Circuit Court of Henry County, Illinois (14th Judicial Circuit) Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

Impounded, sealed, or expunged information must be excluded from electronic public access, and inspection requests must be made in person at the clerk’s office.

VIS.: (a) Information that is impounded, sealed or expunged pursuant to law or by court rule, order or court, or pursuant to the Manual on Recordkeeping shall be excluded from public access in electronic form. Access and inspection of this information is governed by the existing court rules and laws for public access of the official court record. Requests for inspection must be made in person at the office of the clerk of court.

CRITICAL

(b) While there is no authority prohibiting public access to certain other categories of information, there is no need to disclose such information to the public in an electronic form. The following information is excluded from public access in electronic form, unless access is provided at the office of the clerk of court. Such access shall be through the use of a computer terminal which does not allow information to be downloaded or exported, and only if such access is not otherwise prohibited by this Policy. - Financial information that provides identifying account numbers on specific assets, liabilities, accounts, credit cards, first five digits of social security number of P.I.N. numbers of individuals or business entities; - Proprietary business information such as trade secrets, customer lists, Financial information or business tax returns; - Information constituting trade secrets, copyrighted or patented material or which is otherwise owned by the state or local government and whose release would infringe on the government's proprietary interest; - Notes, drafts and work products prepared by a judge or for a judge by court staff or individuals working for the judge related to cases before the court; - Names, addresses or telephone numbers of potential or sworn jurors in a Criminal case; - Juror questionnaires and transcripts of voir dire of prospective jurors; - Wills deposited with the court pursuant to the Manual on Record keeping; - Arrest warrants (at least prior to the arrest of the person named); and - Any documents filed or imaged, i.e. complaint, pleading, order.

(b) While there is no authority prohibiting public access to certain other categories of information, there is no need to disclose such information to the public in an electronic form. The following information is excluded from public access in electronic form, unless access is provided at the office of the clerk of court. Such access shall be through the use of a computer terminal which does not allow information to be downloaded or exported, and only if such access is not otherwise prohibited by this Policy. - Financial information that provides identifying account numbers on specific assets, liabilities, accounts, credit cards, first five digits of social security number of P.I.N. numbers of individuals or business entities; - Proprietary business information such as trade secrets, customer lists, Financial information or business tax returns; - Information constituting trade secrets, copyrighted or patented material or which is otherwise owned by the state or local government and whose release would infringe on the government's proprietary interest; - Notes, drafts and work products prepared by a judge or for a judge by court staff or individuals working for the judge related to cases before the court; - Names, addresses or telephone numbers of potential or sworn jurors in a Criminal case; - Juror questionnaires and transcripts of voir dire of prospective jurors; - Wills deposited with the court pursuant to the Manual on Record keeping; - Arrest warrants (at least prior to the arrest of the person named); and - Any documents filed or imaged, i.e. complaint, pleading, order.

CRITICAL

Circuit clerks must withhold the listed information from general public Internet access, but the restriction does not limit access by the specified officials, attorneys of record, or authorized law enforcement members.

A. The Circuit Clerks shall cause the following recorded information not to be provided on the Internet for access by the general public: 1. Driver's License Numbers 2. Medical Records 3. Employment History Information 4. Residential Street Addresses 5. All ordinance violations that are committed by minors under the age of seventeen (17) shall not be identified or disseminated over the Internet. 5. Names of Minor Children B. The above in no way limits access to these records by Judges, State's Attorneys, Attorneys of Record In the case, or authorized members of law enforcement.

CRITICAL

The clerk must file the Confidential Disclosure Statement under seal and record filing details on the public docket; access is limited, and others must petition for a noticed hearing and in-camera review.

The Circuit Clerk shall file the f (1) Confidential Disclosure Statement under seal and note the date and which party filed the f (1) Confidential Disclosure Statement under seal on the public docket. Only judges, the parties and their present attorneys of record shall have access to the sealed information without a Court Order. Anyone else seeking access to the information must file a petition setting forth the basis for needing the information and set the matter for hearing after notice to the parties and attorneys of record pursuant to local rule. A judge of this circuit will then review the petition and sealed information in camera to determine whether or not the information merits disclosure.

WARNING

In an effort to limit identity theft, the following information should not be contained in pleadings open to the general public and filed with the Circuit Clerk: a. Date of Birth b. Social Security Number (it is acceptable to identify the last four digits in the public portion of the record) c. Driver's License Number d. Children's Date of Birth (acceptable to identify the age of the child at the time of the pleading) e. Children's Social Security Number 2. The information identified in paragraph f (1) above should be filed with the Circuit Clerk under seal using the form called Confidential Disclosure Statement as set forth in the Forms portion of these rules, and hereinafter called f (1) Confidential Disclosure Statement.

In an effort to limit identity theft, the following information should not be contained in pleadings open to the general public and filed with the Circuit Clerk: a. Date of Birth b. Social Security Number (it is acceptable to identify the last four digits in the public portion of the record) c. Driver's License Number d. Children's Date of Birth (acceptable to identify the age of the child at the time of the pleading) e. Children's Social Security Number 2. The information identified in paragraph f (1) above should be filed with the Circuit Clerk under seal using the form called Confidential Disclosure Statement as set forth in the Forms portion of these rules, and hereinafter called f (1) Confidential Disclosure Statement.