Illinois Courthouse Records

The courthouses in different states of the United States handle multiple legal duties. The ones located in Illinois are no exception either. In the current discourse, we would be trying to shed some light on the functionalities of the courthouses in this state.

Firstly, an Illinois courthouse is responsible for keeping track of all the marriages that take place in this state. This function remains applicable irrespective of in which county any couple marries. The courthouses have the position of county clerks, who are the persons who actually carry out the important work of maintaining the records.

The courthouses in Illinois not only keep the marriage records, but also ensure the easy retrieval of such information as and when required. All relevant marriage information is kept in the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index. You can find out the details of any marriage from these records. The specified fees would, of course, have to be paid by you in such cases.

Next on the agenda of duties of the legal courtrooms in Illinois is the proper, orderly maintenance of all birth and death records in the state. This duty is carried out via the joint collaboration of the County clerk of the Illinois-based courthouses and the authorities at the Illinois Department of Public Health.

In case you need to find out about a birth (or death as the case may be) record dated prior to 1916, the office of the County clerk has to be contacted. For all similar records after that year, the Department of Public Health can also help you in your queries. It should be mentioned in this context that, the IRAD (Illinois Regional Archives Depository) officially maintains all records of births, marriages and deaths in the state.

Accessing Courthouse Records for Background Checking

Criminal court background records are an essential piece of every background check that is conducted. The information contained and retrieved by you can reveal whether an individual has been convicted of any crime and possibly party to lawsuits as well. Often, companies who are about to hire someone want to check to ensure that there is no criminal past and thus they carry out this search.

There can be other instances too. For example you may want to check out the background of someone you are getting married too and just want to be sure.

Free public arrest records are sometimes hard to find. When you want to gain access to public criminal arrest records, a big misconception is that since the information is available to the public, it must be free. The fact however is that in most cases you will have to pay administrative fees to access the records.

How to Access the Courthouse Records in Illinois

The records that are collected are actually kept secure with the operations department of the courthouses. When required, these records can be referred to in a timely manner. On the other hand, the information stock at the disposal of the local governments is placed with the IRAD divisions of the courts at Illinois.

The records management division of the Illinois court also takes care of the records provided by the state as well as the local government bodies. The data that this department handles is usually kept conveniently. For example, digitally edited paper records, or microfilmed and electrically created records are all stored and retrieved when necessary by this section.

The archives repository of the courtrooms in Illinois is in charge of a wide range of valuable information, and this remains under the control of the Restoration Laboratory department of the court. The information that remains here is guaranteed to remain conserved for a long time.

It might be important to know that the Records Management department of the Illinois court may however not have access to certain highly classified information. You can acquire such information from the Office of Vital Records, Illinois and/or from the office of the County Clerk. Official divorce records in the state are also kept here.

You can contact any of the departments as mentioned here (according to your requirements) and gain access to the data you need. While most people still visit the clerk at the courthouse for getting the courthouse records that they need, there are those who do not like to do this because it can require a lot of waiting in queues. Some of these people choose to call the clerk directly. They too need to wait because their reports need to be mailed to them.

Public courthouse records including criminal arrest reports are also available from commercial information services on the Internet. By accessing these databases, you can gain access to a wealth of information. This information is used for various reasons by individuals and businesses alike to conduct background checks on anyone who may become a trusted part of your family's life or an employee. That aside, arrest records are similar to other public records.