We do not believe that the bank would be prohibited from freezing amounts attributable to wages. The use of the phrase “nonwage garnishment” in the notice you received differentiates garnishment of the debtor’s property (that is, her deposit account) from direct garnishment of her wages, which would be accomplished by serving a wage deduction notice on the debtor’s employer. 735 ILCS 5/12-805.

Illinois exempts from garnishment the debtor’s interest in real property (up to $15,000 or 30,000) (735 ILCS 5/12-901), certain interests in personal property (up to certain limits) and social security and other public benefits (735 ILCS 5/12-1001), and pensions and retirement plans (735 ILCS 5/12-1006 and 735 ILCS 5/12-704). As you mentioned, Federal law does require banks to exempt certain public benefits (if they are made by direct deposit, tagged as public benefit payments, and were deposited within a two-month “look-back period). See 31 CFR 212.1 et seqGarnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefits Payments, 76 Fed. Reg. 9939 (February 23, 2011).