Thelaw of Illinois, astate of the United States, consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law.Illinois state law is promulgated under theIllinois State Constitution. TheIllinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) form the general statutory law. The case law of theIllinois Supreme Court and state appellate courts is currently published online under a public domain reporting system. Interpretations of law and conflicts among the various levels of law are referred to theIllinois courts in suits for application ofcommon law. The states administrative law is published in codified form in theIllinois Administrative Code. Local ordinances are published by the respective local authorities, which are granted that authority under state law.
TheConstitution of Illinois is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by theIllinois General Assembly, published in theLaws of Illinois, and codified in theIllinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS). State agencies publish regulations (sometimes called administrative law) in theIllinois Register, which are in turn codified in theIllinois Administrative Code. Illinois's legal system is based oncommon law, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Courts, which are published on the website of the Supreme Court. Counties, townships, cities, and villages may also promulgatelocal ordinances. There are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify the current state of the law.
TheConstitution of Illinois is the foundation of thegovernment of Illinois and vests the legislative power of the state in theIllinois General Assembly. The Illinois Constitution in turn is subordinate only to theConstitution of the United States, which is the supreme law of the land.
Pursuant to the state constitution, theIllinois General Assembly has enactedlegislation. These legislative acts are published in the officialLaws of Illinois and are called "session laws".[1][2] TheIllinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) are thecodifiedstatutes of a general and permanent nature.[2][3]
TheIllinois Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) makes additions, deletions, and changes to ILCS.[4] There is no official version of the ILCS.[5] There are several unofficial versions:Illinois State Bar Association's/West'sIllinois Compiled Statutes, West'sSmith–Hurd Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated, andLexisNexis'sIllinois Compiled Statutes Annotated.[6]
Pursuant to certain statutes, state agencies have promulgatedregulations. The regulations are codified in theIllinois Administrative Code.[3] TheIllinois Register is the weekly publication containing proposed and adopted rules.[3] There also exist administrative law decisions.[7]
Both theIllinois Administrative Code andIllinois Register are maintained by theIllinois Secretary of State. TheIllinois Administrative Code was last printed in 1996.[8] The General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules also publishes online versions.[9]
TheFlinn Report is a weekly newsletter published by the Joint Committee meant to inform and educate Illinois citizens about current rulemaking activity.[9]
Illinois's legal system is based oncommon law, which is interpreted bycase law through thedecisions of theSupreme Court of Illinois and theIllinois Appellate Court. The officialreporter for opinions of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Court are published on the website of the Illinois Supreme Court using a public domaincase citation.[10][11][12] There are also unofficial sources such as West'sIllinois Decisions (an Illinois-specific version of theNorth Eastern Reporter) with opinions since 1886.[1] Illinois Appellate Court decisions from before 1935 are not binding.[13] Illinois Circuit Court decisions are not published,[14] but jury verdicts and settlements are published in the monthlyIllinois Jury Verdict Reporter, with regular updates from theChicago Daily Law Bulletin, and the weeklyCook County Jury Verdict Reporter.[15] Decisions of theIllinois Court of Claims are published in theCourt of Claims Reports.[16]
TheIllinois Digest is an indexed compilation of summaries of opinions, or digest.[1]
The opinions of the Supreme Court and Appellate Court had been published in theIllinois Reports andIllinois Appellate Court Reports, respectively, from 1831 to 2011;[12] according to theUniversity of Chicago Library, since 1819 and 1877, respectively.[1] Illinois Circuit Court decisions were published from 1907 to 1909.[14]
Illinois counties, townships, cities, and villages may promulgatelocal ordinances.[17]
TheGovernment of Chicago operates as a special charter municipality.[18] TheJournal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago is the official publication of the acts of the Chicago City Council,[19] and theMunicipal Code of Chicago is thecodification of itslocal ordinances of a general and permanent nature.[19][20]
Shepard's Illinois Citations includes judicial interpretations of local ordinances.[21]
In addition, there are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify the current state of the law.Illinois Jurisprudence andIllinois Law and Practice are two major legalencyclopedias.[1] TheIllinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) also publishes guides forcontinuing legal education.[1]
Illinois was one of the last remaining states to recognize thealienation of affections tort.[22] However, recognition of the tort was statutorily abrogated at the beginning of 2016, pursuant to the Alienation of Affections Abolition Act.[23]
Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of theHarvard Law Library
