More About Illinois State Records The Illinois State Records web page is an all-in-one stop for looking for, studying, and getting civil and criminal court records, legal judgements, documents detailing court functions, as well as other public records. Court records are open and accessible to everyone due to the Freedom of Information Act and their counterparts seen in every state, which means any American can access the activities and occurrences of any trial or court event. These functions include court records, lien judgements, criminal trials, civil trials, bankruptcy findings, and lawsuit details. Only if a record is redacted, sealed, nullified, or otherwise designated as classified does the record be inaccessible. This can be the case with juvenile criminal court records, divorce records (which are often only accessible to the people getting divorced and their legal advisors), sealed birth records (for closed adoptions), or in cases of victim anonymity. Outside these omissions, all court records are viewed open and accessible to anyone, which includes civil court records, trial court records, criminal court records, and more. Using Illinois State Records shortens the entire process of obtaining your record, and just needs a name, or an address to get started. Type in a name, enter an address, and State Records will retrieve every available corresponding record. This includes both digital and digitized records, meaning your search may even yield results from the early twentieth century.