Illinois Inmate Search

When locating inmates in Illinois, you must check with your county sheriff's office first. This is because they are responsible for maintaining the Illinois county jail system, which comprises 92 county jails in 102 counties used for incarcerating short-term sentenced inmates for an average of three months. In addition, they are used to detain arrestees who cannot pay their bail or are denied bail until their cases are resolved in court.  

You may also visit the county sheriff's website and find the county jail page. This page may contain a list of inmates in the facility, known as the inmate roster, that is alphabetically arranged. On the other hand, some jails may have a searchable website where you may locate the inmates using their names or the dates of their incarceration.  

Since, at times, inmates are in the county jails but not on the inmate list, especially those recently incarcerated or arrested, you may contact the jail administration or county sheriff's office.  

They will likely be in federal or state prisons if they are not in county jails.  

Finding state prisoners 

The Illinois Department of Corrections maintains the official inmate records on a searchable database. It creates a platform where you may look up convicts in Illinois state prisons using the IDOC inmate search. The department runs 28 state incarceration facilities with around 41,000 inmates for charges requiring them to stay in prison for a period exceeding a year.  

On the inmate search page, you may type in the offender's name, date of birth, or IDOC-issued number to search. You can click the "Query A Highlighted Inmate" on the search results page to acquire information about the inmate, including the mugshot, location, offense, and sentence. 

Finally, call the Department of Corrections at (217) 558-2200 for assistance if you can't find the prisoner. Or send mail or visit the DOC in Springfield.  

Finding Federal Prisoners 

Illinois has five federal prisons and four camps overseen by the North Central Regional Office of the Bureau of Prisons. These facilities have a population of around 5,500 inmates. You can quickly find them using the BOP inmate locator tool.  

This tool is searchable by offender name and DCDC, FBI, INS, or BOP register numbers. You must provide their first and last names with optional middle names.  

Finding ICE Detainees in Illinois 

When the inmate you are interested in finding is an immigrant and was charged with violating immigration laws, they will likely end up in three of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies in the state. You may find their whereabouts using the ICE detainee locator system on the ICE official website.  

You may find them using their: 

• Official and legal names 
• ICE detainee number 
• Country of birth 

If these methods are impossible to utilize, you can contact an ICE field agent near you, who will help locate your detainee. You only need to provide their official names, the original country of birth, ICE detainee number, a physical description of the inmate, and the county/city they were arrested.