Monroe County
Located in the southwestern region of Illinois, Monroe County was founded in 1816 and named after the fifth president of the US, James Monroe. It has a land area of 385 square miles and about 35,000 residents. Waterloo is its largest city and county seat. As with all counties in Illinois, the judicial needs of the people of Monroe County are met by a single unified court.
The Monroe County Circuit Court is the only court in Monroe County, and it has original jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. The Circuit Court is divided into specialized divisions based on case types. The Civil Division handles all civil, juvenile, probate, and domestic relations proceedings. It hears issues involving paternity, child custody, termination of parental rights, juvenile delinquency, wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, annulments, legal separations, alimony, emancipations, and child neglect. The Small Claims Division has simplified procedures to handle civil cases with claims under $10,000. All felonies and misdemeanors are handled by the Criminal Division. The Traffic Division handles all parking infractions and traffic violations.
The Monroe County Circuit Clerk maintains public court records from the Circuit Court in compliance with state and county laws. These records are files and documents generated from cases heard in the Monroe County Circuit Court and accessible to the public in text, video, or audio forms. They include court filings, docket entries, warrants, court orders, writs, motions, transcripts, depositions, legal proceedings, and judgments of the Circuit Court. The Monroe County Circuit Clerk's Office prepares, sorts, arranges, indexes, and stores court records for the county.
The following types of court records are generally available to the public in Monroe County, provided they are not made confidential by law or court orders:
- Criminal Case Records
- Traffic case Records
- Civil Case Records
- Probate Records
- Domestic Relations Records
Record seekers can use the public terminals in the Monroe County Circuit Clerk's Office lobby to search for non-confidential public court records. They can also request them from the Monroe County Circuit Clerk's Office at:
Monroe County Circuit Clerk's Office
100 South Main Street
Room 115
Waterloo, IL 62298
Phone: (618) 939-8681 ext. 224
