LibGuides: Illinois Legal Research: Overview

Welcome!

This guide is intended to identify primary sources and explanatory secondary sources for Illinois law. Access to most of these sources is available in print and online. Call numbers to the print sources are provided below the name of the source, and the links to online versions are also provided, where applicable.

Online Research

LexisNexis Academic provides campus-wide access to many primary sources of Illinois law. Note that this is different from Lexis. LexisNexis Academic is available to anyone on campus, whereas access to Lexis is limited to law students and faculty and requires a username and password.

LexisNexis Academic
Contains primary legal resources (case law, statutory law, and administrative law) at the federal and state level, plus law reviews and journals and some international coverage

Legal Research Guides

How to Research a Legal Problem - AALL
How to Research a Legal Problem - from the American Association of Law Libraries
Cornell's LII: Legal Research: Overview & Sources
A good overview to help you get started with your research.
Library of Congress Guides to Legal Research
These guides can help you begin a legal research project by offering quick techniques and a selection of legal resources and tools. Each guide is prepared by a legal specialist from the Law Library of Congress.
Illinois Legal Research - Public Library Toolkit
A guide to legal research in the state of Illinois for the pro se patron

Legal Research Guides

The Law Library has several resources dedicated to legal research. Books about Illinois legal research are located in the Illinois Alcove near the reference desk. Other books on general legal research can be found in the Practical Skills collection.

Illinois Legal Research Guide by Laurel Wendt
Call Number: KFI1275 .W46 2006
Just Research, 3e (Aspen Coursebook) by Laurel Currie Oates; Anne Enquist
Call Number: KF240 .O18 2011
ISBN: 9781454802945
Publication Date: 2011-06-17
Just Research uses a process approach to teach students how to use print and electronic sources to research issues governed by state and federal statutes, common law, and constitutional law.
Illinois Legal Research, 2e by Mark E. Wojcik
Call Number: KFI1275 .W65 2009
ISBN: 9781594606748
Publication Date: 2009-08-01
Shows how to find and stay current with Illinois cases, statutes, regulations, and local court rules. Focusing on state materials, it can be used as a supplement to national research texts or on its own to learn legal research. This book also explains how to locate secondary materials specific to Illinois law. Although the text was designed primarily for law students, seasoned attorneys will also appreciate the many secrets of Illinois legal research disclosed in this text. Wojcik's book includes materials on on citing Illinois under the Bluebook (for both law review formats and practice documents), the ALWD Manual, and local court rules.
Legal Research in a Nutshell, 13e by Kent Olson
Call Number: KF240 .C54 2018
Finding and using legal resources effectively is an essential skill for lawyers. This comprehensive but succinct guide covers research procedures using major online services, free Internet resources, and library materials. Several hundred websites are discussed and placed in context for effective and productive use in research. Discussion includes coverage of legislative history, administrative law, specialized and interdisciplinary resources, and research in international and comparative law. Appendices list state research guides and treatises and services by subject, and a companion website has a regularly updated list of URLs and illustrations of online and print resources.