A summons arrives in the mail with a date on it, a juror number, and a questionnaire. The honest answer to the question most people type into a search box that night: no, jury duty in Illinois is not something a person can simply decline. It is a court order, not an invitation.
But courts in Cook, Lake and DuPage County excuse and postpone jurors every week. There is a process for asking, and the request is far more likely to be granted when it comes in early, in writing, with proof attached.
The short answer: you can ask to be excused or moved, not refuse
There are three different things people lump together as “getting out of jury duty”:
- A postponement (deferral). The service moves to a later date. This is the most common outcome and the easiest to get.
- An excuse for hardship. The court releases the person from this summons because serving would create a real problem, usually medical, financial or caregiving.
- A disqualification. The person does not meet the legal requirements to serve at all.
Ignoring the summons is not on that list. It is the one choice that puts a person in front of a judge for a reason unrelated to the trial.
Who is qualified to serve, and what disqualifies a person in Illinois
Illinois sets the basic qualifications in the Jury Act, 705 ILCS 305/2. Generally, a juror must be a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, an inhabitant of the county where the summons was issued, able to understand English, and of sound mind and free of legal disability.
A few things people assume are disqualifying usually are not:
- A job. Illinois does not hand out blanket occupational exemptions. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, nurses and police officers all get summoned and all sit on juries.
- Knowing a lawyer, or being related to one. That comes up during questioning, not on the questionnaire, and it is the trial judge’s call.
- Having an opinion about lawsuits. Both sides expect that. Honest answers are what the process is built on.
A past criminal conviction is a different matter. Illinois has treated a felony conviction as a bar to service, and the rules about when someone with a conviction may serve have shifted over the years. Anyone in that position generally notes it on the questionnaire or calls the jury office of the circuit clerk in their county rather than guessing.
The excuses Illinois courts actually consider
Courts recognize that certain circumstances make participation difficult or impossible. The categories below come up over and over. Every county handles them a little differently, and the judge or jury supervisor has discretion in all of them.
Age 70 and over
Illinois generally allows people 70 or older to be excused from jury service on request, and some courts will instead move service to a courthouse closer to home. It is usually a box on the questionnaire or a short note back to the jury office. Confirm the current rule with the clerk in the county that sent the summons.
A medical exemption
Health is one of the most common grounds. Courts generally want a signed letter from a treating physician that says three things: that the person is under care, that the condition makes sitting through a trial day unworkable, and roughly how long that is expected to last. A note that only says “please excuse my patient” tends to come back with questions.
People recovering from surgery, in active treatment, or late in a pregnancy often receive a postponement rather than a permanent excuse, because the problem is expected to pass. Ongoing conditions and mobility or hearing issues are sometimes handled with an accommodation instead of an excuse. Residents of nursing homes and people with certain disabilities or illnesses are often excused outright.
Financial hardship
This is the reason cited most often. Juror pay is set by the county and is a modest daily fee plus mileage; the current figure is posted on the circuit clerk’s website. Illinois law generally protects a person’s job for answering a summons, but it does not require an employer to keep paying wages during service, which is where the hardship usually comes from.
Courts look at employment status, whether paid leave is available, whether the person is self-employed or paid hourly, and how long the trial is expected to run. Pay stubs, a letter from the employer, or proof of self-employment are the documents that carry a request.
Caregiving
Care for young children, an elderly parent or a family member with a disability can support a postponement or an excuse. Courts understand that backup care is not always available or affordable. Proof of guardianship, a school or daycare schedule, or a physician’s statement describing the dependent’s needs is the kind of support jury offices ask for.
Travel, school and prior service
Pre-arranged travel is a classic deferral request, especially when tickets are nonrefundable or the trip is for work. Copies of the itinerary or tickets usually settle it. Full-time students away at school are often deferred to a break.
Recent service also counts. Illinois courts generally excuse people who served on a jury within roughly the past year. The summons or the clerk’s website will state the exact look-back period for that county.
Cook County jury duty exemptions: how the request is made
In Cook County, the Circuit Court’s jury administration office assigns jurors to a courthouse based on where they live: the Richard J. Daley Center downtown, or one of the suburban districts, including Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham. Someone in Glenview or Northbrook is far more likely to be sent to Skokie than to Washington Street in the Loop.
Cook County generally uses a one-day or one-trial system. Jurors who are questioned but not selected are usually finished at the end of the day. Those who are seated stay for that trial.
Requests to postpone or be excused are typically made through the online juror portal listed on the summons, or by mail or phone to the jury office, well before the report date. Cook County generally allows one self-service postponement online; beyond that, a written request with documents goes to the jury supervisor or a judge.
In Lake County, the 19th Judicial Circuit handles jury service out of the courthouse on North County Street in Waukegan. In DuPage County, the 18th Judicial Circuit uses the Judicial Office Facility on the county complex in Wheaton. Each clerk’s office has its own form, its own portal and its own deadline for responding, all printed on the summons itself.
What happens if you miss jury duty in Illinois
Not appearing is treated as a failure to obey a court order. In practice, the first step is usually administrative: the clerk sends a second notice with a new date. A pattern of no-shows, or ignoring that notice too, can lead to an order to appear before a judge and a finding of contempt of court, which can carry a fine.
Courts do listen to explanations. People who missed a date because the summons went to an old address, because of a hospitalization, or because of a work emergency generally call the jury office, explain, and get rescheduled. The outcome depends on the judge and the county, so no one should assume a particular result.
One more thing people get wrong: trying to get struck during jury selection by saying something outrageous. Jurors answer questions under oath. A judge who believes someone is lying to get out of service can address it right there, in open court.
Why an injury law firm writes about this
Juries decide the cases we handle. In a Cook County injury trial at the Daley Center, or a Lake County case in Waukegan, twelve or fewer people who were summoned exactly the way the reader was decide whether a driver was careless and how fault is split. Illinois uses modified comparative fault, 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, which generally bars recovery if an injured person is found more than 50 percent at fault. A jury puts the numbers on that. If you have ever wondered how a claim differs from a lawsuit, jury service is the part almost nobody sees until the summons comes.
To be plain about it: no lawyer can excuse anyone from jury duty. Only the court can, and Kass & Moses does not handle jury service requests. The jury office of the circuit clerk in the county on the summons is the right place for those questions.
Contact Kass & Moses Personal Injury Lawyers
Courts do allow exemptions and postponements when a real hardship or a disqualifying circumstance exists. The requests that work are the ones sent in honestly, early, and with documents attached.
For questions about an injury claim in Chicago or the suburbs, the personal injury attorneys at Kass & Moses Personal Injury Lawyers are available for a free consultation. Our Illinois personal injury FAQs answer many common questions first.
For more information, contact a personal injury lawyer at Kass & Moses Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation. Our office is in Northbrook, and we represent people throughout Cook, Lake and DuPage County, including Chicago and the North Shore. Questions about an injury case in Lake County can also go to our Lake County personal injury page.
We proudly serve clients throughout Northbrook, Lake County, IL, and nearby areas, including Waukegan, Gurnee, North Chicago, Highland Park, Round Lake Beach, Zion, Grayslake, Libertyville, Lake Zurich, Lake Forest, Antioch, Highwood, Mettawa, Mundelein, Vernon Hills, Round Lake, Lindenhurst, and Beach Park.
**Kass & Moses Personal Injury Lawyers
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Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 513-9582
Frequently asked questions
No. A summons is a court order, not a request. What people can do is ask for a postponement to a later date or ask to be excused for a hardship such as a medical issue, caregiving duties or serious financial hardship. Those requests go to the jury office of the circuit clerk in the county that issued the summons, generally in writing and before the report date.
Illinois sets the basic qualifications in the Jury Act, 705 ILCS 305/2. A juror generally must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, an inhabitant of the county that summoned them, able to understand English, and of sound mind and free of legal disability. Someone who does not meet one of those requirements is disqualified rather than excused. A felony conviction has also been treated as a bar, and the rules on that have changed over time, so the clerk’s jury office is the place to confirm.
Illinois courts do consider health-based requests, but they generally want a signed letter from a treating physician explaining that the person is under care, why sitting through trial days is not workable, and how long that is expected to last. Temporary problems, such as recovery from surgery, more often lead to a postponement than a permanent excuse.
Usually the clerk’s first step is administrative: a second notice with a new date. Repeated no-shows, or ignoring that notice, can bring an order to appear before a judge and a possible contempt of court finding with a fine. Courts do listen to explanations, and people who missed a date because of a wrong address or a medical emergency generally call the jury office and get rescheduled. Outcomes depend on the judge and the county.
Illinois law generally protects a person’s job for answering a jury summons, so an employer is not supposed to fire or threaten someone for serving. Illinois does not generally require an employer to keep paying wages during service, though many do. Juror pay from the county is a modest daily fee plus mileage, and the current amount is posted on the circuit clerk’s website.
