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Illinois Court Docket Search

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Illinois Court Docket Search

According to the Illinois Public Records Act, interested members of the public may access public Illinois court records by requesting them from appropriate custodians or conducting a court docket search.

A court docket in Illinois is a court record that contains summary information about an ongoing court case. This includes information about individuals involved in the case (plaintiff and defendant), their legal representatives, the case hearing dates, and more.

Typically, Illinois court dockets are managed and preserved by the Illinois court clerks, particularly the clerk of the court where a case was filed. Interested members of the public can request these dockets at the courthouses or online on official court websites.

Are Court Dockets Public Record in Illinois?

Yes. As provided in 705 ILCS 105/16) and other applicable Illinois laws, Illinois court dockets are deemed public records. Therefore, interested members of the public can inspect or copy dockets generated by the Illinois courts, except court dockets that are sealed.

Where to Find a Court Docket in Illinois

Illinois court dockets can be found online on a court's official website or at the courthouse where a case was filed. For example, an inquirer can find the Illinois Supreme Court's docket online. A researcher looking for the Cook County Circuit Court's docket online can check the court clerk's case information site and so on. Individuals visiting the courthouse can make their inquiries at the court clerk's office.

How to Conduct an Illinois Court Docket Search

Most courts in Illinois make their dockets available online. As such, when attempting to conduct a civil or criminal court docket search in Illinois, one can start by confirming if the court has a docket search feature on its website. This tool may be called "case search" or "case access".

For instance, persons looking for the Lake County Circuit Court's docket can search the court's case management system. Search criteria include a case party's full name or the case number. Meanwhile, the McClean County Circuit Court - besides having a court records search tool that interested individuals can use to find a specific case's docket - also publishes a two-week docket sheet for the public.

If a court docket is unavailable online, one can visit the court clerk's office where the case was filed. The requester will need to provide certain case details, typically the name of a participant or a docket number. Requestors of paper court dockets should note that the clerk may require a written request to furnish docket information.

What is the Purpose of a Court Docket in Illinois?

A court docket has several essential purposes in Illinois, including:

  • Serving as a source of information for members of the public who want to find out basic information about a court case, such as the outcome of a court proceeding
  • Serving as a calendar for a court and parties involved in a pending court case, as it contains the dates, times, and locations of upcoming court hearings.

Dockets also allow for the efficient tracking of cases brought to the appellate court system.

What Do Court Dockets Contain in Illinois?

Court dockets in Illinois include the following case information:

  • The names of the case participants
  • The status of the case (closed, pending, etc.)
  • Court opinions and judgments
  • A summary of the charges
  • The date a case was filed
  • The time, date, and location of a pending court hearing
  • The attorney of record's name
  • The case type
  • The docket number
  • Comments/notes
  • A list of filed documents

Note that some courts may have all or some of the information mentioned above on their docket sheets.

What is a Court Docket Number in Illinois?

A court docket number (or case number) in Illinois is a unique identification number assigned by the court to a case. It is used to identify or locate a case.

An Illinois docket number often reveals:

  • The year the case was filed
  • The type of case, for example, FA for family or EV for eviction
  • The court handling the case
  • The case sequence number

While court docket numbers in Illinois either consist of alphabets and numbers or numbers alone, the exact docket number style and format (the order in which the docket number appears, e.g., 2012FA000010) may differ from one court to another.

How to Conduct a Court Docket Number Lookup in Illinois

In general, court case searches in Illinois can be carried out with a docket number or the name of a case participant. Thus, members of the public can often conduct a court docket number lookup in Illinois by inputting the number into the case search management system provided on a presiding court's website. For instance, persons looking to find a docket in McHenry County Circuit Court can enter the docket number into the case search portal provided on the court's website. One may also input the docket number into third-party search engines that generate information about court cases or records.

Researchers who do not know the docket number can search online databases using the name of the case participants. The docket number is one of the contents of the court docket; as such, it will be included in the search results.

Visiting the clerk's office where a case was filed is another option when wanting to perform a court docket number in Illinois. At the office, the researcher must provide either the docket number or other case file information, like a litigant's name, to access court docket sheets.