An Illinois Letter to the Sheriff (Serving a Summons and Forms) is a legal document used to request law enforcement to serve a summons and other associated forms to a defendant in a civil lawsuit. It is an important legal notice informing the defendant of the lawsuit, so they can appear in court and respond to the lawsuit. There are two types of Illinois Letter to the Sheriff (Serving a Summons and Forms): Original Summons and an Order of Publication. The Original Summons is a formal legal document that states the reasons for the lawsuit and is served by the Sheriff. The Order of Publication is an alternative to the Original Summons and is used when the defendant cannot be located or when it is difficult to serve the defendant using the original summons. It requires publishing a notice of the lawsuit in a newspaper, and can be used when the defendant is not located in Illinois. Both documents must include the full name and address of the defendant, the case number, and the court in which the lawsuit was filed.