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50 West Washington St., Room 1202, Chicago, IL 60602

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The County Division is established pursuant to General Order 1.2, 2.1 (d) of the General Orders of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The County Division hears actions concerning a variety of matters, including, but not limited to the following: adoptions, election matters, emancipation of minors, mental health, municipal incorporations, orders of protection filed in conjunction with a mental health proceeding, name changes, tax deeds, tax objections and other matters formerly cognizable in the Circuit Court that are not heard in another division.

County Division Case Files

County Division case files may include the following types of documents: petitions, appearances, motions, affidavits, applications, certificates, notices, court orders and transcripts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adoption records are restricted by statute, a court order must be obtained for access to the records.  

Yes, the involuntary commitment process is the same whether a family member or non-family member petitions the court after observing a person exhibiting dangerous behavior toward themselves or others.

The treating physician may petition the Court requesting that your child be administered the required medication by force. If the Court agrees with the evidence presented in a court hearing by the treating physician that your child is in need of medication, a court order will be issued indicating that your child will receive the necessary medication by force. If the Court does not agree with the treating physician, an order will be entered in favor of your child. The Court will weigh all of the evidence presented at the hearing to make a determination.

The Clerk's Office, by law, cannot release adoption information. However, the petitioner in an adoption case can register with the Illinois Adoption Registry. It is possible that your birth parent(s) may already be registered and you don't need to search for them. If your birth parents are not registered, you can petition the Court for the appointment of a Confidential Intermediary.

The tax purchaser is responsible for notifying all interested parties, including the owner, that the taxes have been sold on a particular property. If you are the owner, you should request an Estimate of Redemption from the Real Estate Taxation Services Division of the County Clerk's Office located at the Cook County Building, 118 North Clark St., Room 434, Chicago, IL. If you are an occupant or an otherwise interested party, you are being given notice that the taxes have been sold on the property. You should contact the owner right away to determine if they are aware of the situation. Please note that the current property owner is responsible payment of all taxes due and owed on their property.

The Change of Name court forms may be obtained, in person, from the information counter in the County Division, Room 1202, or from the Illinois Supreme Court’s website at https://services.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/Forms/Forms/pdf_files/NCR303.pdf

All County Division files can be viewed in Rooms 1201 and 1202 of the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602.   

District Information

50 West Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602

State of Illinois

About Domestic Relations Cases

The Domestic Relations Division hears dissolution of marriage (divorce), dissolution of civil union, legal separation, parentage, child support, parenting time and decision-making (formerly custody), division of financial assets and property, maintenance (formerly alimony), and non-parent visitation cases. The information below is designed to help litigants, attorneys, and the public understand the legal process and access tools and resources to help them navigate a lawsuit.

Filing a Case

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is responsible for accepting filings, which must be filed electronically. To learn more about electronic filing and to access a step-by-step guide, click here . For assistance with e-filing, you may contact the Clerk’s Office either by emailing [email protected] or calling 312-603-5030.

Please note that certain groups and filings have been exempted from the electronic filing requirement. For more information and to learn whether you are exempted, click here .

For more information about the procedure for or costs associated with filing, please visit the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s website .

Assignment of Cases 

Upon filing a new action in the Domestic Relations Division, your case will be randomly assigned to an individual calendar judge or a judicial team as prescribed in the Local Court Rules.

Judicial teams are comprised of multiple judges operating as one judicial unit. If your case is assigned to a judicial team, it shall be administered by that team from commencement through post decree.

The presiding judge has designated one member of each judicial team as a preliminary judge. All other judges on the team are trial judges. Preliminary judges hear pre-trial matters and are responsible for monitoring case progress. Trial judges hear contested trials, default or stipulated prove ups, post-decree matters, and any other matter assigned to them. When the preliminary judge certifies that a case is ready for trial or prove up, or determines that a pre-trial matter requires a hearing, the case may be assigned to one of the available team trial judges. Post decree matters are assigned to trial judges in accordance with Local Court Rules 13.2 and 13.3 and DR General Administrative Order 2017-D1: Consolidation of the Cook County Domestic Relations Division . 

Individual calendar judges, conversely, operate independently to administer each aspect of your case from commencement through post decree. Individual calendar judges independently undertake each function of the case that the team calendars administer as a unit.

For more information about the general organization of the Division and assignment of cases, review Cook County Local Court Rules 13.2 and 13.3 .

Local Court Rules

• 13.1 Definitions
• 13.2 General Organization of the Domestic Relations Division 
• 13.3 Filing, Service and Assignment
• 13.3.1 Mandatory Disclosure
• 13.3.2 Proof of Income
• 13.4 Pre-Trial Phase
• 13.6 Post-Judgment
• 13.7 Transcripts
• 13.8 Contempt Proceedings
• 13.9 Requirements and Application Process for Attorneys for Children, Guardians ad Litem and Child Representatives
• 13.10 Parenting Coordinator
• 13.11 Civility

Relevant State Laws

The Domestic Relations Division hears matters that arise under statutes which include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/101, et. seq.)
• Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act (750 ILCS 75/1, et. seq.)
• Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 (750 ILCS 45/1 et. seq.)
• Illinois Domestic Violence Act   (750 ILCS 60/101, et. seq.)
• Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (750 ILCS 36/101, et. seq.)
• Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (750 ILCS 22/100 et. seq.)
• Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (750 ILCS 10/1, et. seq.)
• Income Withholding for Support Act (750 ILCS 28/1, et. seq)

What's On this page

New judges head to Cook County’s pretrial division where detention and release decisions are made

CHICAGO — Regular CWBChicago readers will soon see four new names mentioned frequently in our reports. That’s because half of the judges who currently handle pretrial hearings, known as “bond court” during the cash bail era, are rotating to new assignments. And four judges will be replacing them.

The pretrial roster includes eight judges who handle day-to-day hearings and Judge Mary Marubio, who has been the Pretrial Division’s acting presiding judge since January 2023 .

Leaving pretrial will be judges Charles Beach, Barbara Dawkins, Maryam Ahmad, and Kelly McCarthy, according to Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office.

Beach, who has been assigned to pretrial since 2019 , will go to the Law Division, according to Evans’ office. Dawkins, Ahmad, and McCarthy rotated into the Pretrial Division in October 2021. According to Evans’ spokesperson, Dawkins is heading to the Criminal Division, while Ahmad and McCarthy are heading to the First Municipal Division.

The incoming pretrial judges, according to Evans’ office, are:

• Shauna Boliker , an associate judge since 2014 currently assigned to the probate division. Before becoming a judge, Bolicker served more than 25 years in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, including five years as the top aide to former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. She also served as chief of the office’s sex crimes division for eight years.
• Deidre Dyer, appointed to an associate judgeship in March 2023, is moving from the First Municipal Traffic Division . According to her website , Dyer is a former Cook County prosecutor who served as a deputy supervisor overseeing financial crimes, fraud, and public corruption cases. She also worked in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Bureau.
• Caroline Glennon, an associate judge assigned to the Traffic Division, was a Cook County assistant public defender from 1997 until being appointed to the bench in January. She handled homicide cases for nearly 20 years.
• Antara Rivera has been assigned to the Traffic Division since being appointed to an associate judgeship earlier this month . She most recently worked as an arbitrator for the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission and previously served as the chief of general prosecutions at the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Rivera also worked as a special victims unit prosecutor in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The other judges currently assigned to the Pretrial Division are Judge Susana Ortiz, who rotated into the assignment with Beach in 2019 and three judges who joined the division in late 2022 : William Fahy, David Kelly, and Ankur Srivastava.

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© 2024 CWBChicago LLC. All rights reserved.

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The Second Municipal District is organized by courtrooms, key dates and judicial assignments.  The “key date” system is used in  Courtrooms 101, 102, 103 and 104 for traffic and misdemeanor cases, expungements, and youth ordinance cases. Under the key date system, each municipality in the Second Municipal District is assigned certain day(s) of the month for its cases. The key date system allows police officers and other enforcement officials to attend court on a regular basis and still be able to carry out their other duties away from court. Judges assigned to these courtrooms rotate as assigned by the Presiding Judge, with the exception of the expungement call which is heard by the Presiding Judge.

Listed below are the courtrooms of the Second Municipal District, the types of matters heard, and the courtroom’s daily routine schedule. A monthly schedule is available in Room 219.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-01: COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-04: COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES - RESCHEDULING ENLARGEMENT

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-06: RE: COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES -RESCHEDULING May 18 through May 29, 2020

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-07: (Extension of Administrative Order2020-06 through and including July 2, 2020 or until further order of Court)

Traffic and Misdemeanor Cases Court calls are daily at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Traffic and misdemeanor cases are heard on different dates and times in all four courtrooms based on the key date system (see above). Other matters heard as follows: Courtroom 101 Expungements, one day per month Courtroom 102 Expungements, one day per month Courtroom 103 Youth Ordinance Violations, two days per month Courtroom 104 Termination of Reporting Supervision, Misdemeanor Probation or Conditional Discharge Felony Cases Court calls for suburban felony cases begin daily at 9:30 a.m. with arraignments. Court calls for Chicago felony cases begin daily at 10 a.m. with arraignments. With the exception of Courtroom 105, the following courtrooms have permamently assigned judges. Courtroom 107 Chicago Felony Courtroom 108 Chicago Felony Courtroom 206 Suburban Felony Courtroom 207 Suburban Felony                        Veterans' Court, 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month, 11:30 a.m.                        Mental Health Court, 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month, 1;30 p.m. Courtroom 208 Chicago Felony Courtroom 209 Chicago Felony  Drug Court, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 1:30 p.m. Courtroom 105 Bond, Felony Preliminary Hearings, and Motion Calls                        The judge is rotated on a periodic basis.                        Preliminary hearings are conducted by key and calendar.   Civil Cases 

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-02: COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR COURTROOMS 202 & 204

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020-05: RE: COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES-RESCHEDULING ENLARGEMENT FOR COURTROOMS 202 and 204 (CIVIL DIVISION-LAW AND MUNICIPAL) (Amended April 14, 2020)

Judge Warnick Order Re: Civil Emergencies & Agreed Orders, Rooms 202 & 204

Civil Protocol Effective June 1, 2020 until Further Order of Court

Motion calls are at 9 a.m. Courtroom 202 Courtroom Schedule/Standing Order                        Law Division cases, Mon-Fri.                        Municipal Division Civil Cases (odd numbered), Monday through Friday                        Name Changes, Monday through Friday                        298 Applications to Sue or Defend as an Indigent Person, Mon.-Fri.                        Citations/Garnishments/Supplementary Proceedings, Thurs., 9:30 a.m. Courtroom 204 Courtroom Schedule                          Municipal Division Cases (even numbered), Mon.-Fri.                        Name Changes, Monday through Friday                        Applications to Sue or Defend as an Indigent Person, Mon.-Fri.                        Citations/Garnishments/Supplementary Proceedings, Thurs., 9 a.m.                        Forcible Entry and Detainer (Evictions), Fri., 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.                        Housing Violations (residential), Fri., 1:30 p.m. Domestic Violence Courtroom 106

• Calls are at 9:30 a.m.
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Courtroom 205 Juvenile Justice Division cases, Monday,  Courtroom Schedule    Pro Se Small Claims Call, 1:30 p.m., Monday Truancy Call, 9 a.m., Tuesday Misdemeanor Jury Call, Tuesday through Friday

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This docket was last retrieved on April 29, 2024. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER .

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Seafood sensations, Casanova-style

Fresh fish and intriguing flavor profiles are the stars of this self-trained chef’s unique tacos and more

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I first met Hector Casanova, owner of Casanova Fish Tacos, back in the fall of 2012, when the San Diego Public Market opened in a renovated Barrio Logan warehouse. Even then, he already had a reputation around town for his unique tacos.

I’ve seen him since then, most recently last September at the Del Mar Wine + Food Festival, where he served his grilled Fish Taco al Pastor, probably the best food I had that afternoon.

His kitchen skills were not his first focus in the workplace, however. Casanova, a native San Diegan, is a San Diego State University graduate with a degree in criminal justice. He spent nine years working at the county’s South Bay Court House in Chula Vista before deciding to become a probation officer. He did his training, got an assignment but 10 months in, back in 2008, the Great Recession hit and layoffs began. He could have gotten his old job back, but Casanova wanted out.

In the meantime, he and his buddies would gather at his home every weekend to watch ball games. Tired of eating carne asada, one of Casanova’s friends suggested they start making fish tacos.

“The following week when everybody came back, we started playing around with it, trying out batters and flavors,” he recalled. “I came up with a batter and my friends started saying I should go into business. At first, I said, ‘Nah,’ but my bills started piling up, so I decided to give it a shot.”

Casanova tried to get into farmers markets but kept getting turned down until Brian Beevers of the UTC market gave him a chance.

“At that point, for a while my only menu offering was my Baja Style fish taco,” he said with a laugh. He still has it on his menu. It’s made up of lightly battered and deep-fried whitefish, sitting on a corn tortilla over shredded cabbage and topped with his pico de gallo salsa, tomatillo with habanero salsa, and aioli.

Not long after, he was noticed by an organizer of a Del Mar fish taco competition and asked to participate after someone had dropped out. But there was one challenge: The organizers had advertised a grilled taco competition, something Casanova hadn’t been doing.

“I had to come up with something and it became my chipotle taco — and I took second place at that event, competing with a lot of local name chefs,” he said. “I was, like, not bad at all.”

That spurred Casanova to start diving into creating a larger menu. Now he still does some battered fish, but it’s a very light batter that reveals the flavor of the fresh whitefish he uses, mostly rockfish. And he has a lot of grilled fish taco options, including Grilled Chipotle, Grilled Red Curry, Grilled Pibil, Grilled Sweet Ginger and Grilled Peruvian. Plus, he’s incorporated chicken (Rotisserie Chicken Tacos, Grilled Sweet Ginger), shrimp, and beef. To round it out, he also makes quesadillas and ceviche, along with taquitos, roasted corn, pickled jicama with habanero, and aguachiles.

Casanova was never interested in opening a restaurant. Instead, he’s focused on private events — everything from golf tournaments and fundraisers to weddings and holiday parties. And he opens up his Spring Valley warehouse location monthly for pop-ups he calls “The Underground Taco Club,” which he promotes on Instagram.

San Diego is, of course, fish taco heaven, but Casanova’s have stood out to me for a couple of reasons: He’s using fresh local fish, not frozen. And he has developed intriguing flavor profiles. A look at his menu reveals inspiration from other cuisines or other dishes you wouldn’t associate with fish tacos. The flavors he develops translate well from the original dish to a taco.

“I try to look at the ingredients and keep it as close as I can,” he said. “I want to be authentic.”

For instance, his Grilled Pibil Fish Tacos are derived from a traditional Yucatecan Mayan slow-roasted pork dish, in which pork shoulder is marinated and roasted in deep red-brown, tangy achiote paste, orange juice and lime juice, and then served with pickled red onion.

Casanova has riffed off that with fish. He makes an achiote sauce with achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, garlic and bay leaves that are pureed together in a blender. His dressing — kind of an aioli — comes together by combining mayonnaise with two tablespoons of the achiote sauce. And he puts together the pickled onions by combining sliced red onions with white vinegar, black peppercorns, sugar, salt and habanero peppers in a glass jar. They can sit for as little as half an hour or overnight in the fridge.

When it comes to putting it all together, the process is simple. Oil a heated grill and place the pieces of fish on the grill. Brush the top of each with the achiote sauce and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip them and brush that side with the sauce, letting them cook another 3 or 4 minutes. You can put your corn tortillas on the grill to warm while that’s going on.

Casanova likes to place the cabbage on top of the tortilla instead of on the fish. It’s neater that way, he said, and keeps the tortilla from falling apart from the wetness of the sauce. So, tortilla, then cabbage, then fish. Drizzle the dressing over the fish using a squeeze bottle or, as Casanova does at home, a plastic sandwich bag with a corner clipped to let the sauce out. Sprinkle some pickled onions on top and then garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

The achiote, combined with the juices, gives the fish color, yes, but it also complements the earthiness of the seeds with the sweetness of the fruit.

Casanova developed a similar style with different flavors in his Grilled Chipotle Fish Tacos. It’s the same method, but he makes the sauce with a simple puree of a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, something most markets carry. Worried about the spice factor? Don’t be. Once the chipotle in adobo plays with the other ingredients in the taco, it provides a smoky flavor, not crazy heat. The dressing is mayonnaise blended with a couple of tablespoons of the pureed adobo.

Casanova also makes a simple pico salsa for the taco, mixing diced tomatoes and white onions, cilantro, serrano peppers and salt and pepper.

With that prepped, you grill the fish, dabbing them with the chipotle adobo puree, then assembling them, topping the tortilla with the cabbage, then the fish, followed by the pico salsa, and ending with the dressing.

Casanova also shared his Baja Style Shrimp Ceviche, which is perfect for a warm spring day, served with chips or as the focus of a tostada. It’s super simple, just some prep to chop the shrimp and the vegetables — tomatoes, avocado, onions, serrano peppers and cilantro. Then mix them together in a bowl and make sure the ingredients are fully covered with lime juice. The acid is what cooks the shrimp. Refrigerate for at least half an hour and keep it refrigerated until serving. It’s perfect with beer, a Michelada or margarita.

Baja Style Shrimp Ceviche

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 pound medium size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 cup fresh lime juice from about 6 or 7 limes 4 to 5 Roma tomatoes, halved, seeded, and diced 1 avocado, sliced in half, pit removed, and diced 2 white onions, diced 2 serrano peppers, seeded (unless you like the heat) and diced ½ cup cilantro, minced Kosher salt to taste Black pepper to taste

1. Chop the shrimp into bite-size pieces and add to a medium glass or nonreactive bowl.

2. Add 1 cup lime juice. Make sure the shrimp is covered well with the lime juice. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes until the shrimp color goes from opaque white to pink.

3. Gently mix in the vegetables and cilantro with the shrimp. Season with kosher salt and a little bit of black pepper.

4. Serve with tortilla chips or on top of a crispy tortilla as part of a tostada.

Cochinita Pibil Fish Tacos

Makes 6 tacos

4 to 5 tablespoons achiote paste 1 cup fresh orange juice ¾ cup fresh lime juice, from about 5 or 6 limes 5 peeled garlic cloves 2 to 3 bay leaves Pinch of kosher salt ½ cup of mayonnaise Olive oil 1 pound firm white fish, like rockfish

For the pickled onion: 1 medium red onion, finely sliced 1 cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon black peppercorns ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 to 2 habanero peppers, seeded (unless you want the heat) and diced Corn tortillas, for serving Green cabbage, shredded Cilantro, for garnish Lime wedges

1. Prepare the achiote sauce: In a blender, place the achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, garlic cloves and bay leaves, and a pinch of salt, and puree in a blender. Reserve 2 tablespoons and set all aside.

2. Make the dressing: Combine ½ cup of mayonnaise with the 2 tablespoons of the achiote sauce set aside earlier.

3. Make the pickled onions: Combine red onion, white vinegar, black peppercorns, sugar, salt and habanero peppers in a clean glass jar. Let sit for at least 30 minutes on the counter. Can be made a day before and refrigerated overnight.

4. Preheat an outdoor grill at high heat and lightly oil the grate. Set the grate 4 inches from the heat.

5. Place the fish pieces on the grill and brush the top of each with the achiote sauce. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes then turn and do the same to the other side and grill for another 3 to 4 minutes until they easily flake with a fork. You can also place the tortillas on the grill individually to warm.

6. Assemble the tacos: Place cabbage on the tortilla, then add fish pieces in the center. Drizzle with dressing using a squirt bottle or a small plastic sandwich bag with the tip of one corner snipped off. Add a sprinkling of pickled onions.

To serve, roll up tortillas around fillings, and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Grilled Chipotle Fish Tacos

1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo ½ cup mayonnaise Olive oil 4 tomatoes, diced 2 white onions, diced ½ bunch cilantro, chopped 2 serrano peppers, seeded (unless you want the heat) and diced Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil 1 pound firm white fish, like rockfish 6 corn tortillas 1 green cabbage, cored and shredded Lime wedges

1. Prepare the sauce: Puree the can of chipotle peppers in adobo. Reserve 2 tablespoons and set all aside.

2. Make the dressing: Combine mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons of the pureed adobo. You can add lime juice if you like. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Make the pico salsa: Combine the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, peppers, and salt and peppers. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. Place the fish pieces on the grill and brush the top of each with the chipotle puree. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn and do the same to the other side and grill for another 3 to 4 minutes until the fish easily flakes with a fork. You can also place the tortillas on the grill individually to warm.

6. Assemble the tacos: Place cabbage on the tortilla, then add fish pieces in the center, followed by the pico salsa. Drizzle with dressing using a squirt bottle or a small plastic sandwich bag with the tip of one corner snipped off.

7. To serve, roll up tortillas around fillings, and garnish with lime wedges.

Recipes from Hector Casanova.

Golden is a San Diego freelance writer and food blogger.

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