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The
State Archives administers a system of Illinois Regional
Archives Depositories (IRAD) to manage the archival records of
local governments. Local governments which have transferred
records to the regional depositories include counties,
townships, municipalities and school districts.
What records does
IRAD have?
Located on seven state university campuses, regional
depositories house and service those records of local
governments which have been appraised as having long-term
values and have been transferred to the Archives' custody.
County records include:
- county board proceedings files and
meeting minutes
- records of births, deaths and marriages
- land deeds, mortgage and tax sale records
- assessors' and collectors' tax books
- poll books and voter registers
- naturalization records, including
declarations of intent
- probate records, including wills and will
records, case files, administrators' and executors'
records, guardianship records, and inventory and
appraisement records
- civil and criminal court case files,
chancery court case files (including divorces), docket
books and court proceedings, and insanity proceedings and
records
- coroner's inquest records and inquest
files
- miscellaneous county records, including
almshouse/county home records and jail registers.
Township, municipal, and school records
include township meeting minutes, highway commissioners'
minutes, school trustees' minutes, pupil registers, school
land sale records, city council proceedings files and meeting
minutes, ordinance records and city election records.
A special part of IRAD's holdings are from
the City of Chicago which includes nearly 35,650 previously
unknown documents that predate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
In addition to these City Council proceedings files of 1833
through 1942, holdings include plats, atlases, and Sanborn
Maps. Other Chicago records include election registers for
1888, 1890 and 1892 and ordinance records spanning 1837 to
1916.
How do I find what
I need in IRAD?
Search the IRAD
Local Governmental Records Database on-line. Researchers
may search the IRAD holdings by county, by title or by
depository or by any combination of these fields.
Local governmental records in the Illinois
Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) system are also listed in:
A Summary Guide to Local Governmental
Records in the Illinois Regional Archives, Second
Edition (1999), 265 pp.
The guide is made up of two parts: one listing
local governmental records in IRAD by county and the other
listing them by title. This publication is updated
periodically.
Order the paperback edition of the A
Summary Guide to Local Governmental Records in the Illinois
Regional Archives, Second Edition (1999).
When are the
regional depositories open?
The resources of the seven regional depositories are open to
the public. Click
here to find the hours for a particular regional
depository. All depositories are closed on Saturdays and
Sundays, state holidays, and other weekdays the university
libraries are closed. Calling the depository before a visit is
recommended.
How do I make a request
to IRAD?
IRAD welcomes requests by mail or telephone. The regional depositories
are unable to receive request or send responses by e-mail. While one depository
is devoted solely to Cook County, the other six include regions made up
of from fourteen to twenty-three contiguous counties. You should contact
the depository that holds the records for the county you would like searched.
Click
here for a map of the IRAD regions.
To conduct a search of the IRAD holdings,
depository staff must have specific information about the
person you are researching. Click
here for the IRAD Research Policy.
How do I contact a
regional depository?
You may visit a regional depository and examine the records
that are available or make requests by mail or telephone.
Please remember to contact the depository that holds the
records for the county you would like searched. Click
here for regional depository addresses, telephone numbers
and hours.
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