Last week, we compared the geographical sources of the Illinois Supreme Court’s civil and criminal dockets during the years 2005-2009. Today, we begin our examination of the following six years of our period of study, 2010-2016.
Two-thirds of the civil docket in 2010 arose from Cook County – 22 cases in all. Kane and Sangamon counties originated two cases apiece – 6.06% of the civil docket each. Seven additional jurisdictions – St. Clair, Will, Tazewell, Champaign, Jefferson, LaSalle and Marion counties – produced one case each, collectively accounting for the final 21.21% of the civil docket.
In contrast, Cook County accounted for 41.82% of the criminal docket in 2010 – 23 cases. Peoria County accounted for six cases, or 10.91% of the criminal docket. DuPage County produced 4 cases, for 7.27% of the docket, Kane County three cases (5.45%), and Lane, Winnebago and Boone counties two cases apiece (3.63%). The rest of the criminal docket was widely spread geographically, with thirteen jurisdictions accounting for one case each – Will, Kankakee, La Salle, Livingston, Hancock, Macoupin, Morgan, Macon, Tazewell, Clinton, Fayette, Knox and Jersey counties.
The Court’s civil docket from Cook County fell to only fifteen cases in 2011, accounting for 39.47% of the docket. Lake and DuPage counties accounted for four cases each, or 10.53% of the civil docket. Sangamon County originated three cases in 2011, or 7.89% of the civil docket. Will and Madison counties contributed two cases each to the docket (5.26%). Eight additional jurisdictions – Winnebago, Kane, Jefferson, Williamson and Peoria counties, the Pollution Control Board, the Educational Labor Relations Board and the Seventh Circuit (on certification) — accounted for one case apiece, or 21.06% of the civil docket.
The Court heard twenty-six criminal cases from Cook County in 2011, and Cook’s share of the docket accordingly increased to 54.17%. DuPage County produced four criminal cases, for 8.33% of the criminal docket. Peoria County accounted for three cases, or 6.25% of the docket. Lake, Will and Champaign produced two cases each (4.17%). Once again, the criminal docket was widely dispersed, with nine jurisdictions producing one case apiece – St. Clair, Kane, Adams, McLean, Livingston, Macon, Boone and Schuyler counties, and the ARDC Review Board.
Cook County’s share of the civil docket increased in 2012, with the Court hearing nineteen cases from the Cook County Circuit Court, or 46.34% of the civil docket. Three cases each came from St. Clair, DuPage and Champaign counties (7.32% of the docket), and two cases from Will County (4.88%). Eleven originated one case apiece – Lake, Kane, Sangamon, Kendall, Madison, Massac, Putnam, Lee, Marion and Clinton counties, and certification cases from the Seventh Circuit.
The Court’s docket of criminal cases from Cook County dropped significantly in 2012, with the Court hearing 13 criminal cases, or 39.39% of the docket. The Court heard five cases from Will County, or 15.15% of the docket. Three cases arose from Peoria County, for 9.09% of the criminal docket, and two from Lake County – 6.06% of the docket. Eleven different jurisdictions accounted for one case each – Adams, Champaign, Kankakee, LaSalle, Coles, Peoria, Stephenson, Rock Island, Morgan and Ford counties, and the ARDC Review Board.
Join us back here tomorrow as we turn to the final three years of our study period – 2013-2015.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Jeff Sharp (no changes).