Illinois: Attorney & Judicial Discipline
Who regulates lawyers and judges in Illinois, how complaints are filed, counted, and adjudicated, and where the complaint and disposition numbers come from.
Attorney discipline
Who regulates lawyers in Illinois Publishes statistics
Attorney discipline in Illinois is administered by the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), IL Supreme Court, under the ultimate authority of the Illinois Supreme Court.
About -27.0% of complaints proceed past initial screening (2024); the rest are screened out or dismissed.
How complaints are filed
A complaint (often called a grievance) against a lawyer is filed directly with the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), IL Supreme Court, typically via an online or printable complaint form. Filing is free and no lawyer is needed. The agency screens each filing to confirm it involves an attorney under its jurisdiction and conduct that could violate the rules of professional conduct; filings that survive screening are opened for investigation. The disciplinary process addresses professional misconduct — it cannot overturn a case result or award damages.
How complaints are counted
This state publishes aggregate attorney discipline statistics — requests for investigation, lawyers complained about, formal complaints, disbarments, suspensions, censures, reprimands, client protection payouts. Published as: Annual-report PDF + Highlights; coverage: current + multi-year archive. Robust; calendar-year.
How complaints are adjudicated
The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), an arm of the Illinois Supreme Court, handles the full pipeline: staff counsel investigate; the Inquiry Board decides whether to file charges; the Hearing Board tries them; the Review Board hears appeals; and the Illinois Supreme Court imposes final discipline.
| Year | Active lawyers | Complaints received | Publicly disciplined | Disbarments | Public suspensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 94,662 | 4,937 | 95 | — | — |
| 2020 | 94,907 | 3,936 | 81 | — | — |
| 2021 | 95,480 | 3,881 | 83 | 16 | 62 |
| 2022 | 95,711 | 4,359 | 63 | 12 | 36 |
| 2023 | 96,440 | 4,575 | 66 | 21 | 37 |
| 2024 | 96,821 | 4,706 | 60 | 17 | 29 |
Judicial discipline
Who regulates judges in Illinois Partial statistics
Complaints against Illinois state judges are handled by the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board (JIB); tried by Illinois Courts Commission. (Federal judges sitting in Illinois are covered by the separate federal system.)
How complaints are filed
Complaints about Illinois judges are filed in writing with the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board (JIB); tried by Illinois Courts Commission. Filing is free and confidential. The commission's jurisdiction covers judicial conduct — bias, demeanor, conflicts, delay, abuse of office — not the legal correctness of rulings, which must be challenged on appeal. Complaints are screened confidentially, and most are dismissed at that stage.
How complaints are counted
Aggregate statistics are only partially published. Available metrics: complaints/requests received, investigations, complaints filed with courts commission, dispositions/removals. Format: Annual-report PDF; coverage: latest ~2024. Proceedings confidential except Courts Commission filings.
How complaints are adjudicated
If screening indicates possible misconduct, the commission investigates and may file formal charges heard in a formal proceeding. In most states the commission's role ends in a recommendation, with final public discipline — censure, suspension, or removal — imposed by the state's highest court; in some, the commission itself imposes sanctions subject to review. Illinois's exact division of authority is set by its constitution and court rules. Confidential dispositions (private cautions or advisory letters) never become public.
| Year | Complaints received |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 609 |
| 2020 | 404 |
| 2021 | 604 |
| 2022 | 499 |
| 2023 | 527 |
| 2024 | 556 |
Sources
Where these numbers come from
- Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), IL Supreme Court — attorney discipline statistics
- Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), IL Supreme Court — main site
- Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board (JIB); tried by Illinois Courts Commission — judicial discipline statistics / annual reports
- Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board (JIB); tried by Illinois Courts Commission — main site
- ABA Survey on Lawyer Discipline Systems (S.O.L.D.)
- NCSC Center for Judicial Ethics — annual state judicial-discipline reviews