735 ILCS 5/2-202
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 735 - CIVIL PROCEDURE|735 ILCS 5/ - Code of Civil Procedure.|Article II - Civil Practice

 (from Ch. 110, par. 2-202)Sec. 2-202. Persons authorized to serve process; place of  service; failure to make return.(a) Process shall be served by a  sheriff, or if the sheriff is disqualified, by a coroner of some county of the  State. In matters where the county or State is an interested party, process may be served by a special investigator appointed by the State's Attorney of the county, as defined in Section 3-9005 of the Counties Code.  A sheriff of a county with a population of less than 2,000,000  may employ civilian personnel to serve process.  In  counties with a population of less than 2,000,000, process may  be served, without special appointment, by a person who is licensed or  registered as a private detective under the Private Detective, Private  Alarm,  Private  Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004 or by a registered  employee of a private detective  agency certified under that Act as defined in Section (a-5).  A private detective or licensed  employee must supply the sheriff of any county in which he serves process  with a copy of his license or certificate; however, the failure of a person  to supply the copy shall not in any way impair the validity of process  served by the person. The court may, in its discretion upon motion, order  service to be made by a private person over 18 years of age and not a party  to the action.  It is not necessary that service be made by a sheriff or  coroner of the county in which service is made. If served or sought to be  served by a sheriff or coroner, he or she shall endorse his or her return  thereon, and if by a private person the return shall be by affidavit.(a-5) Upon motion and in its discretion, the court may appoint as a  special process  server a  private detective agency certified under the Private Detective, Private Alarm,  Private  Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.  Under the appointment,  any employee of  the  private detective agency who is registered under that Act may serve the  process.  The  motion and the order of appointment must contain the number of the certificate  issued to  the private detective agency by the Department of Professional Regulation under  the  Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of  2004. A private detective or private detective agency shall send, one time only, a copy of his, her, or its individual private detective license or private detective agency certificate to the county sheriff in each county in which the detective or detective agency or his, her, or its employees serve process, regardless of the size of the population of the county. As long as the license or certificate is valid and meets the requirements of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, a new copy of the current license or certificate need not be sent to the sheriff.  A private detective agency shall maintain a list of its registered employees.  Registered employees shall consist of:(1) an employee who works for the agency holding a     valid Permanent Employee Registration Card;(2) a person who has applied for a Permanent Employee     Registration Card, has had his or her fingerprints processed and cleared by the Illinois State Police and the FBI, and as to whom the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation website shows that the person's application for a Permanent Employee Registration Card is pending;(3) a person employed by a private detective agency     who is exempt from a Permanent Employee Registration Card requirement because the person is a current peace officer; and(4) a private detective who works for a private     detective agency as an employee.  A detective agency shall maintain this list and forward it to any sheriff's department that requests this list within 5 business days after the receipt of the request.(b) Summons may be served upon the defendants wherever they may be  found in the State, by any person authorized to serve process. An officer  may serve summons in his or her official capacity outside his or her county,  but fees for mileage outside the county of the officer cannot be taxed  as costs. The person serving the process in a foreign county may make  return by mail.(c) If any sheriff, coroner, or other person to whom any process is  delivered, neglects or refuses to make return of the same, the plaintiff  may petition the court to enter a rule requiring the sheriff, coroner,  or other person, to make return of the process on a day to be fixed by  the court, or to show cause on that day why that person should not be attached  for contempt of the court. The plaintiff shall then cause a written  notice of the rule to be served on the sheriff, coroner, or other  person. If good and sufficient cause be not shown to excuse the officer  or other person, the court shall adjudge him or her guilty of a contempt, and  shall impose punishment as in other cases of contempt.(d) If process is served by a sheriff, coroner, or special investigator appointed by the State's Attorney, the court may tax  the fee of the sheriff, coroner, or State's Attorney's special investigator as costs in the proceeding.  If process  is served by a private person or entity, the court may establish a fee  therefor and tax such fee as costs in the proceedings.(e) In addition to the powers stated in Section 8.1a of the Housing  Authorities Act, in counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more  inhabitants,  members of a housing authority police force may serve process for eviction actions commenced by that housing authority and may execute eviction  orders for that housing authority.(f) In counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more, process may be  served, with special appointment by the court,  by a private process server or  a law enforcement agency other than the county sheriff  in proceedings instituted under Article IX of this Code as a result of a lessor or  lessor's assignee declaring a lease void pursuant to Section 11 of the  Controlled Substance and Cannabis Nuisance Act.  (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)