Illinois Booking Reports
Illinois booking reports are public records you can search through county sheriff offices and city police departments across the state. Each of the 102 counties in Illinois keeps its own jail roster and arrest records at the local level. The Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification holds conviction data, but booking reports from local arrests stay with the agency that made the arrest. You can look up these records online in some counties, or file a written request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Several free search tools let you check current jail rosters and find booking reports in Illinois without leaving home.
Illinois Booking Reports Quick Facts
Where to Find Illinois Booking Reports
There are two main paths for finding booking reports in Illinois. County sheriff offices run the jails and keep all booking data for people held in their facilities. City police departments keep arrest records for cases they handle. Both types of agencies must respond to public records requests under state law. The right place to start depends on where the arrest took place in Illinois.
The Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification is the main state agency for criminal history data. On January 1, 1991, the Uniform Conviction Information Act became law in Illinois. This act mandates that all criminal history record conviction information collected and maintained by the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification, be made available to the public. A name-based public check costs $16 and can be done in person at 260 N Chicago St, Joliet, IL 60432. But ISP only releases conviction records. Arrest-only records where no conviction took place are not publicly available through ISP. For those, you go directly to the local arresting agency via FOIA in Illinois.
The CHIRP portal is the web-based Criminal History Information Response Process run by ISP. It serves authorized requestors who need criminal history checks in Illinois. CHIRP requires a Digital Certificate from illinois.gov/pki for enrollment. This tool is more for agencies and organizations than for individual public searches of booking reports.
Note: ISP BOI releases conviction records only, so for booking reports without a conviction, contact the local sheriff or police department in Illinois.
Search Illinois Booking Reports Online
Several free tools let you search booking reports in Illinois right now. The best one is the Chicago Police Department public arrest search. This database covers adult arrests from January 1, 2014 to the present. It is free to use with no account needed. The CPD search includes mugshots, charges, booking numbers, and arrest dates. It is the most complete free public arrest search tool in all of Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Corrections inmate search covers state prison inmates. IDOC only tracks people in state facilities. It does not include county jail detainees. For county-level booking reports and jail records in Illinois, you need to contact the individual county sheriff. Many county sheriffs run their own inmate search tools online. Cook County, Lake County, Will County, and others have free web-based searches you can use to look up current booking reports.
County inmate search tools vary. Some give you a full roster with booking details. Others only show who is in custody right now. To get a copy of a specific booking report in Illinois, you may need to file a FOIA request with the agency that holds it.
Illinois FOIA and Booking Reports
The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) is the primary legal tool for getting booking reports from any public agency in the state. Under this law, any person can request existing records from a public body. You do not need to give a reason. The agency must respond within 5 business days and can extend that by 5 more days if needed. Booking reports, arrest records, and jail rosters all fall under FOIA in Illinois.
Fees are low. The first 50 pages are free. After that, agencies can charge $0.15 per page for copies of booking reports in Illinois. Agencies cannot require you to state why you want the records. The Section 7 exemptions do protect some information. Ongoing investigations, juvenile records, and certain personnel files may be withheld. But standard booking reports for adult arrests are generally public in Illinois.
If an agency denies your FOIA request for booking reports, the Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor can review the denial and issue binding opinions. This is a free dispute resolution service. You can also find FOIA contacts for all state agencies at the Illinois FOIA contacts directory.
Booking Report Fees in Illinois
Costs vary depending on where and how you search for booking reports in Illinois. The ISP fee schedule sets the rates for state-level criminal history checks. A name-based non-fingerprint public check costs $16. Electronic fingerprint-based checks cost $10. These fees apply to ISP conviction records, not local booking reports.
Local agencies handle their own fees for booking reports in Illinois. Most online jail roster searches are free. FOIA requests give you 50 pages at no cost. Beyond that it is $0.15 per page. Some counties charge for certified copies of booking reports. Call the specific sheriff's office or police department to ask about their current rates before you visit in Illinois.
Illinois Laws on Booking Reports
Several state laws govern how booking reports and arrest records work in Illinois. The Uniform Conviction Information Act (20 ILCS 2635) mandates public release of conviction records through ISP. This law defines what counts as conviction information versus arrest records. That distinction matters because ISP can only release conviction data to the public under UCIA in Illinois.
The 5 ILCS 140/2.15 defines law enforcement records and their accessibility under FOIA. Section 3 establishes what records are public. Section 3.5 requires agencies to proactively disclose certain records without a formal request. The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630) governs how fingerprints, arrest data, and criminal history records are collected and stored in Illinois.
Under Section 4 of FOIA, your request for booking reports must be in writing. Under Section 6, the fee rules keep costs low. And Section 9.5 gives you the right to appeal any denial through the Attorney General. These laws together make booking reports in Illinois accessible to anyone willing to file a request.
How to Get Booking Reports in Illinois
You have several ways to get booking reports in Illinois. The fastest is to check online. Many county sheriffs post current jail rosters on their websites. Cook County has an inmate locator you can search for free. Will County, Lake County, and Kane County also have online search tools. These show who is currently in custody along with booking information.
For records not available online, file a FOIA request with the agency that made the arrest. Put your request in writing. Include the name of the person, the approximate date of the arrest, and what records you want. Send it to the FOIA officer at the sheriff's office or police department. They must respond within 5 business days in Illinois. Some agencies accept requests by email. Others have online FOIA portals. Cook County uses the GovQA platform for all FOIA requests related to booking reports.
In-person requests work too. Visit the records division at the sheriff's office or police department. Bring a valid ID. Staff can help you search for booking reports and make copies on the spot. Call ahead to check hours and what you need to bring when looking for booking reports in Illinois.
Browse Illinois Booking Reports by County
Each county sheriff in Illinois runs the local jail and keeps booking reports for all arrests processed there. Pick a county below to find local resources and search tools for booking reports in that area.
Booking Reports in Major Illinois Cities
City police departments in Illinois handle arrests within city limits. Booking reports go to the county jail for processing. Pick a city below to learn about booking reports in that area.