Illinois Compiled Statutes
725 ILCS 5/122-4 (2026)
Pauper petitions
✓ current as of May 2026
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(725 ILCS 5/122-4)
(from Ch. 38, par. 122-4)
Sec. 122-4. Pauper petitions. If the petition is not dismissed pursuant
to Section 122-2.1, and alleges that the petitioner is unable to pay the costs
of the proceeding, the court may order that the petitioner be permitted to
proceed as a poor person and order a transcript of the proceedings
delivered to petitioner in accordance with Rule of the Supreme Court. If
the petitioner is without counsel and alleges that he is without means to
procure counsel, he shall state whether or not he wishes counsel to be
appointed to represent him. If appointment of counsel is so requested, and
the petition is not dismissed pursuant to Section 122-2.1, the
court shall appoint counsel if satisfied that the petitioner has no means
to procure counsel.
A petitioner who is a prisoner in an Illinois Department of Corrections
facility who files a pleading, motion, or other filing that purports to be a
legal document seeking post-conviction
relief under this Article against the State, the Illinois Department of
Corrections, the Prisoner Review Board, or any of their officers or employees
in which the court makes a specific
finding that the pleading, motion, or other filing that purports to be a legal
document is frivolous shall not
proceed as a poor person and shall be liable for the full payment of filing
fees and actual
court costs as provided in Article XXII of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The court, at the conclusion of the proceedings upon receipt of a
petition by the appointed counsel, shall determine a reasonable amount to
be allowed an indigent defendant's counsel other than the Public Defender
or the State Appellate Defender for compensation and reimbursement of
expenditures necessarily incurred in the proceedings. The compensation
shall not exceed $500 in each case, except that, in extraordinary
circumstances, payment in excess of the limits herein stated may be made if
the trial court certifies that the payment is necessary to provide fair
compensation for protracted representation, and the amount is approved by the
chief judge of the circuit. The court shall enter an order directing the
county treasurer of the county where the case was tried to pay the amount
thereby allowed by the court. The court may order the provisional payment
of sums during the pendency of the cause.
(Source: P.A. 103-51, eff. 1-1-24.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 512
cases (243 in the last 5 years), 1994–2026 · leading case: People v. Bailey, 2017 IL 121450 (Ill. 2017).
People v. Bailey, 2017 IL 121450 (Ill. 2017). “725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2014) ; see also Edwards , 197 Ill.”
People v. Urzua, 2023 IL 127789 (Ill. 2023). “725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2010); Tate, 2012 IL 112214, ¶ 10 .”
People v. Edwards, 757 N.E.2d 442 (Ill. 2001). “If the circuit court does not dismiss the post-conviction petition as frivolous or patently without merit, then the petition advances to the second stage.”
People v. Lesley, 2018 IL 122100 (Ill. 2018). “Lesley, pro se filed in the circuit court of La Salle County a postconviction petition under section 122-4 of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) *4 *1063 ( 725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2012) ). The court advanced the petition and appointed counsel to represent defendant, and the…”
People v. Tate, 2012 IL 112214 (Ill. 2012). “1(a)(2) (West 2008)), the petition advances to the second stage, where counsel may be appointed to an indigent defendant (725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2008)), and where the State, as respondent, enters the litigation (725 ILCS 5/122-5 (West 2008)).”
People v. Brown, 923 N.E.2d 748 (Ill. 2010). “See 725 ILCS 5/122-4, 122-5 (West 2006). We do not express an opinion on whether petitioner will be able to meet the second-stage standard and proceed to an evidentiary hearing on his amended petition.”
People v. Rivera, 763 N.E.2d 306 (Ill. 2001). “See 725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 1998). Therefore, after January 1, 1990, a trial court could no longer dismiss a capital litigant's petition on the basis of frivolity.”
People v. Lesley, 2018 IL 122100 (Ill. 2019). “725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2012). The State may then file a motion to dismiss the petition.”
People v. Gaultney, 675 N.E.2d 102 (Ill. 1996). “725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 1992). Section 122-5 of the Act provides: "Within 30 days after the making of an order pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 122-2.”
People v. Anguiano, 2013 IL App (1st) 113458 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). “725 ILCS 5/122-4, 122-5 (West 2012); People v.”
People v. Hodges, 912 N.E.2d 1204 (Ill. 2009). “[3] As we explained, our use of the term "gist" describes what the defendant must allege at the first stage; it is not the legal standard used by the circuit court to evaluate the petition, under section 122-2.”
People v. House, 2021 IL 125124 (Ill. 2021). “¶ 17 At the second stage of postconviction proceedings, counsel may be appointed to represent the petitioner (725 ILCS 5/122-4 (West 2008)), and the State may file responsive pleadings (id.”
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