Cook County Criminal Court
The Cook County Criminal Court is located at 2650 S California. Also known as the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building or “26th and Cal”, in just one recent year, over 1300 sexual assaults, 500 homicides,13,000 robberies and tens of thousands of other felony cases were all heard at this 26h and California, making it one of the busiest criminal courts in Illinois.
Al Capone was a frequent visitor to this historic building which has been home to some of the most famous trials in Chicago history. It has also been the scene of many popular movies, such as the Blues Brothers, The Fugitive, and TV shows like The Good Wife and Hill Street Blues. Chicago criminal cases of all types are heard at this location, but primarily felony matters.
SEXNER’S PRO LEGAL TIP: Felony cases that have been heard at other Chicago Branch Courts for preliminary hearing or for which an indictment was placed are generally transferred to this 26th & Cal location for assignment to a court room by the Chief Judge.
Although street parking is available nearby, give yourself enough time to search for it so that you’re on time to your court date. Also, extra time should be allotted to wait in line for the metal detectors upon entering the building. Depending on time of day, the line can easily stretch outside the door. -And of course, don’t even think of bring a gun, knife, other weapon or any type of drug into the building as the Sheriff’s Police carefully search for such items.
Next to the Cook County Criminal Court Building is the Cook County jail. Of those defendants whose cases are heard here at 26th & Cal, many are out on bond or electronic monitoring (EM), but many are also in custody at the Cook County Jail and will be transported directly over for court proceedings. If you need to look up some information about an inmate at the Jail, you can likely find that information here on the website for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Map to Cook County Criminal Court
If you are looking for the location of another courthouse, click here.