Local criminal courts:

• Kankakee County Courthouse
  Address: 450 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901. Phone 815-936-5750. Hears: all criminal, traffic, juvenile (single courthouse).

Illinois abolished separate city and justice-of-the-peace courts in 1964, so city courts are gone. Under 65 ILCS 5/1-2.1-1, towns may hear ordinance tickets themselves.

1. Charge, lawyer and release are set within 48 hours. See our release guide.
2. Preliminary hearing or grand jury, within 30 days if held (725 ILCS 5/109-3.1).
3. Arraignment in the courtroom.
4. Discovery, motions and possible plea deals here.
5. Trial: Illinois speedy-trial law sets 120 days for those held (725 ILCS 5/103-5).
6. A judge sets the sentence.

1. A Form I-247A detainer can be sent to the Jerome Combs Detention Center.
2. Under the Illinois TRUST Act (5 ILCS 805/15), Kankakee County won't add the 48 hours.
3. The Illinois Courthouse Civil Rights Act (705 ILCS 90) bars civil arrests of people attending court.
4. Detainees often leave Illinois; check the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
5. Immigration consequences matter; tell the public defender or your lawyer before any plea.

Locally, juvenile court hears youth cases under 705 ILCS 405. Detained local youth go to a juvenile detention center chosen by the court. For anyone under 18, hearings are private.

For someone leaving the county jail for prison, classification comes first. Use the Illinois Department of Corrections inmate search and our Illinois state prisons guide.

The circuit court hears both (815-936-5750). Felonies (a year or more) go to Twenty-First Judicial Circuit judges (815-936-5750). Associate judges hear DUI and traffic cases (625 ILCS 5/11-501). Federal crimes from Kankakee County go to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

1. Visit re:SearchIL and make a free account.
2. Choose Kankakee County, then enter the name.
3. Some counties also post on Judici.
4. Or phone the clerk, 815-936-5750.

The county falls within the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois: U.S. Courthouse, 600 E. Monroe Street, Springfield, IL 62701, 217-492-4020. For someone held by the U.S. Marshals, a magistrate sets detention (Springfield, 18 U.S.C. 3142). The U.S. Marshals Service often uses county jails nearby; check VINELink. For federal prisoners, see the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The Third District Appellate Court, 1004 Columbus Street, Ottawa, IL 61350, hears local appeals. Clerk: 815-434-5050.

1. First, a motion in the court within 30 days.
2. Notice of appeal: within 30 days, to the county clerk (Rule 606).
3. Low income? The judge can appoint the Office of the State Appellate Defender.
4. Transcripts travel to Ottawa (815-434-5050), then briefs are filed.
5. A loss can go to the Illinois Supreme Court by petition for leave to appeal.

Detention orders have a faster appeal under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(h). 725 ILCS 5/122-1 allows a post-conviction petition here.

Bradley, Bourbonnais and city officers all pick people up on Kankakee County warrants inside their towns, but the sheriff's office serves them everywhere else and holds the master file. Its line is 815-802-7100, and deputies answer warrant questions by phone. The sheriff's staff confirm warrants first, and the case record on the clerk's Odyssey portal, which the county runs instead of the statewide re:SearchIL site, is the second check. When a judge has signed one, hired counsel can book a surrender at the Jerome Combs Detention Center; the clerk resets skipped court dates. That office is in the Kankakee County Courthouse, 450 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901, phone 815-936-5750.

• Locate them with our inmate guide.
• Visits: Local visiting guide.
• Money for local accounts: money guide.
• Calls and mail for the county jail: phone guide and mail guide.