/convince him to at least keep utilities in his name and paid until I have a tenant in place? Any advice is greatly appreciated, we are still pretty new to this game and trying to do the right thing without losing too much. Thanks, Steve