“Eddy and Micael were super efficient, professional, and helpful. We needed furniture moved out of one room in order to repair flooring and they moved everything in less than an hour.”
Amanda Lindley
LICENSED & INSURED · CHICAGO & METRO MOVERS · CHICAGO, IL
Checkmate Movers
Desmond Hale ran crews for a big-box moving franchise for eight years before he’d had enough of watching the same mistake repeat — a couch carried up three flights twice because nobody worked out the order first, a truck getting repacked on the sidewalk while the daylight ran out. He opened Checkmate Movers in 2013 on the opposite idea: plan the move like a chess game before anyone touches a box. Nine trucks, eighteen people on payroll, no subcontractors filling in on a job they’ve never seen.
Calling (312) 508-3947 gets you our Fulton Street office, not a call center somewhere else. Fill out the form and it lands on Michelle’s desk directly — for anything bigger than a one-bedroom, she’ll typically have Jamal’s walkthrough already scheduled by the time she calls you back.
ProMover
AMSA Certified
BBB Accredited
A+ Rating
ICC Licensed
State Of Illinois
US DOT
FMCSA Registered
Fully Insured
Insured & Bonded
Illinois Owned
Serving Since 2013
“Eddy and Micael were super efficient, professional, and helpful. We needed furniture moved out of one room in order to repair flooring and they moved everything in less than an hour.”
Amanda Lindley
What Chicago Families Notice First
Why Chicago Keeps Booking Checkmate Movers
The Walkthrough Ends With A Load Order, Not Just A Number
Jamal Whitfield doesn’t just count boxes at the estimate — he works out which piece goes on the truck first, which room needs to empty before the next one starts, and whether a couch is making the turn on the stairs or coming through a window. That plan is what the crew works from on move day, not a guess made standing in the driveway.
Building Access Solved At The Walkthrough, Not At The Curb
Freight elevator windows, stairwell widths, loading dock hours, whatever it takes to get furniture in or out of a specific building — Jamal works it out before crew day, so nobody’s improvising with a couch already off the truck.
Nine Trucks, Eighteen People, No Subcontractors
Every mover on the truck is on Checkmate’s own payroll. Desmond built the company that way in 2013, after eight years watching a franchise fill trucks with whoever a staffing pool sent over that morning — fourteen movers, eighteen people total, none of them strangers to each other.
The Office Watches The Forecast And The Expressways
Lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan doesn’t need to be falling yet to cost a crew an hour — a jammed Kennedy or Eisenhower does the same damage. Michelle checks both the forecast and the traffic apps the night before your move and calls if the route or start time needs to shift.
In Desmond’s Own Words
Why We Plan The Move Before We Touch A Box
“Eight years running crews for a franchise taught me where a move actually falls apart — not on the road, but in the order things get carried out of the house. I watched a couch go up three flights twice because nobody worked out the sequence first, watched a truck get repacked right there on the sidewalk. I started Checkmate Movers in 2013 to fix that one problem: work out the furniture placement, the load order, and how we’re getting through the building before anyone picks up a box. Jamal builds that plan at the walkthrough, and the crew runs the job from it.”
Desmond Hale
Owner · Checkmate Movers
How Every Job Starts
Every Move Planned Before The First Box Does
- Jamal walks the house at the estimate and plans the load order — furniture placement, which room empties first, what needs to come off the truck last, all worked out before crew day, not guessed at from a phone description.
- That plan becomes crew chief Tomasz Nowak’s job ticket — he’s loading and unloading against Jamal’s sequence, not figuring out on the spot which piece goes where.
- Michelle books your date against that plan — she’s run scheduling since 2016, and the crew she sends already knows the building, the stairs, and the order before the truck backs in.
- Lake-effect snow off Michigan eats daylight just as fast as a backed-up Kennedy or Eisenhower — Michelle pulls the forecast and the expressway cameras the evening before a job and phones ahead if the crew needs a different start time.
- Two different registrations, not one sticker on a door: we’re licensed with the Illinois Commerce Commission for household moves that stay in-state, and we hold separate US DOT and MC authority for anything crossing into Wisconsin, Indiana, or beyond.
Furniture Placement Mapped Before Crew DayJamal marks where each major piece lands in the new place at the walkthrough, so the truck loads in the order it needs to come off
Building Access Checked, Not GuessedFreight elevator windows, stairwell widths, and loading dock hours get worked out in advance, not discovered with the truck already at the curb
Coverage Confirmed Before The Truck LoadsBasic released-value protection comes standard on every job at no cost. Ask Jamal about full-value coverage at your walkthrough if you'd rather have the higher payout ceiling
Filed With The Commission, Not Just Painted On A DoorICC licensed for household moves that stay in Illinois, plus US DOT and MC authority for anything crossing state lines
Pulled Live From Michelle’s Schedule
Our Trucks, Out On Chicago Roads Today
Nothing staged for the website here — this is the actual schedule board as of this morning. A crew’s wrapping up a load-out in Oak Park right now, Tomasz has his team halfway through a Naperville job, and Jamal’s across town in Evanston sizing up a walkthrough for next week.
Updated daily
Studio
✓ Completed
Oak Park
Indianapolis
Today
1-bed apt
Booked
Evanston
Detroit
Yesterday
2-bed apt
In progress
Naperville
Columbus
2 days ago
3-bed home
✓ Completed
Schaumburg
Kansas City
3 days ago
4-bed home
Booked
Cicero
Cleveland
This week
Office
In progress
Berwyn
Evanston
Today
Every Job We Take On, Start To Finish
Chicago Moving & Storage Lineup
$145, $185, $225 an hour for two, three, or four movers, anywhere from Chicago out to Naperville or Schaumburg — that’s the whole rate card. Crew size isn’t Jamal’s best guess off a phone call, either; he walks the place first, so the number matches the load he’s actually planning to move.
truck
Local Moving
Explore mapLong-Distance Moving
Explore homeResidential Moving
Explore buildingApartment & Condo
Explore boxFull-Service Packing
Explore pianoPiano & Heavy-Item
Explore Storage warehouseShort-Term Storage
Explore heartSenior & Downsizing
Explore briefcaseCommercial Moving
Explore clockLast-Minute & Same-Day
Explore
Every Line Item, Worked Out At The Walkthrough
Priced At The Walkthrough, Not Guessed At The Curb
Jamal’s walkthrough covers every line below in writing, days ahead of your date — the crew works from that sheet, not a number improvised in your doorway.
The Fine Print, Up Front
- Two movers, $145/hr; three, $185; four, $225; $50/hr for each extra body on the truck
- Hold your date with a $175 deposit, credited dollar-for-dollar against your final invoice
- Pianos, gun safes, and anything else oddly shaped get planned into the load order at the walkthrough, not sorted out on the sidewalk
- Basic released-value protection comes standard on every job at no cost. Ask Jamal about full-value coverage at your walkthrough if you'd rather have the higher payout ceiling
- Licensed with the Illinois Commerce Commission for household moves that stay in-state; separate US DOT and MC authority covers anything crossing into Wisconsin, Indiana, or beyond
- Disassemble a bed frame to make a doorway and we put it back together before the truck pulls away
- Card, transfer, or check — pick whichever’s easiest, none of them adds a surcharge
Coverage included — Basic released-value protection comes standard on every job at no cost. Ask Jamal about full-value coverage at your walkthrough if you'd rather have the higher payout ceiling
Every job across Chicago and the Cook, DuPage, and Lake County suburbs runs fully licensed and insured
ICC licensing on file for in-state moves, plus US DOT and MC authority for anything crossing state lines — one item or a full household
Four Sites, One Actual Crew
Compare Us Across All Of Them
Google tends to fill up first, often before the truck’s even back at the yard; Yelp and Angi tend to catch people a few days later once the boxes are unpacked and there’s time to think it over. We don’t steer anyone toward whichever platform happens to be kindest that month.
Google
7+ reviews
Yelp
Verified reviews
Angi
5-star average
Thumbtack
Frequently booked
Straight From Google, Yelp & Angi
What Chicago Customers Actually Say
“Romance and team responsible for my move. They were extremely helpful and happy to do anything and everything asked. They all went above and beyond. Thank you Romance and Team!”
Jason Birn
“Issac Hernandez and crew were absolutely PHENOMENAL!!! Got us moved in record time and budget friendly. Everything came in just the way it left. Would ABSOLUTELY hire again!!!”
Daniel O'Shea
Not Just Pins On A Service Map
13 Years Of Walkthroughs Across These Suburbs
Jamal’s walked houses in Oak Park, Evanston, Naperville, Schaumburg, Cicero, Berwyn, Skokie, and Elmhurst since 2018, and Tomasz has run crews through those same towns since 2017 — enough walkthroughs to know which buildings need a freight elevator reservation and which ones don’t. That’s not a script; it’s Cook, DuPage, and Lake County, block by block.
Farther Out Across Cook, DuPage & Lake
Roads We’re On Every Week Beyond Chicago and the surrounding Cook, DuPage, and Lake County suburbs
Most weeks that means I-290 through Oak Park, I-88 out toward Naperville, or the Edens up toward Skokie and Evanston — plenty of other jobs never leave the city at all. Doesn’t matter which of those it is — call Michelle, get a walkthrough on the calendar, and Jamal is usually standing in your rooms within two days, long before a calculator on some website could give you a real number.
Every County We Actually Serve
Checkmate Movers’s Coverage Across Chicago and the surrounding Cook, DuPage, and Lake County suburbs
Suburbs We Run Weekly
Long-Distance Lanes Out Of Illinois
Counties On Our Route
Common Chicago-Area Questions
Checkmate Movers, Answered Plainly
What does an hourly local move in Chicago actually run?
$145/hr for two movers, $185/hr for three, $225/hr for four, plus $50/hr for each additional set of hands. That number only means something once Jamal has actually stood in the rooms and counted the stairs — a finished basement in a Berwyn bungalow eats a lot more crew time than a downtown one-bedroom, even if both look about the same size on paper.
Is Checkmate Movers an actual moving company, or do you hand the job to a broker?
Every person who touches your boxes is on our own payroll, riding in one of our own trucks — nothing gets handed off to a broker or a subcontracted outfit. Desmond Hale founded the company in 2013 after eight years running crews for a big-box franchise, and today it is nine trucks and fourteen movers in the field, eighteen people total counting the office.
What does “every move planned before the first box does” actually mean?
Furniture placement, load order, and building access get worked out at the walkthrough — before anyone touches a box, not improvised in the doorway on move day. Desmond built the company on the idea that a move gets planned like a chess game: every piece has a place before the first move happens, and the truck loads in the order the new home needs it to come back off.
Who does the in-home walkthrough, and what is Checkmate Movers actually planning?
Jamal Whitfield has run walkthroughs here since 2018. He is not just counting boxes — he is mapping which piece of furniture goes where in the new place, what order the truck needs to load in so nothing ends up buried behind something else, and how the crew gets in and out of both buildings. That plan is what the crew works from on move day.
Who runs my crew on move day?
Tomasz Nowak has led crews here since 2017. Ahead of your move date he gets Jamal’s full walkthrough notes — the load order, the furniture placement, the building access details — so the crew is working off the same plan Jamal built, not a generic work order written the morning of.
What does it take to lock in a moving date?
Call (312) 508-3947, and Michelle checks the truck schedule right there on the phone with you. The deposit that holds your slot isn't a separate charge either — it comes straight off what you owe on move day.
Does Jamal actually plan out where furniture goes before move day?
Yes — at the in-home walkthrough he works out furniture placement, load order, and building access room by room, and that plan is what crew chief Tomasz Nowak works from on move day, not a guess made in the doorway.
Our closing keeps slipping — can we push the move date without starting over?
As soon as you have a new date, call Michelle — there’s no fee for moving it. Since Jamal already wrote up the load plan at your walkthrough, rescheduling is just a different slot on the calendar, not a fresh estimate.
How much does it cost to book two, three, or four movers?
$145 an hour for two movers, $185 for three, $225 for four, and $50 an hour for each additional mover beyond that. Jamal sets the crew size at your walkthrough based on the actual load order, not a phone guess.
Our new place isn’t ready yet — can you hold our things for a few weeks?
Happens more than you’d think. We keep your things in our own West Fulton Street space, not a unit rented out to some third party, and Jamal folds the storage cost into your walkthrough number up front. When the new place is ready, Tomasz’s crew unloads it against the same plan they built the first time — nothing gets re-sorted from scratch.
What if a piece of furniture gets damaged in transit?
Basic released-value protection is built into every job, no charge added. For anything you’d rather insure at full value, Jamal lays out that option during the in-home estimate — well before the truck is loaded, not as a conversation after something’s already been broken.
Is Checkmate Movers actually licensed to move households in Illinois?
Yes — we’re licensed with the Illinois Commerce Commission for household moves that stay in-state, and we hold separate US DOT and MC authority for anything crossing into Wisconsin, Indiana, or beyond. Ask Michelle for the details when you book if you want it on record.
What happens if lake-effect snow or bad traffic hits on our move day?
Michelle pulls the forecast and checks Kennedy and Eisenhower traffic the evening before every job. When either one is bad enough to change the start time or the route in, she’s the one who phones you — the crew never shows up and springs a surprise on you at 7am.
Ready To Have Your Move Planned Out Before Anyone Touches A Box?
Two ZIP codes and a rough home size are all Jamal needs to turn around a real number same day — not something pulled off a generic chart. Mention anything oversize now, a piano, a gun safe, a storage gap between closings, and it gets built into the load order ahead of time instead of becoming a moving-day surprise.