If you're just interested in the education then you can make that judgement.

If you don't, then use your best judgement.

EVERY time I started out with severe judgement like you just displayed, from the trades people and EVERY time gained respect of the trades in a matter of weeks.

It's very likely that you won't collect from her, even with a judgement.

It's a judgement call only you can make and it will be an educated decision.

Most will not pay without a judgement, so the investor will have to file a lawsuit against both the contractor and surety company, which will take months, and sometimes years.For a GC with a large rehab, I can see having a draw schedule, but for smaller projects I never pay upfront.

She is motivated to the point where she will sell it for the judgement amount, which is good, because I can not offer more than that.  

And the owner just decided they did not  want to harvest ... .Judge gave us a 5k judgement  owner cut me  a check right there ( he was not happy)  but I was glad to see the Judge uphold contracts

Has anybody sold a court judgement in northern Illinois or know who to contact to have wages garnished?  

I wait until just before the statue of limitations is about to run out to decide whether to renew the judgement or to report it to the IRS as forgiven debt (includes interest due).