Illinois Public Records, Arrest Records and Jail Roster

Illinois Public Records

The state of Illinois has long made clear provisions for sharing records of the government with the residents. Residents have the ability to access public records online without any restrictions.

Of course, the provisions of the famous Freedom of Information Act apply across all U.S. States. However, every state typically has its own law in addition to this that governs the sharing of public records with the public. In the state of Illinois, a great deal of this information is easily accessible and freely available for citizens online. Besides being available freely for anyone online, there are also no any restrictions on how and what a person can do with these records.

There are state agencies that act as custodians of these records. These agencies usually provide the public with easy-to-use online search resources that make it easier for you to make an inquiry within the shortest time possible. However, there are some records that you can’t find online. To access such records, just contact or send your request directly to the appropriate custodian agency.

Illinois Criminal Records

Criminal record checks in the state of Illinois can be done by anyone on anyone without an authorized consent with simple background checks that provide a great deal of information.? The background checks typically provide arrest records, inmate and jail records, conviction records, juvenile criminal records, felonies, misdemeanors, parole information, sex offender listing, serious traffic violations, and probation records.

For any information regarding Illinois correctional facilities, and to learn more about inmates in the system and services for victims, simply visit the Illinois Department of Corrections website. You can navigate the site to an official search page that will allow you to search for an offender. To search for an offender, you will have to provide either the offender’s Last Name and Fast Name or Doc Id. The search will give you the offender’s name, current location, expected release date, and the list of all the charges against them.

Illinois Court Records

Any information about the courts in the state of Illinois is available on the official website of the administrator of the courts. The site provides you with information on how to obtain case files and court records. For court case records, contact the County Clerk of Court.

Illinois Vital Records

Vital records in Illinois, such as birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates, are some of the most commonly requested records in the state. However, they are not actually public records. Therefore, they are not accessible by everyone. In fact, the access to these records is restricted to those whose names have been included in the records, a spouse, a parent, a legal guardian, a close family member, or legal representative. To receive an official copy of any of these records in Illinois, you must have proof of eligibility.

The Illinois Department of Health is the state’s central hub for birth and death certificates. However, the Department doesn’t keep marriage, divorce, civil union and civil union dissolution records.

• Birth records: Even though the law required every parent to record the birth of every child in their respective county beginning 1843 in Illinois, only few births were reported to a few counties. Again, all births were required by the State Board of Health to be recorded with the county clerk in 1877 but there was no enforcement of full compliance. Statewide registration of births began in 1916 but there was no full compliance until 1922. Since then, the Division of Vital Statistics and Illinois Department of Public Health have been managing all birth records.
• Death records: Death records are managed in categories including early to 1877, 1877 to 1916, and 1916 to present. The state of Illinois instituted statewide registration of deaths in 1916. Since then, the state has always managed all death records. You can obtain copies of birth records from the state capital.
• Marriage records: Marriage records from the 1790s are available at the county clerks. The state of Illinois enforced a statewide registration of marriages in 1962 and county clerks were required to forward marriage records to the state Department of Public Health.
• Divorce records: Marriage dissolutions had been recorded in Illinois since 1790s and it was done by the county clerks. The statewide registration of dissolution of marriages in the state of Illinois began in 1962. You can obtain divorce records from 1962 to present at the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Whatever the reason you may need particular public records for; you can always get access to Illinois records without breaking a sweat if you know where to look.

Illinois State Court System

Understanding how the system of Illinois state court works is very important as it helps you find court records easily.

Illinois Courts Overview

The trial court system of Illinois State consists of Court of Claims, Administrative Adjudication, and Circuit Courts. The trial court system of Illinois is a unified one with Circuit Courts having general jurisdiction over majority of cases. Some towns and cities operate municipal courts that handle ordinance violation cases.

To make your work easier, start searching for court records in Illinois by simply going to courts by county.

Illinois Circuit Courts

Illinois Circuit Courts have general jurisdiction to handle all criminal and civil cases, with the exception of the cases that are handled exclusively by the Illinois Supreme Court or the Court of Claims.

Based on the type of case, such as juvenile, criminal, civil, domestic relations, traffic, and probate, Circuit Courts are either organized into departments or divisions. Some Circuit Courts have dedicated “Problem Solving Court” programs like Veterans Court, Mental Health Court, and Drug Court. These programs have the authority to establish treatment in lieu of incarceration for some criminals.

Circuit Courts provide a simplified Small Claims procedure for majority of civil cases involving up to $10,000 in dispute.

They share jurisdiction over cases related to habeas corpus, mandamus prohibition and revenue with the Illinois Supreme Court. However, if the Illinois Supermen Court can accept to handle a particular case, the Circuit Court will not have the authority to handle that case. Besides, Circuit Courts may not handle cases that are related to the ability of Governor to resume office or to serve or cases that are related to the General Assembly redistricting.

Illinois Administrative Adjudication

Several villages, towns, and cities in Illinois State have an administrative body which handles cases related to ordinance violation. These may be known as administrative hearing offices, administrative adjudication systems, municipal courts, adjudication courts, and similar designations.

Some of the ordinance violations handled by Administrative Adjudication include parking tickets, traffic tickets, disorderly conduct, littering, pet violations, curfew violations, red light camera tickets, property maintenance violations, derelict vehicles, alcohol and tobacco violations, and zoning and building code violations.

Violations of a speeding ticket and other state laws are typically adjudicated at the Circuit Court of the county. However, there are few exceptions. For example, Fox Lake’s Adjudication Court hears certain violations of the state motor vehicle laws.

These cases are not considered to be criminal, but civil in nature. Even though a defendant may choose to be represented or to hire an attorney, there is no right to an attorney or a jury. The decision of the presiding officer, who may be called an Administrative Law Judge or a Hearing Officer, may be appealed to the Circuit Court of the county, while City of Municipal Court hears certain state law violations including shoplifting, possession of drug paraphernalia, and assault.

Illinois Court of Claims

Illinois Court of Claims has offices in Chicago and Springfield and has exclusive and statewide jurisdiction over most types of civil cases that involve the state.

Cases that the Court of Claims handle hears include certain torts, contract disputes, some claims of time unfairly served in prison, majority of claims against the State of Illinois based on Illinois regulation or law, and all claims for recoupment made against any claimant by the State.

It handles majority of claims based on the Illinois National Guardsman’s Compensation Act, the Crime Victims Compensation Act and the Line of Duty Act.

Illinois Crime Statistics

Violent & Property Crime Rates in Illinois

Arrests Offense in Illinois

The latest data is from 2021. References: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/home

The Official Website of Illinois County

Chicago City of Chicago
Aurora Aurora, IL | Official Website
Rockford City of Rockford
Joliet City of Joliet, IL
Naperville The City of Naperville This vibrant city offers acclaimed schools, the best public library system in the country, world-class parks, diverse worship options, an award winning hospital and an exceptionally low crime rate.
Springfield City of Springfield, IL City of Springfield – Home of Abraham Lincoln
Peoria City of Peoria, Illinois
Elgin City of Elgin, Illinois – Official Website
Waukegan Waukegan, IL – Official Website
Champaign City of Champaign – Champaign, IL official website
Bloomington City of Bloomington, Illinois
Decatur City of Decatur, IL
Evanston City of Evanston
Des Plaines Des Plaines
Berwyn Welcome to City of Berwyn | City of Berwyn
Cook County Cook County Government, Illinois | CookCountyIL.gov
DuPage County DuPage County IL Official Website DuPage County IL Government Website with information about County Board officials, Elected Officials, 18th Judicial Circuit Court Information, Property Tax Information, and Departments for Community Services, Homeland Security, Public Works, Stormwater, DOT, Convalescent Center, Supervisor of Assessments, Human Resources
Lake County Lake County, IL | Official Website
Will County Will County Illinois
Kane County Kane County
Winnebago County Winnebago County, Illinois Official website of Winnebago County, Illinois local government.
McHenry County McHenry County, IL
St. Clair County St. Clair County
Madison County Welcome to Madison County, Illinois
Champaign County Sheriff’s Office | Champaign County Illinois Champaign County Illinois Official Website, Champaign County Illinois Government
Sangamon County Paul Palazzolo Circuit Clerk Slider Revolution Example
Peoria County Peoria County, IL | Official Website
McLean County McLean County, IL – Official Website
Rock Island County Rock Island County Home Page
Kendall County Kendall County, Illinois
LaSalle County lasalle_county – Lasalle County Illinois Website
Kankakee County Kankakee County Government, Kankakee, Illinois
Macon County Macon County, Illinois
DeKalb County DeKalb County, Illinois Official Government Site DeKalb County operates under the township form of County Government. The governing body is the County Board. As the legislative element, the County Board is responsible for adopting all Ordinances for the governance of DeKalb County, which laws are contained in the DeKalb County Code; establishing budget for several funds as well as levying taxes, promulgating policies, rules and regulations for the management of County operations. The County is divided into twelve (12) Districts based on population. Members are elected for 4 year terms. One member is elected in each District every 2 years.
Vermilion County Vermilion County, Illinois
Adams County Adams County, IL – Official Web Site
Williamson County Williamson County, Illinois Official Williamson County Government website. Quickly and easily obtain a wide variety of information, from department services, to recreational activities and more!
Jackson County Jackson County, IL
Whiteside County Whiteside County, Illinois – Government Whiteside County, Illinois established in January 16, 1836. Morrison Illinois, the county seat, is centrally located on U.S. Route 30. The communities of Sterling and Rock Falls, located 15 miles to the east, comprise most of the county’s 60,000 population.
Boone County Boone County, Illinois
Coles County Coles County, Illinois
Ogle County Welcome to Ogle County, IL
Knox County Knox County,Illinois – Welcome to Knox County, Illinois. Established in 1825.
Henry County Welcome to Henry County Illinois Website
Grundy County Grundy County | Official Website of Grundy County Government Offices
Macoupin County Macoupin County Illinois Macoupin County Illinois Official Website with County Departments, Offices and Services.
Stephenson County Stephenson County, Illinois The official Website for Stephenson County, Illinois, government.
Franklin County Franklin County
Jefferson County Jefferson County, Illinois
Woodford County Woodford County, IL | Official Website

Illinois Jail Roster

Adams County Inmate List Adams County Jail
Inmate Lookup | Champaign County Illinois Champaign County Illinois Official Website, Champaign County Illinois Government
Confined Inmates – Coles County Coles County Sheriff’s Office Confined Inmates
Cook County Sheriff Inmate Locator Find Inmate Details & Request Visitation within the Cook County Jail System
DeKalb County Jail Search DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office
Jail Population List – Douglas County, Illinois Current Inmate Listing
DuPage County IL Sheriff Official Website DuPage County Sheriff’s Office S.I.R.I.S
Jail & Booking | Effingham County, Illinois (IL) Access information about Effingham County Illinois Government. Effingham is the county seat of Effingham County.
Jail and Inmate Information – Welcome to Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County, Illinois Government Official Website
Detainee Search Kane County Sheriff’s Office Detainee Search
Inmate Search | Kankakee County Sheriff Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Search
Corrections / Jail Kendall County Sheriff
Lake County Sheriff – Inmate Search – Mobile Lake County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Search
Online Inmate System LaSalle County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Search
Logan County, Illinois – County Jail Logan County, Illinois, official website. ?Logan County is located in Central Illinois between Springfield, Bloomington, Peoria, and Decatur and the County Seat is Lincoln, IL.
Macon County Inmate Inquiry Macon County Inmate Search
Macoupin County Elected Officials – Sheriff’s Office Macoupin County Illinois Sheriff’s Department
Jail Division Madison County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division
Inmate Listings – Massac County Sheriff’s Office Current Inmates
Ogle County Jail Ogle County Jail
Peoria County Sheriff’s Department
Perry County Sheriff’s Office Corrections | Perry County Sheriff Perry County Sheriff’s Office Inmate & Jail Information
Current Inmate Roster Pulaski County Inmate List
Richland County Sheriff’s Office Richland County Sheriff’s Office Detainee Information
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Roster
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office — Inmate Inquiry Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Search
Corrections | Woodford County, IL Get information about the correctional facility.
Illinois Department of Corrections Offender Search
Crime Information Illinois State Police Background Checks
Welcome to the Official Site of the Illinois Courts Illinois Courts Information Site. Contains Supreme, Appellate and Circuit Court information, including judges, and the opinions of the Supreme and Appellate Courts.
Illinois Sex Offender Registration Information Website Illinois Sex Offender Registry