Illinois Public Records



Many records created by city, county, and state governments in Illinois do not fit into the categories described herein. Records of mayors, commissioners, overseers of the poor, and schools are examples of government sources that may give information not contained in other records. Some collections that contain a variety of records, such as land, history, tax, court, or other records, may be classified as public records.

Search the seven Illinois Regional Depositories for public records. These records will usually be found within the county inventories. Find county inventories by searching the IRAD Governmental Holdings Database. See the Illinois Regional Depositories (IRAD) wiki page for how to search this depository.

Public records may be found in the FamilySearch Catalog under various headings. Search first for the locality of the entity which created the record ( i.e. town, county, etc.) with a Place-name Search. Within that locality look for the types of records listed above, such as school records, poor records, etc. In the FamilySearch Catalog you will usually find these records under a heading different from "public records".

Search Illinois county wiki pages for local genealogical society or historical society web pages. Sometimes local societies will transcribe public records and make the transcriptions avialable in print or online. Also check local public libraries for collections or transcriptions. Local libraries are listed on Illinois county wiki pages.

Online sources are sometimes found onLinkpendium andILGenWeb. Search for county or town records on these sites.

Web Sites

 * 50 States.com
 * Illinois Free Public Records Directory
 * Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln This is a searchable database of all of Lincoln's papers related to his law practice. It includes papers concerning his cases, billings, etc. These records are primarily related to Sangamon County but he also had cases elsewhere. The papers include names of private citizens involved in the cases as well as businesses he represented. The names include witnesses, parties, attorneys, and others.