Cook County Process Service

Alan Crowe
Excerpt News
National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS);
July 1999

The Cook County (Illinois) sheriff has for years been the most politically dominant force in the process serving industry. Reigning over an area with a population of more than 5 million, the sheriff has had a virtual stranglehold on the service of process in the Chicago metro area. Numerous efforts over the past dozen years have failed to alter the Illinois Statute that requires a "special appointment" from the court for any one other than the sheriff to serve process in Cook County.

Now, however, thanks to member Scott Stern of Chicago, the law has been changed if only slightly. On July 9, the Governor signed into law legislation which permits the court to appoint a licensed "private detective agency" to serve all process in a specific case (see Legislative Report Illinois Senate Bill 257 in this issue). Mr. Stern was supported in this effort by the Associated Detectives of Illinois (ADI), whose current president is Ray Matesevac of Joliet, and by many Cook County attorneys. The practical effect of this change is more real than apparent. Previously, for example, a plaintiff with a case having multiple defendants was required to get separate appointments for each service and these appointments were not transferable. This created a problem in instances where if for some reason the appointed person was unable to handle the service. Under the new law, the appointed licensed private detective agency can have the paper served by any registered employee of the agency. Over 90% of our members in Cook County are licensed investigators.

Illinois is one state in which licensed private investigators play the major role in process serving. This is due in large part to the outstanding work some 15 years ago of NAPPS member William Vincent, a licensed Illinois investigator and president of VTS Investigations, LLC in Elgin. At that time Mr. Vincent stormed the legislature and sought to change a law that required all persons (other than the sheriff) to be specially appointed in order to serve process. Illinois has 102 counties and, as a result of Mr. Vincent's efforts, licensed "private detectives" were given authorization to serve process without special appointment in 101 of them. Only Cook County, the impenetrable political fortress, remained the sheriff's private preserve.

Working within the legislative system to effect change in the law can be both exhilarating and frustrating. The frustration surfaces because the overwhelming majority of proposed legislation either dies in committee or gets watered down to where the original intent of the bill is radically changed. We owe a debt of gratitude to those members who have become involved in the legislative process in their states and whose hard work and perseverance have caused laws to be changed for the betterment of the process serving industry.