What determines how adoptions are conducted?
In Cook County, Illinois, the adoption process is governed by Illinois law and the Rules of the Circuit Court of Cook County, which require the use of certain forms and procedures

The laws and rules regulating adoptions are as follows:

• Illinois Adoption Act: governs all adoption proceedings in Illinois courts.
• Case law: including decisions from the United States Supreme Court and lower federal courts, as well as from the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Courts on adoption issues, which is available in the Cook County Law Library located in the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, on the 29th Floor, 312.603.5423.
• The Rules of the Circuit Court of Cook County: outlines procedures to be followed in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
• Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 USC§1901 et seq: a federal law to which certain adoptions of Native American children are subject.