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Veterans Court — Certified by the Supreme Court, and in 21 Named Counties

Problem-solving courts here cannot hear a case until the Supreme Court certifies them, and certification has to be renewed every three years. All 117 of them were certified as of 22 February 2023. The judicial branch publishes which counties have which court, and veterans courts appear in 21 of them. That number is the point of this record: if guidance told you every circuit has a veterans court, check the list before you plan around it.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Problem-solving courts here cannot hear a case until the Supreme Court certifies them, and certification has to be renewed every three years. All 117 of them were certified as of 22 February 2023. The judicial branch publishes which counties have which court, and veterans courts appear in 21 of them. That number is the point of this record: if guidance told you every circuit has a veterans court, check the list before you plan around it.

What it's worth: A judicially supervised treatment track in 21 named counties, on courts the Supreme Court certifies and recertifies every three years

  • The judicial branch’s problem-solving courts map lists veterans courts in 21 counties: Winnebago, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Cook, Kendall, Will, Kankakee, Peoria, Livingston, McLean, Ford, Vermilion, Logan, Sangamon, Macon, Effingham, Jasper, Madison, Clay and St. Clair.
  • The same map lists drug courts in 54 counties, mental health courts in 26 counties, and DUI courts in 5 counties.
  • The Supreme Court created uniform standards and an application and certification process for problem-solving courts in December 2015, developed by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
  • All 117 problem-solving courts held Supreme Court certification as of 22 February 2023, across drug, mental health, veterans, DUI and hybrid courts.
  • Certification evaluation involves site visits, team interviews and document reviews against the Supreme Court’s problem-solving court standards.
  • Recertification occurs every three years.
  • Problem-solving courts provide an alternative forum for people in the criminal justice system, including veterans and those with mental illness or substance use disorders.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

From what you have told us so far, you appear to qualify.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check the judicial branch’s problem-solving courts map for your county before anything else. Veterans courts are listed in 21 counties, and a hybrid court in a county without a dedicated veterans court may still take a veteran.
  2. 2Tell your defence attorney you served. Nothing in the ordinary process flags it.
  3. 3If your county has no veterans court but has a drug, mental health or hybrid court, ask whether that court will take the case on a veteran track. The certification framework covers hybrid courts as a category.
  4. 4Ask when the court was last recertified. Certification runs three years and a court in the middle of recertification is a court whose staffing and standards are being actively reviewed.
  5. 5Bring the discharge document. Veteran status is normally screened through the federal veterans department, the county veterans assistance commission or the state veterans department, and having the paperwork in hand shortens that.
  6. 6Ask the court what completion has meant for previous participants in that county. The certification framework sets standards for how the court runs, not what graduation earns.
Form
A referral or motion in the criminal case, made through your defence attorney
File with
The circuit court handling the case
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionGuidance widely states that a veterans treatment court was mandated in every judicial circuit. Whatever the statute says, the judicial branch’s own published map lists veterans courts in 21 counties. Check the map for the county your case is in rather than assuming coverage.
Known gapThe statute governing these courts could not be read this session. The General Assembly’s statute server refused a fetch at the network layer and a browser navigation outright. Eligibility gates, exclusions and what completion earns are therefore not stated here from the statute, and are filed as a candidate.
Worth knowingCertification is not decoration. A court that has not been certified cannot hear cases under the framework, and recertification every three years means the standards are re-tested rather than granted once.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.