705 ILCS 85

in effect

705 ILCS 85/0.01

(705 ILCS 85/0.01) (from Ch. 116, par. 0.01) Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Court Records Restoration Act. (Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

(705 ILCS 85/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 1) Sec. 1. Whenever the record of any judgment or order, or other proceeding, of any judicial court of this State, or any part of the record of any judicial proceeding, shall have been or shall hereafter be lost or destroyed, any party or person interested therein may, on application by petition, in writing, under oath, to such court, and on showing, to the satisfaction of such court, that the same has been lost or destroyed without fault or neglect of the party or person making such application, obtain an order from such court, authorizing such defect to be supplied by a duly certified copy of such original record, where the same can be obtained; which certified copy shall, thereafter, have the same effect as such original record would have had, in all respects. (Source: P.A. 79-1366.)

705 ILCS 85/2

(705 ILCS 85/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 2) Sec. 2. That whenever the loss or destruction of any such record or part thereof shall have happened, or shall hereafter happen, and such defect cannot be supplied, as provided in the next preceding section, any party or person interested therein may make a written application to the court to which such record belonged, verified by affidavit or affidavits, showing the loss or destruction thereof, and that certified copies thereof cannot be obtained by the party or person making such application, and the substance of the record so lost or destroyed, and that such loss or destruction occurred, without the fault or neglect of the party or person making such application, and that the loss or destruction of such record, unless supplied, will or may result in damage to the party or person making such application; and thereupon, said court shall cause said application to be entered of record in said court, and due notice of said application shall be given, as in civil cases, that said application will be heard by said court. And if, upon such hearing, said court shall be satisfied that the statements contained in said written application are true, said court shall make an order, reciting what was the substance and effect of said lost or destroyed record; which order shall be entered of record in said court, and have the same effect which said original record would have had if the same had not been lost or destroyed, so far as concerns the party or person making such application, and the persons who shall have been notified, as provided for in this section. The record in all cases where the proceeding was in rem, and no personal service was had, may be supplied upon like notice, as nearly as may be, as in the original proceeding. The court in which the application is pending may, in all cases in which publication is required, direct, by order or orders, to be entered of record, the form of the notice, and designate the newspaper or newspapers in which the same shall be published. (Source: Laws 1935, p. 1134.)

705 ILCS 85/3

(705 ILCS 85/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 3) Sec. 3. In case of the destruction by fire or otherwise of the records, or any part thereof, of any circuit court, the judge of any such court may proceed upon his own motion, or upon application in writing of any party in interest, to restore the records, papers and proceedings of this court relating to the estate of deceased persons, including recorded wills and wills probated or filed for probate in the court; and for the purpose of restoring the record, wills, papers or proceedings, or any part thereof, may cause citations to be issued to any and all parties to be designated by him, and may compel the attendance in court of any and all witnesses whose testimony may be necessary to the establishment of any such record or part thereof, and the production of any and all written or documentary evidence which may be by him deemed necessary in determining the true import and effect of the original record, will, paper or other document belonging to the files of the court; and may make such orders establishing the original record, will, paper, document or proceeding, or the substance thereof, as to him shall seem just and proper; and such judge may make all such rules and regulations governing the proceedings for the restoration of the record, will, paper, document and proceeding pertaining to the court, as in his judgment will best secure the rights and protect the interests of all parties concerned. (Source: P.A. 79-1366.)

705 ILCS 85/4

(705 ILCS 85/4) (from Ch. 116, par. 4) Sec. 4. That in all causes which have been removed, or shall hereafter be removed, to a reviewing court of this State, a duly certified copy of the record of such cause remaining in the reviewing court may be filed in the court from which such cause was removed, on motion of any party or person or persons claiming to be interested therein; and the copy so filed shall have the same effect as the original record would have had if the same had not been lost or destroyed. (Source: P.A. 79-1366.)

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.aspFetched: 10/17/2026