The Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission was created in 2007 to assist and advise the Illinois Supreme Court in acquiring, collecting, preserving, and cataloging documents, artifacts, and information relating to the Illinois judiciary. The Commission seeks to accomplish much of its work in partnership with historical and cultural institutions; bar associations; universities; law schools; and federal, state, and local agencies.
The Commission's Projects
The Commission has produced publications, exhibits, and programs to educate the legal profession and the general public about the role of the judicial branch and its importance in interpreting laws. The intended audience gains an understanding of government and civics, resulting in a more engaged citizenry.
Publications
The Commission published "Adjudicating Illinois: Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court" in 2018. The book is a biographical compilation of the lives and careers of the 117 individuals (113 men and 4 women) who have sat on the Supreme Court of Illinois since 1818. The roster of justices includes governors, senators, a presidential candidate, a professional football player, and career lawyers and judges. Part reference and part narrative, Adjudicating Illinois tells the story of Illinois through the people who decided the state’s paramount issues and through the cases that demonstrate changes in society, agriculture, technology, and many other issues affecting Illinois and beyond.
The Commission also publishes popular history articles on the Supreme Court and the Illinois Judiciary each month through its Courts Connect series.
Conservation
In 2020, the Supreme Court of Illinois approved a project to conserve the Court’s case files that are housed at the Illinois State Archives. Approximately 7,400 cubic feet of Supreme Court case files, dating from 1820 to 1974 are held at the Archives. To give a real-world perspective of the quantity, this is roughly 3,700 filing cabinet drawers. Conservation work took place decades ago on case files from 1820 to 1869, mainly to prepare Abraham Lincoln-era documents for research, but the great majority of the case files are still tri-folded and coated with soot and coal dust. That work is ongoing as is the digitization of those files. Search the currently digitized cases.
The Learning Center
The Learning Center is designed to enhance the visitor experience at the Supreme Court. In addition to seeing the courtroom and learning about the Court’s important work during the traditional tour, visitors will now end their visit in the Learning Center. Here they will explore the ways the Court shapes our everyday lives and contemplate the ways we shape the court, whether through voting for justices, advocating for issues, or even by choosing a career in the field.
The Learning Center is located on the second floor of the Illinois Supreme Court, just outside the Law Library, in the room that was once used as the Fourth District Appellate Court Conference Room. Commission staff worked with Taylor Studios, Inc. of Rantoul to create the exhibit. The total cost came to approximately $130,000 and was funded completely by the Commission. Commission staff also conduct tours of the Supreme Court building and the Learning Center by appointment.
History of the Commission & History on Trial
The following thirteen-minute video provides a short history of the Commission and focuses on the Commission's most successful program: History on Trial. The History of Trial series highlights modern public policy issues through the use of historic trials. The video was produced by Foxhole Creative, Chicago.