This document is sometimes referred to as the charter. You'll need to register your business with the state, prepare internal corporate documents, appoint company directors, and issue stock.This guide will help you file formation documents, get tax identification numbers, and set up your company records. To form a corporation in Illinois, one of the first legal steps you need to take is filing articles pertaining to incorporating in Illinois. The first step to beginning a corporation is filing your articles of incorporation. Do this with the Illinois Secretary of State. An easy-to-read guide for how to file the Illinois Annual Report yourself. The Secretary of State's website provides a fill-in-the-blank form for the articles of incorporation. There are two ways to form a corporation you can form one yourself or you can hire a service to do it for you. In the absence of any such provision, all meetings shall be held at the principal office of the corporation in this State.