Cook County
Cook County was named after Daniel Pope Cook, a former Illinois Statesman. It is the most populous county in Illinois with over 5,275,541 inhabitants. It was created on January 15, 1831 and has its county seat in Chicago. More than 40 percent of the residents of Illinois live inside the 1,635 square miles of Cook County.
The Cook County court system has the Circuit Court and Administrative Adjudication Courts for trial cases. The Cook County Circuit Court sits in multiple locations and has civil, criminal, probate, traffic, domestic relation, and juvenile divisions. It also has "Problem Solving Court" programs such as Drug Court, Mental Health Court, and Veterans Court for non-violent felony or misdemeanor cases. There are currently 20 Problem-Solving Courts operating in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Circuit Court also shares jurisdiction with the Illinois Supreme Court over cases related to revenue, mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus.
The Administrative Adjudication Courts have different names in various cities, towns, and villages of Cook County. They may be called administrative adjudication systems, administrative hearing offices, adjudication courts, and municipal courts. Administrative Adjudication Courts handle civil cases involving ordinance violation cases. They hear cases relating to traffic violations, parking violations, disorderly conducts, curfew violations, pet violations, nuisances, property maintenance violations, zoning and building code violations, animal control ordinance, and alcohol and tobacco violations. The decisions made in Administrative Adjudication Courts may be appealed to the Cook County's Circuit Court.
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is tasked with filing, keeping, and preserving court records in Cook County. The Circuit Court Clerk Office allows the public to view court records.
You can access the following court records at Cook County Courthouses:
- Civil
- Criminal
- Small Claims
- Domestic Relations
- Probate
- Traffic
- Mortgage Foreclosures
- Guardianship
The online case search tool provided by the Clerk of the Circuit Court allows anyone to view Cook County court records. If you are looking for information on a recent court file or court event, you can search from the Circuit Court Clerk's Public Access Terminals located in the courthouses. Official court records are held and maintained in hard copy paper files in the courthouse. You will be able to search with a case number or names of parties involved and you will be charged a fee if you are obtaining certified copies of court records.
