Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Illinois: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1771 to today (CourtListener from 1878; Caselaw Access Project to 2011).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1771 to today (CourtListener from 1811; Caselaw Access Project to 2011).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Supreme Court | Highest court | illinoiscourts.gov | from 1996 (inferred) | Not checked | Opened in our check |
| Illinois Supreme Court | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1878–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check54,850 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 24, 2026; 10,720 with approximate dates. |
| Appellate Court of Illinois | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1811–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check170,317 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 376 with approximate dates. |
| Illinois Appellate Court (5 districts + Workers' Compensation Division) | Appeals | illinoiscourts.gov | from 1996 (inferred) | Not checked | Opened in our check |
| Illinois - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1771–2011 | No | Opened in our check |
| Illinois - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 2 Illinois courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1771 to 2011.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- illinoiscourts.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- We could not confirm that opinion text can be searched on Illinois Supreme Court's website.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2011.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches Illinois statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.