Illinois Inmate Search

What is Illinois Inmate Search?

An Illinois inmate search involves looking up details of persons incarcerated in the state's correctional facilities. The Department of Corrections (IDOC) is Illinois's custodian of inmate information, while county and city jail administrators keep records of inmates housed in their jails. Individuals, private organizations, governmental departments, and law enforcement agencies can contact the IDOC to request inmate information. In addition, they can conduct Illinois inmate searches online via the Individual in Custody Search Platform.

Illinois inmates' information is obtained from law enforcement agencies and court records and is created by correctional facilities. Common reasons for conducting inmate searches in Illinois include:

• Verifying an inmate's incarceration status
• Locating a missing person
• Investigating crimes and gathering evidence
• Locating witnesses or suspects
• Verifying the identity of an individual
• Academic or journalistic research

Are Inmate Search Records Open to the Public in Illinois?

Inmate records are open to the public in Illinois. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows the public to access inmate personal information, sentencing, and identification records. The Illinois Department of Corrections creates and maintains records of inmates in the state's correctional facilities. Anyone may request inmate records from the IDOC and local jail administrators. However, certain records are exempted from public disclosure by law or court order. Typically, confidential Illinois inmate records include the following:

• Master record file for inmates with their complete information
• Juvenile records
• Protective orders
• Victim information
• Medical and mental health records

How To Perform Illinois Inmate Lookup

Interested persons may search for Illinois inmate records with the inmate's last name, IDOC number, or birth date. A query with either last name or birth date will return a list of inmates that match the parameter. The inquirer can select any of the returned names to get additional information about them. The information provided will typically include full name, birth date, race, sex, height, weight, tattoos, eye color, hair color, offense, charge, sentence details, admission date, and projected discharge date.

How To Search for an Inmate in Illinois

Illinois Department of Corrections allows members of the public to search for inmates online or by phone call. There is no provision for in-person search for inmates with the IDOC. However, inmates in local jails can be found via phone calls, online, or in-person visits to the holding agency.

An individual interested in searching for an inmate in an Illinois-owned correctional facility should use the Individual in Custody Search portal and provide the inmate's last name, birth date, or IDOC number in the appropriate fields. They can then sort through the list of possible results to determine the specific inmate of interest.

Alternatively, anyone may call the IDOC at (217) 558-2200 to search for an inmate in their facility. Law enforcement and government agencies can call (888) 446-9103 for their inquiries. They are required to provide the name, birth date, or IDOC number of the inmate.

How To Conduct a Free Inmate Search in Illinois

Illinois inmate searches can be performed online for free by anyone using any trustworthy third-party provider. Searches on these services are typically free, but users may have to pay a small fee to view more detailed inmate information. Inmates in federal, state, county, and city prisons and jails in Illinois can all be searched using third-party inmate record search services like RecordsFinder.

How To Find a Federal Inmate in Illinois

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages federal inmates in different correctional facilities across the nation. The Bureau has nine correctional facilities in Illinois, consisting of five federal prisons and four federal prison camps. The correctional facilities include:

• Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center
• Federal Correctional Institution Greenville
• United States Penitentiary Thompson
• Federal Correctional Institution Pekin
• United States Penitentiary Marion
• United States Penitentiary Marion Camp
• United States Penitentiary Thompson Camp
• Federal Correctional Institution Pekin Camp
• Federal Correctional Institution Greenville Camp

The Bureau of Prison's Inmate Locator can be used to search for federal inmates in Illinois. The search may be done by name or BOP identifying number/FBI number.

What Can You Find with State of Illinois Inmate Search?

The following information may be obtained from a typical Illinois inmate search:

• Personal details of an inmate, such as first name, last name, date of birth, sex, and race
• Physical description such as height, weight, eye color, and hair color
• Identification marks, including tattoos and scars
• Admission and release information, including the name of the correctional facility, location of the correctional facility, admission date, Projected parole date, last paroled date, and projected discharge date
• Sentencing information such as criminal offense, charge, class of offense, custody date, the county where the offense took place, sentence, and current status of sentence

Jail and Inmate Search in Illinois

There are 91 jails and 29 state-run prisons in Illinois. The local jails held 15,112 inmates, while state prisons housed 29,634 inmates as of the end of December 2022. The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice had 188 youths in juvenile centers across the state as of the end of November 2024. while also supporting and monitoring 264 juveniles on Aftercare services.

Furthermore, according to the FY24 Adult Population Data provided by the IDOC, 54.4% of inmates in state-owned prisons are Black, 31.8% are White, and 12.8% are Hispanics. There are only 1,496 (5.1%) female inmates in state prisons. Of the 102 counties in the state, Cook County inmates account for 40.5% of the total population of inmates.

Criminal Justice Quick Facts

Illinois Imprisonment Rate (per 100,000 population)

433

Prison Population (All facilities/State and Federal jails)

53,130 / 29,930

Probation Population

85,000

Parole Population

21,000

Racial Disparity in Incarceration Rate

Black: White Ratio: 7.8:1

Hispanic: White Ratio: 1.5:1

Juvenile Custody Rate (per 100,000 juveniles)

39

Disenfranchised Population

31,003 (0.34%)

Disenfranchised African Americans

16,587 (1.26%)

Corrections Expenditures (state/local)

$1.7 B / $788 M

Illinois Parole Population

The Illinois parole population at the beginning of 2022 was 22,000, and by the end of the year, it was 20,230.

Illinois Prisons

Illinois has 29 prisons and 91 jails spread across 102 counties. The Illinois Department of Corrections maintains an updated list of correctional facilities in the state and their security designations. They operate off a budget of $2.5 billion annually and have a staff strength of over 12,000. An average of 170,000 persons are booked into jails across the state annually. However, due to the shortness of their stay, local jails hold an average of 17,000 inmates.

In addition, the correctional system in Illinois manages 28,000 inmates in prisons, 21,000 inmates on parole, and over 85,000 persons on probation. It costs the state $49,271 ($4,106 per month) in 2024 to care for one inmate.

The imprisonment rate in Illinois is 433 per 100,000 population, which is lower than the national average of 614 per 100,000 population. In addition, the state has a violent crime rate of 287 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1,720 per 100,000 persons.

Frequently Asked Questions

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