Unfortunately, state docket searching is very spotty and no service has complete coverage for all 102 Illinois counties. In many rural counties there aren't even electronic dockets online, requiring instead a trip to the courthouse.
There are four places to check: Bloomberg, Westlaw, CourtLink on Lexis, and court websites. You can access Bloomberg's IL circuit court dockets the same place where you access their federal court dockets. On Westlaw, you should find "content types" listed on the homepage, then select "dockets," and Illinois. Note that DuPage County dockets are available, but must be searched separately. CourtLink is accessible on Lexis from the tile menu on the upper left. To find access from court websites, your best bet is to search for the name of the jurisdiction and the phrase "clerk of the circuit court" because the records are maintained by the Clerk of the court. The court's main website will be focused on things like hours of operation and jury duty. It won't be helpful to you.
You should always check coverage on dockets because the connection between the clerk's office (the people with the documents) and the vendors (the people giving you access to the documents) does occasionally break just like websites go down sometimes. Some vendors will also only offer an archive of dockets from a jurisdiction (instead of up to date information). Vendors are also always trying to increase access, so it pays to check in to see if things have improved!
If you're stuck or you think you might have to travel to the courthouse, reach out to a librarian for help.
Updated: Jul 30, 2025
