The judiciary of Illinois is the unified court system of Illinois primarily responsible for applying the Constitution and law of Illinois. It consists of the Supreme Court, the Appellate Court, and circuit courts. The Supreme Court oversees the administration of the court system.

Courts

The Illinois circuit courts are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. Six circuits comprise solely of a single county; these are Cook, Kane, Will, DuPage, Lake, and McHenry. The other 18 circuits each contain between two and 12 counties. The circuit court has general jurisdiction and can decide, with few exceptions, any kind of case. The exceptions are redistricting of the Illinois General Assembly and the ability of the governor of Illinois to serve or resume office. The circuit court also shares jurisdiction with the Supreme Court of Illinois to hear cases relating to revenue, mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus. However, if the supreme court chooses to exercise its jurisdiction over these cases, the circuit court may not decide them. The circuit court also reviews administrative decisions of certain state agencies.
There are two kinds of judges in the circuit court: circuit judges (elected) and associate judges (appointed by the elected judges). An associate judge can hear any case, except criminal cases punishable by a prison term of one year or more, unless the associate judge has received approval from the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court to hear other criminal cases.

Administration

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) assists the Supreme Court in administration, and is headed by the Administrative Director. The AOIC conducts the election process for the appointment of associate judges; provides support services to the courts and the judicial conference; develops the judicial budget; provides legislative support services to the courts; assists in the development and oversight of the judicial education plan; develops and monitors probation programs for the circuit courts and administrative-service training for all judges; collects and publishes statistical information on caseloads; and handles payroll for all judicial personnel. The Administrative Director also is secretary of the Illinois Courts Commission, and is an ex officio member of the Illinois Judicial Conference. The AOIC Executive Office plans and directs AOIC staff support for Supreme Court Committees and the Committees of the Illinois Judicial Conference.

Judges

Judge Charles Abernathy	Judge Don Schakowsky	Judge George Kluger	Judge Harvey Winter	Judge Henry Baxter

Judge Patrice Lessner	Judge Peter Dunaway	Judge Richard Cuesta	Judge Robert Parks	Judge Suzanne Morris

Cook County Attorneys

State's Attorney Mark Jeffries	Deputy Chief, S.P.B. Peter Stone	Ass. State Attorney Anna Valdez	Cook County Attorney Glenn Childs	Cook County Attorney Matan Brody

Cook County Attorney Finn Polmar	Cook County Attorney Frank Prady	Cook County Attorney Geneva Pine	Cook County Attorney Jimmy Castro	Cook County Attorney Laura Hellinger

Cook County Attorney Nathan Landry	Cook County Attorney Wendy Scott Carr	C.C. Chief Investigator Antonio Dawson	Cook County Investigator Laura Nagel	Cook County Investigator Ronnie Chen

Defense Attorneys

Lockheart & Gardner

The firm was founded by Jonas Stern many years ago. Soon, he hired another partner, Diane Lockhart, because he thought it would look good to have a woman in his closest staff. Next, he hired Will Gardner, the most junior of the named partners. Stern seemed to prefer Diane, seeing as he voted with her ninety percent of the time. Stern took leave for over a year, leaving Diane and Will in charge of the firm. In his absence, Will and Diane hired twenty or so associates, including Will's old colleague Alicia Florrick.