The Circuit Court of Cook County of the State of Illinois is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois and one of the largest unified court systems in the world. It has about 400 judges who serve the 5.2 million residents of Cook County within the City of Chicago and its 126 surrounding suburbs. More than 1 million cases are filed each year.
The Circuit Court of Cook County was created by a 1964 amendment to the Illinois Constitution which reorganized the courts in Illinois. The amendment effectively merged the often confusing and overlapping jurisdictions of Cook County’s previous 161 courts into one uniform and cohesive court of general jurisdiction.
Today, the Circuit Court of Cook County is a unified court system in which all trial courts are consolidated under the chief judge, Honorable Timothy C. Evans, who has centralized authority to coordinate and supervise the administrative functions of the court.
Chief Judge Evans is responsible for the assignment of approximately 400 judges throughout the court's ten divisions and six geographic districts and the appointment of a presiding judge to head each division and district. The Chief Judge also oversees the court’s Surety Section and the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Resource Section, appointing a judge to head each of those sections as well.
The Office of the Chief Judge is the administrative arm of the court. It prepares the court's annual budget and supervises approximately 2,600 non-judicial employees who work in 15 offices that provide probation and other court-support services, including court reporting and foreign language interpreting.
For administrative and management purposes, the court has divided Cook County into six geographic sub-districts. This allows the court to better serve the county’s large population.
The Circuit Court's six districts and the areas which they serve are:
| First Municipal District - Chicago | City of Chicago |
| Second Municipal District - Skokie | Northern suburbs of Cook County |
| Third Municipal District - Rolling Meadows | Northwestern suburbs of Cook County |
| Fourth Municipal District - Maywood | Western suburbs of Cook County |
| Fifth Municipal District - Bridgeview | Southwestern suburbs of Cook County |
| Sixth Municipal District - Markham | Southern suburbs of Cook County |
To accommodate its vast caseload, the court is organized into three functional departments: County, Municipal, and Juvenile Justice & Child Protection.
Download the Circuit Court of Cook County An Informational Guide (2023) here.
Functional Departments
The County Department is divided into the following eight divisions:
- Chancery Division
- County Division
- Criminal Division
- Domestic Relations Division
- Domestic Violence Division
- Law Division
- Probate Division
- Pretrial Division
- Traffic Division
The Chief Judge appoints a Presiding Judge to oversee each division. In addition to hearing cases, Presiding Judges are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the division and the assignment of judges within the division.
The types of cases heard in each division depend on the nature of the controversy.
The Chancery Division hears matters concerning:
- injunctions
- class actions
- mortgage foreclosures
- declaratory judgments
- contract matters
- creditors' rights
- liens
- construction of wills and trusts
- trusteeships
- receiverships
- dissolutions of partnerships and corporations
- statutory and administrative reviews
- vehicle impoundment
The County Division hears matters concerning:
- adoption
- name changes
- marriage of minors
- annexation and de-annexation of land to a tax body
- elections
- inheritance taxes
- mental health proceedings
- real estate taxes
- municipal organizations
- orders of protection filed in conjunction with a mental health proceeding
The Criminal Division hears cases in which the state alleges the commission of a serious criminal act such as:
- armed robbery
- assault
- burglary
- criminal sexual assault
- murder
The Criminal Division also has Problem-Solving Courts that provide mental health treatment, support for veterans, drug treatment, and support for women charged with prostitution.
The Domestic Relations Division hears matters concerning:
- dissolution of marriage (formerly divorce)
- dissolution of civil union
- legal separation
- invalidity of marriage or civil union
- civil orders of protection filed in conjunction with a domestic relations proceeding
- child support
- child custody and visitation
- parentage
- enforcement and modification of previously entered judgments in these matters
The Domestic Violence Division hears matters concerning:
- civil orders of protection
- criminal actions involving relationships defined by the Illinois Domestic Violence Act including:
- all matters through the preliminary hearing or indictment in which the most serious offense charged is a Class 1, 2, or 3 felony
- Class 4 felonies
- misdemeanors
- aggravated stalking
- civil no contact orders
- stalking no contact orders
Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies Division: See Probate Division
The Law Division hears civil suits for recovery of monetary damages in excess of $30,000 in Chicago and in excess of $100,000 in the court's five (5) suburban municipal districts, as well as many types of administrative reviews.
Cases heard include:
- personal injury/wrongful death
- motor vehicle injury
- medical malpractice
- legal malpractice
- product liability
- intentional tort
- construction injuries
- commercial litigation
- fraud
- breach of contract
- breach of warranty
- employment security
- property damage
- premises liability
- miscellaneous remedies
The Probate Division hears matters concerning wills and administration of estates.
Cases heard include:
- probate and contest of wills and testamentary instruments
- claims against an estate arising in contract, tort or otherwise
- administration of estates of decedents, disabled persons, minors and wards
- contracts to make a will
- construction of wills
- actions arising under the Illinois Power of Attorney Act
- orders of protection filed in conjunction with a probate proceeding
The Pretrial Division conducts initial appearance hearings in criminal cases for non-Domestic Violence City of Chicago misdemeanors and felonies to determine conditions of release or denial of pretrial release.
The Division also runs initial appearance calls for sex offenses, offenses involving a death, and escape.
The Division hears all City and countywide extradition proceedings for out of state fugitive warrants and intrastate out of county warrants.
On weekends and holidays, the Division conducts initial appearance hearings for all countywide misdemeanors and felonies including domestic violence cases and all warrants.
The Traffic Division of the Circuit Court hears all non-felony cases alleging violations of traffic laws. The Traffic Division is divided geographically into six locations including the Daley Center and courtrooms at the courthouses in Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham. The traffic cases are assigned to the geographical area where the violation was alleged to occur. Some exceptions exist when cases are brought by police agencies which have countywide jurisdiction such as the Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Conservation, Metra Police, various University Police or the Cook County Sheriff.
The Municipal Department is made up of six districts which geographically divide Cook County as follows:
- First Municipal District - City of Chicago
- Second Municipal District - northern suburban Cook County
- Third Municipal District - northwestern suburban Cook County
- Fourth Municipal District - western suburban Cook County
- Fifth Municipal District - southwestern suburban Cook County
- Sixth Municipal District - southern Cook County
The Chief Judge appoints a Presiding Judge to oversee each district. In addition to hearing cases, Presiding Judges are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the district and the assignment of judges within the district.
The First Municipal District hears cases involving:
- housing
- eviction proceedings
- small claims
- licenses
- misdemeanor criminal proceedings except for those heard in the Domestic Violence Division
- felony preliminary hearings except for those heard in the Domestic Violence Division
- ordinance and traffic enforcement
- contract cases decided by alternative dispute resolution process
- civil suits for damages up to $30,000
- mandatory arbitration (less formal proceeding with three-member panel deciding case) in suits with damages of $30,000 or less
- marriage and civil union court
The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Municipal Districts hear cases involving:*
- orders of protection
- stalking/civil no contact orders
- housing
- eviction proceedings
- small claims
- licenses
- misdemeanor criminal proceedings
- specialty court for drug treatment in the Fourth Municipal District, Fifth Municipal District and Sixth Municipal District
- specialty court for mental health treatment in the Second Municipal District, Third Municipal District, Fourth Municipal District and Sixth Municipal District
- specialty court for veterans
- felony preliminary hearings
- ordinance and traffic enforcement
- contract cases decided by alternative dispute resolution process
- civil suits for damages up to $100,000
- mandatory arbitration (less formal proceeding with three-member panel deciding case) in suits with damages of $30,000 or less
- name changes
- marriage and civil union court
*The following types of cases are also heard in the municipal district courthouses:
- felony criminal cases
- domestic relations cases
- juvenile justice cases
- law division tort cases seeking damages in excess of $100,000
The municipal district courthouses also have Problem-Solving Courts that provide mental health treatment, support for veterans, drug treatment, and support for women charged with prostitution.
The Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department was created in January 1995. Its establishment marked the first restructuring of the Circuit Court of Cook County in its thirty-year history. It was originally known as the Juvenile Justice Division and functioned as a part of the County Department.
The Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department is divided into two divisions:
Each division is headed by a presiding judge.
The Juvenile Justice Division hears cases involving delinquent minors under 18 years of age and promotes a system of treatment for these minors that responds to the issues of delinquent behavior. This treatment system is designed to protect the community, impose accountability for delinquent behavior, and equip minors with competencies to live responsibly and productively.
Cases heard include:
- Proceedings to determine is a minor has violated any federal or state law, county or municipal ordinance
- Proceedings for minors addicted to alcohol or drugs
- Proceedings for minors requiring authoritative intervention (runaways or those beyond the control of a parent, guardian or custodian)
The Child Protection Division hears cases involving:
- child abuse
- child neglect
- child dependency
- private guardianship
- termination of parental rights
- orders of protection filed in conjunction with another Child Protection proceeding
The Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Resource Section serves as liaison to the academic, business and religious communities to identify and develop services and resources that will augment programs vital to juvenile justice. The section is supervised by an administrative presiding judge and is located in the Richard J. Daley Center.