A person recently lost his/her deed and entire property to a tax buyer
during Illinois' Cook County Scavenger sale held in 2003.  The
question is: If we know only the PIN (propety index number) number and
the address of the property, how can we get a copy of ALL court papers
(petitions, notifications, case numbers, court rulings etc. etc.) that
were filed concerning this PIN's tax sale and subsequent conveyance of
deed/title from original owner to to tax buyer?

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Request for Question Clarification by jbf777-ga on 29 Jun 2004 07:41 PDT

Hello -

Thank you for your question.

Can you disclose the Property Index Number?  This will help in finding
the direct answer to your question.

Thanks,

jbf777

Hello -

Thank you for your question.

If you choose to rate this answer, please don't hesitate to ask for
any clarification you may require beforehand.  Thank you.

On second thought, you don't need to post any property identification numbers.
In order to obtain the information you're seeking, you must first
contact the Cook County Clerk's office at 312-603-5645.  You can speak
to a representative named Irene there.  You'll want to give her the
Property Index number.  She will then give you a case number for this
situation.  You must then contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court
office at 312-603-5400.  The representative at this number will then
route your call to the appropriate bureau who handled the case where
you'll obtain the physical address of the building.  You wlll have to
travel to the appropriate office to gain access to all court papers in
person.

Thank you,

jbf777-ga

Links:
Cook County Clerk:
http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/Customer_Services/customer_services.htm

Cook County Circuit Court Office
http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/Customer_Services/customer_services.htm

Search strategy:
cook county
(called offices)

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Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 29 Jun 2004 10:21 PDT

Rewrite of that last section:

The representative at this number will then route your call to the
appropriate bureau who handled the case; they'll give you the physical
address of the building that you'll need to travel to gain access to
all court papers in person (it must all be done in person).

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Request for Answer Clarification by rshen-ga on 29 Jun 2004 13:16 PDT

Thank you for prompt response.  Unfortunately, you were telling me
what I already knew. The question already stated:

"If we know only the PIN (propety index number) number and
the address of the property..."

And you wrote:

"You must then contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court
office at 312-603-5400.  The representative at this number will then
route your call to the appropriate bureau who handled the case where
you'll obtain the physical address of the building.  You wlll have to
travel to the appropriate office to gain access to all court papers in
person."

I had already talked to the people that give out the physical
addresses, they're at Room 102 of the County Building.  When I asked
them about court papers, they told me : "You need to ask your lawyer."
 So, no help there.

Because I'm both a poor person and a firm believer of
doing-it-yourself, I do not have a lawyer.  What I'm asking for is
what those "appropriate office" are and how to gain access to the
court papers.  I hope this clarifies the objective of my question.

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Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 29 Jun 2004 14:48 PDT

Ah, OK.  Thank you for the clarification.  I will continue to work on
this and see if I can resolve it.  Actually, with regard to the PIN,
can you disclose that to me?  I think that would help.

Thank you,

jbf777

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Request for Answer Clarification by rshen-ga on 29 Jun 2004 17:46 PDT

PIN number: 16-02-321-009-0000
Volume number: 539
Address: 939 N. Hamlin Ave, Chicago
Taxes and penalty owed from 1991 - 1996: $1,821.60

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Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 30 Jun 2004 08:21 PDT

rshen -

Thank you for your patience.  The following is exactly what you'll
need to do to obtain copies of the court papers.

You want to travel to the following address:

Richard J. Daly Center
50 West Washington St., Room 1202
Cook County, Il. 60602

You'll want to go to the counter and present this case number:
02CD1248.  You'll need to present either a drivers license or state
ID.  It's about $.25 per copy if they make the copies of the court
papers or about $.50 per copy if you do it yourself.  Bring either
cash, check or money order (cash is preferred, however).

There is a man named Deidric who works there at 312-603-5515.  I had
him physically verify that the file with this case number (that I
obtained from the property number you provided) exists and contains
court papers.  He's there between 8:30-4:30.  Although the clerk
presiding at the counter can help you, you might want to call him
ahead of time and make sure he's there just in case there's any issue.

Please be sure to let me know if there are any difficulties.

Thank you,

jbf777

Sorry this rating took so long.  I went to the room 1202 according to
your answer and indeed found what I was looking for.  I don't know how
you pierced through the bureacratic veil but you did it.  Excellent
excellent job!

rshen,

Very glad to hear it!  Thank you very much for the kind words, rating
and tip!  Please stop by again.

jbf777