Cook County Criminal Records Request

Resolve Illinois, Minnesota or Georgia before sending a Cook County request

“Cook County criminal records request” is state-ambiguous. Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia each have official Cook County court routes. Use the state on the citation, case number, arresting agency, courthouse notice or address before applying any local identifiers, fees or copy procedure.

Illinois: route Chicago and suburban cases through the Clerk of the Circuit Court

For Cook County, Illinois court records, use the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court rather than a general county FOIA request. Determine whether the case is a Chicago matter or a suburban district and whether it is a misdemeanor/preliminary-felony matter or a felony trial case.

The Criminal Department handles Chicago misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings. For a certified Chicago disposition, it asks for defendant name, date of birth and arrest date. The Criminal Division handles Chicago felony trial cases, while suburban districts maintain the felony records for cases heard there.

Illinois: request the document from the division that actually holds it

The Clerk’s Court Document Request page publishes separate contacts for the Criminal Department and Criminal Division. Include the case number when known and name the exact record needed, such as a certified disposition or filed order.

Do not carry Illinois identifiers, service rules or retrieval assumptions into a Minnesota or Georgia request.

Minnesota: Cook County District Court is the criminal-court record source

Minnesota’s Cook County District Court is in Grand Marais and has jurisdiction over criminal and traffic cases filed in Cook County. The court lists a public-access court-records computer at the courthouse.

Minnesota Judicial Branch copy-request guidance provides a Cook County-specific copy request route. Use that court process for copies rather than the Illinois Clerk workflow.

Georgia: use the Cook County Clerk of Superior Court for Superior Court criminal filings

Cook County, Georgia’s Clerk of Superior Court states that the office files criminal records and compiles criminal and arraignment calendars. The office is at 212 North Hutchinson Avenue, Adel, Georgia 31620, phone 229-896-7717.

If the Georgia matter belongs to a different court level, follow that court’s custodian instead; the Superior Court clerk route should not be generalized to every Georgia criminal record.