Find Lake County Court Docket Records
Lake County court docket records are maintained by the Circuit Clerk's office at 18 North County Street in Waukegan, Illinois. The 19th Judicial Circuit Court serves more than 718,000 residents in Lake County, covering civil, criminal, family, and traffic cases. The county operates an online public portal that lets you search case summaries and perform several self-service functions, though account registration is required to access case information through that system.
Lake County Quick Facts
Lake County Circuit Clerk Contact Information
The Lake County Circuit Clerk is Erin Cartwright Weinstein. The clerk's office is located at 18 North County Street, Waukegan, IL 60085-4340. Phone: 847-377-3380. Fax: 847-360-6409. The office handles all filings, public records requests, and case information for the 19th Judicial Circuit Court.
Lake County's courthouse in Waukegan is the primary location for all circuit court business. Unlike Cook County, which operates six district courthouses, Lake County's 19th Circuit is served through its central Waukegan location. If you need to file documents, request certified copies, or look up a case that is not available through the online portal, this is the office to contact.
| Clerk | Erin Cartwright Weinstein |
|---|---|
| Address | 18 North County Street, Waukegan, IL 60085-4340 |
| Phone | 847-377-3380 |
| Fax | 847-360-6409 |
| Online Portal | Lake County eCourt Portal |
Lake County Court Docket Portal
Lake County runs its own online public portal through JournalTech at the 19th Judicial Circuit public portal. The portal description states that it "provides access to certain civil, criminal, and traffic public records of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois." The court records you can view through the portal are all public records under Illinois open records law.
Attorneys and parties of record can also view documents for their own cases through the portal, which gives them broader access than the general public sees. To access court information at all, users must first register for an account. This requirement follows the Illinois Remote Access Policy, which governs online access to circuit court records statewide. Registration is free.
Once you have an account, the portal lets you do more than just search cases. Available self-service functions include: Search Cases, Submit Proposed Order, Plead Guilty and Pay Fine, Request Traffic School, Pay for Document Copies, and Pay Outstanding Fines, Fees, and Costs. These functions make the Lake County portal more full-featured than many county systems in the state. You can resolve certain traffic matters entirely online without coming to the courthouse.
The online docket shows dated case entries and status information but may not display the full text of filings. For complete documents, you will need to visit the clerk's office in Waukegan or submit a formal copy request. Remote access rules in Illinois exclude eviction, family, foreclosure, guardianship, probate, small claims, traffic, and orders of protection from online document access, even when basic case information is visible.
The Lake County 19th Circuit public portal is shown below, captured from the portal's home page.
The portal home page displays the self-service options and account registration link, along with basic information about what case types are accessible to registered users.
Electronic Filing in Lake County
Lake County courts follow the statewide eFileIL mandate for civil case filings. All attorneys and self-represented parties must file civil cases through efile.illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois has 17 approved Electronic Filing Service Providers. You can choose any one of them to submit documents. The portal is the same entry point for all 102 counties, though individual courts may have their own local rules about formatting and filing procedures.
People who need to file without a lawyer can find guidance at the Illinois Courts self-help page. The Illinois Legal Aid website explains in plain terms how to get copies of court records. Their guidance notes that in many counties you can search online, and in others you may need to go to the circuit court clerk's office. Lake County has moved toward the online-first model through its eCourt portal, though the account registration step is something to plan for in advance.
Note: Account registration for the Lake County portal is required before you can search case information. Registration is free and follows the statewide Illinois Remote Access Policy.
What Lake County Court Docket Records Cover
The 19th Judicial Circuit handles the full range of cases typical for a large Illinois county. Civil cases include contract disputes, personal injury, small claims, and more complex matters. Criminal cases cover both misdemeanors and felonies. Family court handles divorce, custody, and support matters. The court also handles traffic cases, probate, and juvenile proceedings, though some of those case types have restricted access.
Records that are never public in Illinois include juvenile cases, adoptions, sealed or expunged files, and documents containing sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and medical information. Court records do not show arrests if no charges were filed. These rules apply statewide and affect what you can find in any online or in-person search of the Lake County docket.
The judicial branch in Illinois operates under court rules and statutes separate from the Freedom of Information Act at 5 ILCS 140. FOIA does not apply to court records. The clerk's office responds to records requests under court rules instead. This distinction matters if you have experience making FOIA requests to state agencies and expect the same process to apply at the courthouse.
For appellate-level records, the re:SearchIL portal opened free public document access for Supreme Court and Appellate Court cases on May 1, 2025. Lake County cases that were appealed to the 2nd Appellate District may have documents available there. Trial-level circuit court records remain with the Lake County clerk.
Statewide Resources for Lake County Docket Research
Judici.com covers 82 Illinois counties for free public case search and includes Lake County. This third-party tool can serve as a supplement to the official portal. It shows basic case information including party names, case type, and filing date. The Illinois Courts website at illinoiscourts.gov provides general court information, links to circuit clerk contact directories, and resources for litigants. The circuit clerk directory lists all 102 county clerks with contact details organized by district and circuit.
Illinois has 24 judicial circuits covering all 102 counties. Lake County's 19th Circuit is one of the larger standalone circuits in the northern part of the state. It sits between Cook County to the south and the Wisconsin border to the north. For cases that cross county lines or involve parties from multiple counties, knowing which circuit has jurisdiction matters for where you search and where you file.
Cities in Lake County
Lake County includes the city of Waukegan and many suburban communities. Waukegan is the only city in Lake County that qualifies for its own page on this site.
Other cities and villages in Lake County include Antioch, Gurnee, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Mundelein, North Chicago, Round Lake Beach, Vernon Hills, Winthrop Harbor, and Zion, among others. These communities fall below the population threshold for individual pages but all have cases handled by the 19th Circuit Court in Waukegan.
Nearby Counties
Lake County borders Cook County to the south and McHenry County to the west. Cases from neighboring counties are handled by their respective circuit courts.