If you were arrested for a DUI or a traffic offense inside Chicago city limits, this is almost certainly where your case is heard. The Richard J. Daley Center is the largest courthouse in Cook County, and it takes the DUI and traffic call for every Chicago Police Department arrest in the city.
Volume is the thing to understand about this building. It processes a high number of DUI cases a day, which means prosecutors are stretched and procedural shortcuts happen. That cuts both ways: it is also why cases here are more often negotiable than defendants expect.
Our attorneys are former Illinois prosecutors who worked these courtrooms. We know which ones apply stricter scrutiny to breathalyzer evidence and which prosecutors will consider a negotiated reduction.
What the Daley Center handles
- Misdemeanor DUI arrests made by Chicago Police anywhere in the city
- Traffic citations issued within Chicago city limits
- Licence and suspension matters tied to those cases
What goes somewhere else instead
This is the part that sends people to the wrong building, so it is worth being exact about:
- A felony traffic charge does not stay here. Aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and aggravated driving on a suspended or revoked licence go to Branch 2 instead.
- A misdemeanor that is not a traffic offense, such as battery, theft or resisting arrest, goes to the neighbourhood branch court for the district where the arrest happened, not to the Daley Center.
- A felony case is heard at 26th and California once it clears a preliminary hearing.
The Daley Center matters we handle
- DUI defense, whether it is a first DUI or a repeat charge
- Traffic ticket defense for citations and licence issues
- Criminal defense if the charge is upgraded out of this building
A Chicago DUI call runs on volume, and the practical question is usually not guilt or innocence but what the State can actually prove and what it will agree to. Nicholas Ktenas is a former Cook County prosecutor who screened and valued cases like yours before he defended them. That does not decide an outcome. It does mean the read you get on your case is based on how these files are actually handled, not on guesswork.
Request a free, confidential case review before your court date.
For the other five districts, see Cook County court districts. The official court listing for this building is on the Cook County Circuit Court site.
Questions about a DUI or traffic case at the Daley Center
Most do, but not all. The Daley Center hears misdemeanor DUI arrests made by Chicago Police anywhere in the city, along with the traffic citations that go with them. A felony traffic charge, such as aggravated DUI, is not heard here and is sent to Branch 2 instead.
That charge is not heard at the Daley Center. A misdemeanor that is not a traffic offense, such as battery, theft or resisting arrest, goes to the neighbourhood branch court for the district where the arrest happened. Check the address on your citation or bond paperwork, since it will likely point you to a different building.
Not to the Daley Center. Aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and aggravated driving on a suspended or revoked licence are all heard at Branch 2. If the case clears a preliminary hearing, it then moves to the Leighton Courthouse at 26th and California for the remainder.
Yes, when the suspension is tied to the DUI or traffic case being heard here. Licence and suspension matters connected to that case are handled alongside it rather than in a separate building. A charge that gets upgraded to a felony would move to a different court instead.
The building processes a high number of DUI cases every day, which stretches prosecutors thin and can lead to procedural shortcuts in how a case is handled. That volume does not decide any single case on its own, but it is part of what an attorney looks at when reviewing what the State can actually prove.
Get a read on your Daley Center case before you appear
You will speak to an attorney, not an intake screener. Tell us what you were charged with, which building you have been told to appear at, and when.
Bring your citation or bond slip to that conversation if you have it. The classification printed on it is what sets your exposure, and it is the first thing worth checking. A charge is not a conviction.
Start a free, confidential case review. If we are not the right firm for your case, we will say so.
Last reviewed 08/23/2026
