Will County Circuit Clerk Pam McGuire has announced that her office is now providing access to basic court case information through its website, www.willcountycircuitcourt.com.
The new link will connect users to court information.
"Now an individual will be able to access their court information from the Internet," Will County Chief Information Office Bob Enright said. "This is a project we have been working on for several months."
The information provided on the website includes the names of the parties involved, charges, financial and court date event information. Cases can be looked up by first and last name, case number or traffic ticket number.
"We don't want people to have to drive to the courthouse or make a phone call to get basic information," Enright said. "Our hope is individuals will utilize this site for their general information which in turn will reduce the large number of phone calls our office receives on a daily basis. This in turn will allow staff to focus on entering information into the court record much quicker."
For more in-depth information, public access terminals are available throughout the main courthouse, 14 W. Jefferson St., Court Annex, 57 N. Ottawa St., and at the River Valley Justice Center, 3208 W. McDonough St. in Joliet.
"There you will find a complete docket sheet and access to scanned documents, which are not available from our website," McGuire said. "At a future date, when the Supreme Court allows, we plan on providing access to those documents from our website as well. To obtain regular or certified copies of a court document, requests can be made from our website by selecting the "E-Document" tab. Upon payment verification your document will be sent to the email address provided."
As far as court dates and court orders, Enright offered a word of caution.
"Pay attention to what the judge, law enforcement officer or your attorney tells you," she said. "We are providing a minimal amount of information at this time. For more detailed information you may want to review your order received in court or view the actual court file at our public access terminals located at the court locations."