Illinois Court Records

Many Illinois residents' names may be found in civil court records of actions such as estate settlements or property disputes. Criminal court records have information on people involved in confrontations, thefts, or destruction of property. These records may give a person’s age, residence, occupation, and family relationships. Friends and neighbors may have given depositions as witnesses.

Major Illinois courts that kept records of genealogical value were as follows:

County courts were countywide courts with jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal cases and, in some counties, probate matters. Separate probate courts were established in larger counties.

Municipal (or City) courts had jurisdiction with circuit courts over civil and criminal actions.

Justices of the peace had jurisdiction over misdemeanors and minor civil cases.

County commissioners’ courts originally had countywide jurisdiction over public roads, turnpikes, canals, taxes, and licenses, but have evolved into administrative rather than judicial bodies.

Circuit courts were created as early as 1819. They became the major trial courts in 1964 when all other trial courts were abolished. The circuit courts have handled civil and criminal cases, probate and estate files, and guardianship, adoption, divorce, and naturalization records. Currently, there are 21 judicial circuits and a Cook County circuit in Illinois. Most of these serve several counties, and court sessions are held in each county. The circuit clerks in each county hold the records of cases heard in their court.

Other court records in Illinois were created by the Illinois Supreme Court (established in 1818) and intermediate appellate and police courts. The Chicago court system has included mayoral, superior, criminal, and family courts.

Since 1964, the records of all earlier courts have been in the custody of the circuit court in each county. Records of the former Cook County Superior Court and some other Chicago area courts are now with:

Circuit Court of Cook County, Archives Department
Room 1113, Richard J. Daley Center
Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone: (312) 443-5500

For more information on the history of Illinois law,
see The Lincoln Legal Papers

Check out the following website to read about and share experiences from courthouse research.
http://www.bcpl.net/%7Edmg/courthouse.htm#Illinois
"The Goodman Clearinghouse:
Experiences In Researching in Court Houses"

WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Street addresses, E-mail addresses and telephone numbers shown in this document may change without notice. Please feel free to advise us of changes you discover by sending us the name or URL of this Web page, the name of the entity, and the new address and/or telephone number to GFSBrenda@aol.com

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