Jurors are randomly selected by computer, based on information received from voter registration, the IL Secretary of State, including IL Identification Cards, IL Disabled Person Identification Cards, and the IL Dept. of Employment Security.

When chosen, you will receive a Jury Summons, Questionnaire, and informational letter via the US Mail.

Click Here for an example Jury Summons Packet.

While the questionnaire may seem to pry unnecessarily into your personal affairs, these questions are typically asked during the jury selection process in order to obtain a fair and impartial jury. It saves valuable time to ask you these questions in advance.

Your jury service will likely be for one day or one case, although a jury may serve more than one day. Your service requires you to stay until the trial is completed or until you are discharged by the Court. Monetary compensation will be paid to you in the sum of $15.00 for the first day of attendance, and $25.00 for each additional day of attendance as a juror, plus mileage to and from your Bureau County residence to the courthouse.

To be exempt from the courthouse cell phone ban, a juror must show his/her jury summons letter to courthouse security on each day of jury service in order to bring his/her personal cell phone into the courthouse. However, cell phones will not be allowed in the jury room during deliberations on a verdict.

Employment or other activities are not reasons to be excused from jury duty. If you feel you cannot serve as a juror, please list the reason on the questionnaire. If you have a medical condition that would prevent your service, a doctor’s certificate must be included with your questionnaire indicating inability to serve due to your health condition.

Please do not call the Circuit Clerk to be excused from jury duty. All juror requests for excusal or deferral are reviewed by the County Board’s Jury Committee. Unless you receive a Notice by mail from the Circuit Clerk stating that you have been excused or deferred, You must report for jury duty on your service date. when reporting for jury service please report to the bailiff on the second floor of the courthouse.

The enclosed summons directs you to call the Circuit Clerk’s office at 1-815-872-2001 after 5:00 p.m. the night before you are to report for jury duty. The recorded message will advise you whether to appear for jury duty on the following day. Be advised no payment will be made if you report for jury duty on a date when you were instructed otherwise.

I no longer live in Bureau County…should I return the questionnaire?

Yes, you must return the questionnaire in the envelope provided. Fill in your name and current address including zip code at the top of the questionnaire, write “no longer in Bureau County” on the questionnaire. You will be excused from jury duty. If the questionnaire was mailed to a family member who no longer lives with you in Bureau County, please fill in their name and current address and sign the questionnaire for them stating your relationship to that person. I received a questionnaire for my family member who is deceased…what should I do? We apologize for the fact that our juror lists are not always current. In this event, please WRITE THEIR NAME and “DECEASED” on the questionnaire and return it in the envelope provided.

I received a questionnaire for my family member who resides in a nursing home or healthcare facility…what should I do?

Please write their name on the top of the questionnaire and the name of the facility where they reside and return it in the envelope provided.

I don’t hear well OR I cannot sit for a long period of time OR I have a heart condition. What should I do?

If you have a medical condition that prohibits you from being a juror, please send a note from your doctor stating your inability to serve with your questionnaire in the envelope provided. We cannot excuse a juror who does not send us a note from a physician.

I have a medical condition that requires me to eat at certain times or stretch my legs often…what should I do?

Return your questionnaire in the envelope provided. We try our best to accommodate jurors with medical conditions that do not prohibit them from serving. Please indicate on your questionnaire if you require special attention and we will do everything we can to accommodate you during your jury service.

I served on a jury less than a year ago and I don’t want to serve again…what can I do?

If you served on a jury in the last 12 months, please indicate on your questionnaire the month and year you last served and you will be excused from the jury service term on your jury summons.

I have vacation plans OR I am scheduled for surgery OR my employer requires me to attend a conference OR I am a farmer and will be in the field OR I will be living out of state during that time OR I have a doctor’s appointment on the date of my jury summons…what should I do?

You must complete the questionnaire, indicate your situation that conflicts with your jury service and return it in the envelope provided.

My employer cannot do without me…what should I do?

Your employer must provide in writing on your employer’s letterhead a statement indicating the conflict that would be caused by your jury service. You must fill out the questionnaire and return it with your employer’s letter in the envelope provided. You will be notified if your jury service was deferred (postponed).

After I return my questionnaire will I hear from the Circuit Clerk again?

If you ask to be excused or deferred from jury service, your questionnaire will be reviewed by the Jury Committee. The Circuit Clerk will send you a letter stating the Jury Committee’s decision.

How much time will I actually serve during my jury term?

On the first day of service there will be a short explanation of the jury process before jury selection begins. If you are not selected that day, you may be released and told to come back another day. Jury service is very unpredictable.

*The Circuit Clerk Record Search is intended to be a summary of information for the public. It does not take the place of legal information held in the actual Court file. The Bureau County Circuit Clerk accepts no liability for discrepancies between the electronic version and the official printed document.

Main Office Phone

(815) 872-2001

Fax

(815) 872-0027

E-Mail

dreglin@bureaucounty-il.gov

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