How Illinois handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Illinois: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
Illinois has no money bail. Police may release a person charged with an offense for which release can't be denied, without a judge. Anyone charged with an offense for which the state can seek detention goes before a circuit or associate judge.
725 ILCS 5/109-1- Time to see a judge
A person arrested and not released must be taken before a judge without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours, and a charge must be filed.
725 ILCS 5/109-1(a)- Money bail
Illinois abolished money bail under the Pretrial Fairness Act, which took effect September 18, 2023. Judges release people on conditions or, after a hearing on a state petition, order them detained.
725 ILCS 5/110-1.5- Pretrial risk assessment
Illinois has no single statewide risk tool. Courts use one of three approved tools: the Ohio Risk Assessment System, the revised Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument, or the Public Safety Assessment. The state Office of Statewide Pretrial Services runs pretrial services in counties without their own.
725 ILCS 5/110-6.4Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, Additional pretrial resourcesIllinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services- Courts
Illinois has one trial court, the circuit court, which hears every felony and misdemeanor. There are no city, county, or justice courts.
Ill. Const. art. VI, secs. 1, 9- Judges and magistrates
Circuit judges are nominated in party primaries or by petition and elected to six-year terms, then run in retention elections to stay. Circuit judges appoint associate judges to four-year terms. Every judge must be a licensed Illinois lawyer.
Ill. Const. art. VI, secs. 8, 10, 11, 12- Prosecutors
Each county elects a state's attorney to a four-year term. Counties may agree to share one state's attorney.
Ill. Const. art. VI, sec. 19- Public defense
Every county with 35,000 or more people must have a public defender's office. Smaller counties may create one, share one with neighboring counties, or have the court appoint lawyers.
55 ILCS 5/3-400155 ILCS 5/3-400255 ILCS 5/3-4003- Jails
The county sheriff is the warden of the county jail. A few counties share a regional jail authority.
730 ILCS 125/2725 ILCS 5/109-1(a)
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. 725 ILCS 5/110-1.5 states January 1, 2023, but the Illinois Supreme Court stayed the law until September 18, 2023 (Rowe v. Raoul); the stay is from general knowledge, not a source read here. Retention needs three-fifths of votes cast; not re-read. How small counties without a public defender office provide lawyers was not confirmed county by county.