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Office: Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office – 1505 W. Hagerman Street, Sullivan, IL 61951 | (217) 728-4386 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Gary Carroll. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM (office); jail operates 24/7/365. Jail capacity 56 beds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-32/121 serve Sullivan, the county seat and largest city.
Notes: Moultrie County was formed February 16, 1843, from parts of Shelby and Macon Counties, named for South Carolina General (and later Governor) William Moultrie, who successfully defended Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, from British attack in 1776 – the site was later renamed Fort Moultrie in his honor. The county’s name carries a genuinely distinctive local pronunciation quirk: Moultrie County is pronounced like “mole tree,” unlike the traditional pronunciation of General Moultrie’s own surname.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Moultrie County Courthouse – 10 S. Main Street, Sullivan, IL (architects Deal & Ginzel, Classical Revival, built by H.B. Walters; National Register of Historic Places since 1995 – the only Moultrie County site on the register).
Notes: Sullivan’s early history includes a genuine future-governor connection: Richard J. Oglesby, who later served as Illinois Governor and U.S. Senator, practiced his very first law cases from the old Freeland log cabin in Sullivan (the town’s first log cabin, moved there from Glasgow in 1845) before leaving in spring 1846 to fight in the Mexican War. The county’s first courthouse featured a notoriously filthy basement jail nicknamed “the Stable,” while the presiding judge was known for whittling during trials and insisting on strict courtroom decorum.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Moultrie County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via moultriecountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Sullivan Public Library District (Sullivan) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Moultrie County Courthouse (National Register of Historic Places) and downtown Sullivan’s historic square are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine local pronunciation quirk of “Moultrie” (rhyming with “mole tree”), alongside the county’s connection to future Governor Richard J. Oglesby’s earliest legal career, are among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Moultrie County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via moultriecountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via moultriecountyil.gov; Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Moultrie County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via moultriecountyil.gov.
NOTES: Moultrie County is the seventieth county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine local pronunciation quirk of “Moultrie” and the county’s tie to future Governor Richard J. Oglesby’s earliest legal career are among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Moultrie County County
Moultrie County is east-central Illinois’s professional summer theater and Lake Shelbyville county – Sullivan’s six-decade-old professional theater that defies small-town expectations and the large reservoir that draws outdoor recreation visitors define a county whose cultural and recreational assets exceed what its modest size would suggest.
Sullivan (the county seat, population ~4,200) is Moultrie County’s governmental hub on US 45, a central Illinois small city whose Little Theatre on the Square, Lake Shelbyville access, and agricultural service role anchor its community identity.
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Moultrie County Supervisor of Assessments at 10 S. Main Street, Sullivan, IL 61951, phone 217-728-4389. IL assessed at 33.33% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Moultrie County Circuit Court at 10 S. Main Street, Sullivan, IL 61951, phone 217-728-4622, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4389
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4622
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4389
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Moultrie County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Moultrie County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Moultrie County Circuit Clerk (Sixth Judicial Circuit) 10 South Main Street, Suite 7, Sullivan, IL 61951 (217) 728-4622 The Sixth Judicial Circuit also includes Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, and Piatt Counties.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Illinois has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and is not a community property state – it follows common law property principles. Illinois probate is governed by the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/). Two main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where personal property (excluding real estate) is valued at $150,000 or less (raised from $100,000 effective August 15, 2025), with no unresolved debts or claims and no real estate involved. No formal court probate is required.
Formal Probate (Independent or Supervised Administration) – required when the estate doesn’t qualify for the small estate affidavit. Most Illinois probate cases proceed under Independent Administration, letting the estate representative act without prior court approval for most routine actions.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File the decedent’s original will (if one exists) with the Moultrie County Circuit Clerk, where the decedent resided at death.
Petition the court to open the estate and appoint an executor (if there’s a will) or an administrator (if intestate).
The court issues Letters of Office (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) appointing the representative.
Publish notice to creditors and unknown heirs as required by Illinois law.
Under Independent Administration, the representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remaining estate without needing court approval for each step.
File a final accounting or closing documents to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Illinois imposes its own state estate tax on estates valued above $4 million, with rates up to 16%. There is no Illinois inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Moultrie County Circuit Clerk.
Most uncontested probate proceedings in Illinois can be completed within about a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4951
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4389
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
10 S. Hamilton St., Sullivan, IL 61951
(217) 728-4389
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Moultrie County Health Dept
(217) 728-4114
IL DCFS — Decatur
(217) 875-9600
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center (Mattoon)
sarahbush.org
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Moultrie County Health Department – confirm current contact via moultriecountyil.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Sullivan
Population: 14,500
Area: 336 sq mi
Established: 1843
Public Records
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