Small claims courts are courts of limited jurisdiction that are designed to hear civil cases between private litigants.  Their purpose is to prevent clogging up the formal court system with relatively petty matters through a less formal forum.  Small claims courts also limit the judgments awarded.  This limit is generally set at $5,000 – though it may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

The rules of civil procedure and evidence are typically simplified in small claims proceedings so as to allow non-lawyers to litigate their matters without the help of a costly attorney.  Formal and costly procedures such as depositions are not allowed in small claims, and generally speaking, neither is a trial by jury.

Filing Small Claims in Cook County

Any individual over the age of 18 can file in Cook County Small Claims Court for damages up to $1,500.  You may bring an action in Cook County if the defendant resides there, the cause of action occurred there, or any property pertaining to the action is located there. 

In order to file the case, you will first need to select the appropriate court.  Small claims are conducted at any of the Cook County District Courts.  Furthermore, the forms that are necessary to file your small claim can be found at the Cook County Court System website. 

There is a court fee to file a small claim in Cook County that varies based on the amount of your claim.  For suit amounts less than $250, the fee is $116; for any amount greater than $250 up to $1,000, the fee is $169; and for any amount greater than $1,000 up to $1,500, the fee is $174.  These fees are due at the time of filing and may be made by cash, credit card, personal check, money order, or cashier’s check.

After you file, the next step is to serve the defendant.  In the case of filing a claim against a business, the process depends on whether or not it is incorporated.  If the business is incorporated, you have to include the name under which it is incorporated as well as a name and address of either a corporate officer or the registered agent.  If you have trouble finding this information, you may contact the State Corporations Division of the Illinois Secretary of State office.

The Cook County Court System allows you to execute either personal service or service via registered mail on the defendant.  The Cook County Clerk’s Office will execute service through mail for a fee of $15.  Alternatively, you may hire a process server to execute personal service on your behalf.  The only requirement with this option is that the person delivering the papers to the person being served must be at least 18 years old.

For more information about the Cook County small claims process, visit the Illinois Court System’s website.