Although only a handful of listings in this section are directly connected to adoption, nearly every organization and agency referenced below could conceivably come in handy at some point during a search or reunion...and beyond. If you're looking for the contact number for the state confidential intermediary program or the place to get non-identifying information for a non-agency Cook County adoption, you'll find it here...along with links to everything from the name of your State Senator or U.S. Congressperson to the Web site of your local daily newspaper.
Government/State Agencies
Adoption Information Center of Illinois
(AICI)
Primarily
for prospective adoptive parents; affiliated with the Illinois
Department
of Children and Family Services.
188 West Randolph, Suite 600
Chicago,
Illinois 60601
312/346-1516
Toll Free: 800/572-2390
Fax: 312/346-0004
http://www.adoptinfo-il.org
e-mail: aici@adoptinfo-il.org
Department of Children and Family
Services
Division of Foster
Care and Permanency Services
If
you were in foster care at any time after the late 50s, this agency
(aka DCFS) may have a file for you...Midwest Adoption Center (see
listing below) administers a program through which DCFS adoptees
and their birth parents can access non-identifying information as
well as a free search program; the White Oak Foundation has also
administered a free program for DCFS adoptees and birth family members
since 2002.
406 East Monroe Street, Station #225
Springfield, Illinois
62701-1498
217/524-2422
Fax: 217/524-3966
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs
Department of Children and Family
Services
Northern Region -
Aurora
8 East Galena
Boulevard, Suite 400
Aurora, Illinois 60506
630/801-3400
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonenorth.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Cook Region -
North
1921 South Indiana
Avenue, Suite 9
Chicago, Illinois
60616-1310
312/328-2584
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecook.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Cook Region -
Central
3301 West
Arthington, Second Floor
Chicago, Illinois
60624
773/638-5885
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecook.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Cook Region -
South
6201 South
Emerald
Chicago, Illinois 60621
773/371-6007
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecook.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Central Region -
Champaign Area
2125 South First
Street
Champaign, Illinois 61820
217/333-2420
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecent.ht
Department of Children and Family
Services
Southern Region - East
St. Louis
10 Collinsville
Avenue
East St. Louis, Illinois 62201
618/583-2145
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonesouth.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Southern Region -
Marion Area
2309 West Main
Street
Marion, Illinois 62959
618/993-7100
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonesouth.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Central Region -
Peoria Area
5415 North University
Avenue
Peoria, Illinois 61603
309/693-5400
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecent.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Northern Region -
Rockford Area
200 South Wyman
Street, 2nd Floor
Rockford, Illinois
61101-1232
815/987-7493
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonenorth.htm
Department of Children and Family
Services
Central Region -
Springfield Area
4500 S. Sixth Street
Road
Springfield, Illinois 62703-5192
217/786-6830
http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonecent.htm
Illinois Department of
Public Health/Illinois Adoption
Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE)
The
people to contact for registration with the Illinois Adoption
Registry and Medical Information Exchange. Complete info
on the program and downloadable IARMIE application forms (requiring
Acrobat Reader) are available at their Web site. Upon request,
White Oak will mail IARMIE registration forms to triad members with
an Illinois connection. Vicki Beard is currently the IARMIE program
director.
535 West Jefferson
Street
Springfield, Illinois 62761
217/557-5159
Toll Free
(Illinois only): 877/323-5299
http://www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords/adoptioninfo.htm
e-mail: mailus@idph.state.il.us
Illinois
Vital Statistics
Unless
you're a non-adoptee (or an adoptee who was born in IL but adopted
in a state like MO or IN that rarely gets back to Vital Statistics
in the original state of birth), the only birth certificate you'll
access from IVS is the amended version (the with your adoptive parents'
neatly typed names and information). Reunited Illinois adoptees
can access their obc through the
Illinois Adoption Registry.
http://www.vitalrec.com/illinks.html
Midwest Adoption
Center
Administers
Illinois' Confidential Intermediary Program and provides post-adoption
services to DCFS adoptees and birth parents. For additional information,
contact Becca Nolan, coordinator of the Confidential Intermediary
Program.
3158 Des Plaines River
Road, Suite 120
Des Plaines, Illinois
60018
847/298-9096
Fax: 847/298-9097
www.macadopt.org
(general info about Midwest)
www.ci-illinois.org
(specific info on the CI program; downloadable petitions, etc.)
e-mail:
ci-illinois@macadopt.org
Post-Adoption
Clearinghouse
188 West
Randolph, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60601
312/346-1516
Fax: 312/346-0004
e-mail:
www.adoptinfo/IL.org
Clerk
of the Court of Cook County
Write
the clerk of the court for a Gold Seal Certificate (aka "Adoption
Certificate"-- provides date and case number of the adoption)
for Cook County adoptions ($9 fee). Service available only to adoptees
whose adoption was finalized in Cook County. (In other Illinois
counties, the adoptee usually must petition the court to obtain
the same data.) See our "Searching"
section
for additional info on obtaining a Gold Seal Certificate in Cook
County. For
counties other than Cook, contact the Clerk of the Court for the
county where the adoption was finalized.
Richard
J. Daley Center
50 West Washington/Room 1202
Chicago, Illinois
60602
Cook County Court
In
Cook County,
requests for a copy of the final decree of adoption should be addressed to Judge McGann (who replaces Judge Maras) and accompanied by a $9 check or money order made
out to the "Clerk of the Court of Cook County"...Turn-around time is less
than a month. For counties
other than Cook, please call the Clerk of the Court in the relevant
county and request
the name and address of the judge who handles "miscellaneous adoption
petitions." You can find a sample letter for requesting the Decree
from Judge McGann by clicking here.
Judge
Patrick McGann
Richard J. Daley Center/Room 1701
50 W. Washington
Chicago, IL 60602
Cook County Juvenile
Court
2245 West Ogden 3rd Floor
Chicago, Illinois
60612
312/633-1801
Fax: 312/633-3469
Cook
County Juvenile Court Records
Requests for Cook County juvenile
court records (for which you possess the case number of the relevant
file) should be submitted to Phil Costello.
Richard
J. Daley Center/Room 1113
Chicago, IL 60602
312/603-6601 (or
6628, 7788)
Cook
County Court Supportive Services
County
agency to contact for non-identifying information if the adoption
was NOT facilitated by a public or private agency and WAS finalized
in Cook County. Little or no
information is available for adoptions finalized before the late 50s;
background and social information available in cases where Cook
County Supportive Services conducted the home study and interviewed
the birth mother at the time of placement.
Contact:
Annette Schneider
69 W. Washington St. #1630
Chicago, IL 60602
312/603-0558
Illinois State Bar
Association
Illinois Bar
Center
Springfield, IL 62701-1779
217/525-1760
Toll Free: 800/252-8908
Fax: 217/525-0712
http://www.illinoisbar.org
Other
State
Government Resources
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of Illinois Main Page
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Municipal
Links
Cities & Counties
Alphabetical
Listing of Cities, Counties and Municipalities
Alphabetical
Listing of Counties
City of Chicago
City
of Chicago Homicide Records
(1870-1930)
City of Springfield
- Illinois
Newspapers
- Call your local newspaper if you've been recently reunited and don't mind sharing it with the community-at-large! A single reunion story which included a mention of the availability of this program (in a Springfield newspaper in November) generated more than 25 inquiries! Online newspapers' archives are also a good source of death notices from the past decade...and a good place to voice your opinion on pending legislation.
- Listings are alphabetical, by city.
- Alton The Telegraph
- Arlington Heights The Daily Herald
- Aurora The Beacon News
- Belleville Belleville News-Democrat
- Benton Benton Evening News
- Bloomington The Pantagraph
- Canton The Daily Ledger
Carbondale The Southern Illinoisan- Carmi The Carmi Times
- Centralia Morning Sentinel
- Champaign The News-Gazette
- Chicago Chicago Sun-Times
- Chicago Chicago Tribune
- Crystal Lake Northwest Herald
- Danville Commercial-News
- Decatur Herald & Review
- Dixon The Telegraph
- DuQuoin DuQuoin Evening Call
- Effingham Effingham Daily News
- Edwardsville Edwardsville Intelligencer
Elgin The Courier News- Flora The Daily Clay County Advocate-Press
- Freeport Freeport Journal-Standard
- Geneva Kane County Chronicle
- Harrisburg The Daily Register
- Joliet The Herald News
- Kankakee The Daily Journal
- Kewanee Star Courier
- Macomb Macomb Journal
- Marion Marion Daily Republican
- Mattoon Charleston Times-Courier
- Mattoon Mattoon Journal Gazette
- Moline The Dispatch
- Monmouth Monmouth Daily Review Atlas
- Morris Morris Daily Herald
- Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register
- Mount Vernon Register-News
- Olney Olney Daily Mail
- Ottawa The Daily Times
- Paris Paris Beacon-News
- Pekin Daily Times
- Peoria Peoria Journal Star
- Pontiac Daily Leader
- Quincy Quincy Herald-Whig
- Robinson Robinson Daily News
- Rock Island Rock Island Argus
- Rockford Rockford Register Star
- Shelbyville Shelbyville Daily Unione
- Springfield The State Journal-Register
- Sterling The Daily Gazette
- Streator The Times-Press
Taylorville The Taylorville Daily Breeze-Courier- Tinley Park Daily Southtown
- West Frankfort The Daily American
- Waukegan The News Sun
- Arlington Heights The Daily Herald
e-mail: ILtreesurgeon@aol.com
phone: 312-666-5721
