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When Illinois first became a state in 1818, state government was comparatively small and insignificant. Likewise, the Secretary of State was more or less a personal secretary to the Governor. The Constitution, for example, required only that the secretary "keep a fair register of the official acts of the Governor." What then was the Office of the Secretary of State is now the Department of Index. Today, the Index Department performs more than 100 statutory duties. The department commissions notaries public, registers lobbyists and records their expenditures, maintains Statements of Economic Interest, issues apostilles and certificates of incorporation for municipalities, certifies special municipal censuses and the federal census and issues certificates of election for judges and all elected state and county officials. In addition, the Index Department maintains all state agency rules and publishes the Administrative Code and quarterly updates of the Illinois Register, serving as a state clearinghouse and central repository for the daily business of state government. The department houses libraries of information including a complete collection of state agency rules and regulations both past and present, official transcripts of floor debate for both houses of the Illinois General Assembly, and maintains hundreds of miscellaneous public documents vital to the interests of the State of Illinois and its citizenry. |
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Administrative Division The division is responsible for the overall management and direction of the various divisions within the department. Duties include the development and administration of the department's budget, the hiring, supervision and evaluation of its personnel and the operation of its data processing needs. Administrative Code Division A prime responsibility of the Secretary of State is to serve as the filing agency for all state agency rules and regulations. The Administrative Code Division maintains a complete library of all such rules, both rescinded and current, dating back to the 1930's. Specific areas of interest include:
The division publishes proposed, adopted, emergency and other rulemaking activities weekly in the Illinois Register. A Cumulative Index and the Sections Affected Index are issued quarterly as a part of this publication. An annual subscription to the Illinois Register is $290 for more information call 217 782-7017.
Archived Issues of the Illinois Register
Administrative Code Indexes If you have inquires about rules or ordering a Part, please contact: Department of Index Lobbyist Division This division is responsible for processing the registration and expenditure report filings for Illinois lobbyists and businesses that employ lobbyists. There are approximately 2,137 lobbyists and 1,689 lobbying entities registered with the Index Department as of December 2006. As of January 2006, lobbyist registration has been performed electronically, while the second phase of the project, electronic filing of lobbyist expenditure reports, begins in January 2007. In addition, since Secretary White took office in January 1999, this web site has been updated to include the Lobbyist Registration Act, the Annual Registration Guide, Expenditure Report Filing Guide, corresponding rules, daily update of the searchable database and the registered lobbyist list. Notary Public Division The 183,158 active notaries public in Illinois have been appointed and commissioned by the Index Department. In addition are the controlling authority for specialty notarization, Certificates of Authority, Certificates of Incumbency and Apostilles. The purpose of notarization is to prevent fraud and forgery. The notary acts as an official and unbiased witness to the identity of person who comes before the notary for a specific purpose. Notaries are appointed by the Secretary of State for a term of four years. An applicant for an appointment must (1) be a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, (2) be a resident of the State of Illinois for at least 30 days, (3) be at least 18 years of age, (4) be able to read and write the English language, (5) have not been convicted of a felony, and (6) have not had a notary commission revoked during the past 10 years. An applicant must complete the application form provided by the Secretary of State and must obtain a notary bond valued at $5000 from a bonding or surety company. Once approved the commission will be mailed to the county clerk in which the applicant resides. There it must be recorded before the applicant is officially a notary. Foreign Adoptions The Secretary of State’s office is committed to helping prospective adoptive parents in foreign adoptions. The Index Department, by affixing the official "Great Seal" of the State of Illinois legalizes needed documents for use in other countries. Types of Documents needed: A Certificate of Authority certifies the Illinois notary public. Certificates of Authority of notary public may be granted by either the county clerk of the county in which the notary public resides, or the Secretary of State, Index Department. A Certificate of Incumbency certifies any Illinois County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, or Local Registrar. Certificates of Incumbency for public officials are granted by the Secretary of State, Index Department. An Apostille certifies any Illinois notary public, County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, or Local Registrar. An Apostille is a certification that is entitled to direct recognition by members of the 1961 Hague Convention. For a document to receive these forms of certifications it must be a notarized or certified document. Documents should be certified by the official who has custody of the original document, or by the office where the document was officially filed. Examples: Birth or Death Certificates must be certified by the County Clerk, Local Registrar, or State of Illinois Department of Public Health. Marriage Licenses must be certified by the County Clerk or State of Illinois Department of Public Health. Divorce Decrees must be certified by the Circuit Clerk. (Documents not included in the above list must be notarized by an Illinois notary public.) To obtain any of the above certificates from the Index Department you must send to the Department of Index:
Documents may be forwarded to a third party upon request with an addressed envelope.
Documents may be submitted in person. To search the Notary Public Database or download an Application for Commission as a Notary Public visit our Notary Services section. Public Documents Division The division is home to two sections: Governmental Ethics and Public Documents. The Government Ethics section in administering the Illinois Governmental Act, the Ethics Section maintains the statements of economic interest filings of all elected and appointed governmental officials and state employees who hold decision-making positions in the execution of contracts, spending of public funds and issuing of state licenses and permits. For questions or further information on Governmental Ethics please contact: Department of Index This section also maintains the state's official records of the Governor's appointments to boards and commissions and a myriad of miscellaneous public documents, including official pardons, municipal incorporations, oaths of office, credit service organization registrations, home rule referendums and mass transit district registrations and audits. For questions or further information, please contact: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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