Local Court Rules of the Ninth Judicial Circuit govern local Courtroom procedure. This site also contains information and forms required by the Local Circuit Rules in certain types of cases.
If you are a party to any case in which custody of your child is an issue, then you are required to attend a Parenting Education Program. You must attend a Parenting Education Program even if you and your child’s other parent are in full agreement as to all issues concerning your child’s custody.
A notice and information form provides a list of locally available parenting classes and additional information on this requirement.
You are required to participate in Mediation if you and your child’s other parent are unable to agree on any of the following issues concerning your child:
Custody Issues
Visitation Issues
Removing your child’s residence from the State of Illinois.
Mediation is an informal way for family members to resolve disputes outside of the formal legal system. With the help of a neutral mediator, the parties attempt to resolve their differences by negotiating their own mutually acceptable voluntary settlement. The mediatior does not make the decisions. Decisions are reached by the participants.
A minimum of three hours of mediation is required.
In addition to searching the Yellow Pages and asking friends, below are links to help you search for an attorney:
Illinois Lawyer Finder Site is sponsered by the Illinois Bar Association and is composed of attorneys who register for this program. They are not "free" lawyers, but will provide a "free" one-half hour consultation.
Prairie State Legal Services serves the Ninth Judicial Circuit. It may provide "free" services or reduced rates for persons who qualify.
Illinois Legal Aid may be able to provide "free" services or reduced rates for persons who qualify.
This web site was created by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court solely as a public service. The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court
does not warrant the accuracy of the information contained herein nor is it responsible for any errors or omissions and
assumes no liability for its use, availability or compatibility with web site users’ software or computers. The information
contained on this website
is by necessity general in nature and is not intended as legal advice, but rather information which may be helpful in
understanding how courts in Illinois operate. For legal advice, you should contact a lawyer.
To find a lawyer, you may look in the classified section of telephone directories or call the lawyer referral service of
your local county bar association. The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court specifically disclaims any and all
liability from damages which may result from accessing this website or any website which is linked to this website,
or from reliance upon any information contained therein.
Disclaimer Regarding Third-Party Websites
Links to third-party websites are provided as a courtesy. The materials on third-party sites are provided “as is”
and without warranties of any kind either express or implied. The Ninth Judicial Circuit
exercises no control over the views, accuracy, copyright or trademark
compliance or the legality of the material contained on third party
sites and does not sponsor, endorse or approve the information, content,
products, materials, opinions or services contained on such external
sites. The visitor proceeds to these external sites at their own risk.
The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court specifically disclaims any and all
liability from damages which may result from the accessing of a third
party site which is linked to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court website,
or from reliance upon any such information.