The Illinois Judicial System
Article VI, the Judicial Article of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, provides for a unified, 3-tiered judiciary – Circuit Court, Appellate Court, and Supreme Court.
The Circuit Court:
- The State of Illinois is divided into 25 Judicial Circuits. Each Judicial Circuit is composed of one or more contiguous counties. Circuit Courts, also known as trial courts, are established within each judicial circuit.
- The Circuit Court is a court of general jurisdiction, which means it has original jurisdiction in all matters except those limited cases in which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction.
- Circuit Courts hear both civil and criminal cases.
- There are 2 types of judges in the Circuit Court: Circuit Judges and Associate Judges. All judges must be licensed attorneys and are officials of the State of Illinois. Circuit Judges are initially elected for a six-year term, either on a circuit-wide basis or from their county of residence. Thereafter, every 6 years they must run for retention. The Circuit Judges elect a Chief Judge using guidelines established by local court rules; the Chief Judge provides administrative guidance to the entire circuit. Associate Judges are appointed on a merit basis by the Circuit Judges for a 4-year term. Thereafter, they are considered for retention by the Circuit Judges every 4 years. Associate Judges may hear all types of cases except felony matters, for which they must receive authorization from the Supreme Court.
- DuPage County is the 18th Circuit Court and Will County is the 12th Circuit Court. The courthouses are located in the county seat- Wheaton and Joliet respectively.
The Appellate Court:
- The Illinois Appellate Court is divided into 5 Judicial Districts. Cook County comprises the entire First Judicial District. The rest of the State is divided into the remaining 4 judicial districts of “substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties.”
- The Appellate Court affirms the trial court decision if it finds there has been no error committed in the application of the law, or if the error was so minimal that it made little difference in the outcome of the trial. The Appellate Court may reverse the trial court decision or remand the case for a new trial if there has been a substantive error in the application of the law. In this instance, the case is normally sent back to the Circuit Court for further action.
- Judges are elected by voters in each district for ten-year terms, and may be retained for additional ten-year terms.The Supreme Court can assign additional circuit, appellate or retired judges temporarily to any district.
- The Twelfth (Will) and Eighteenth (DuPage) Judicial Circuits are in the Third Appellate Judicial District located in Ottawa, IL.
The Supreme Court:
- The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the State. Cases are normally channeled to the Supreme Court from the Appellate Court, but this is not exclusive.
- The Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction in matters that involve legislative redistricting and determining the ability of the Governor to serve in office. The Supreme Court also has discretionary original jurisdiction in cases relating to State revenue and writs of mandamus, prohibition, or habeas corpus.
- General administrative and supervisory authority over the court system is vested in the Supreme Court.
- Justices are elected in partisan elections for 10 years and may be retained in office for additional terms of 10 years. A chief justice is elected by the other justices for a term of three years.
- The Illinois State Supreme Court is composed of 7 Justices; 3 represent the First Appellate Judicial District (Cook County) and 1 each represents the remaining 4 Appellate Judicial Districts. A majority vote of 4 is required to decide a case.
- The Supreme Court is located in Springfield, IL.
- Naperville is within the Third Judicial Appellate District