Lake County
Located in northeast Illinois, Lake County has a population of over 714,00 people residing in its 443.6 square miles of land area. It was founded in March 1839 and is named for Lake Michigan. Waukegan is the Lake County's seat.
The court system in Lake County comprises administrative adjudication and circuit courts. State law allows municipalities in Illinois to institute administrative bodies to handle ordinance violations. Some of the ordinance violation cases heard by administrative adjudication in Lake County include parking tickets, traffic tickets, disorderly conduct, pet violations, curfew violations, red light camera tickets, zoning and building code violations.
Circuit courts in Lake County may hear any civil or criminal case, except those heard exclusively by the Illinois Supreme Court or the Court of Claims. These courts have divisions based on the type of case handled. Such divisions include juvenile, domestic relations, civil, probate, criminal, and traffic. They also have a simplified small claims procedure for civil cases involving amounts of up to $10,000 in dispute.
Lake County circuit courts share jurisdiction with the state supreme court over cases pertaining to habeas corpus and mandamus prohibition. However, if the supreme court accepts jurisdiction on a matter, the circuit court cannot.
Court records in the county are maintained by the Lake County circuit clerk. The office of the clerk maintains a record of all traffic, criminal, and civil actions in the county. Individuals or businesses can request a court record search from the office in person or by mail. Request for court records must include the following information:
- Name of the requester
- Case years to be searched
- Case type to be searched
- Date of birth if the requester is an individual
- Self-addressed stamped envelope
Send requests to:
ATTN: Record Search
Clerk of the Circuit Court
18 North County Street
Waukegan, IL 60085
Case information for civil, criminal, and traffic court records in Lake County is also available via a portal service provided by the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the county. The service allows attorneys and parties of record to view documents for their cases through the portal. Note that users of the services are required to first register for an account on the portal in order to search for case information.
