Search free Cook County arrest records to find information on individuals in custody. Multiple agencies keep these records and make them available for public viewing and copying, per state and federal public record laws.
Using this resource and the linked databases and search tools within, citizens can access arrest records in Cook County, Illinois, to retrieve various pieces of information, including type of offense, time in jail, and bail-related information.
Obtain Current Cook County Arrest Records & Check Out Mugshots
U.S. citizens’ right to retrieve arrest records is the foundation of American democracy, and thanks to the Freedom of Information Act in the Illinois Constitution — 5 ILCS 140, viewing public information is possible.
Obtaining arrest records is possible through various government agencies on the county and city levels. While the Cook County Sheriff’s Office is the second largest sheriff’s office in the entire United States, it is also the first source of information when finding out whether someone is in jail.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Locator Tool is a free option to find out whether someone is in jail.1
Citizens can make their desired searches by entering the first and last name of the individual whose records are being searched for or by simply entering the booking number of the inmate to narrow down the search results even further. The Cook County jail’s roster can also provide mugshot results which are taken when an inmate is booked, and makes it easier for searchers to locate their relevant records.
Individuals interested in retrieving arrest records can also contact the Cook County Sheriff’s FOIA Request Center by creating an online account. Record requesters need to specify some details, such as whether the records being obtained are for commercial purposes and details of the records being requested.
The relevant FAQ page answers all the queries record seekers might have when making requests for the arrest-related information they require.
The fee for obtaining records related to civil cases is $25; for federal cases, it is $45; and for criminal cases, it is $0. Requesters can also use the Cook County Sheriff FOIA Form to retrieve their required arrest-related information about any individual.2
Record seekers can visit for a physical inspection of the relevant record, collect copies, or even copy information through the following contact information:
Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Attn: Freedom of Information Officer
Richard J. Daley Center
50 W. Washington, Room 704
Chicago, IL 60602
Police Phone: 708-865-4700
Individuals in Custody Information Phone Line: (773)-674-JAIL (5245)
Email: [email protected]
Other than the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, there are jails owned by 189 police departments that house inmates who have been taken into custody by the relevant police department, e.g., the Chicago Police Department.
City of Chicago, Illinois: The City of Chicago Adults Arrest Search Tool provides different pieces of information on incarcerated individuals, such as name, mugshot, age, address, booking number, charges, arrest date & time, location, as well as bond type/amount.3
Record seekers can narrow down search results through first name, last name, CB number, charge, area, district, and beat. Individuals can also submit FOIA requests through the following contact information:
Chicago Police Department — Records Division
ATTN: Freedom of Information Officer
3510 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60653
Phone: 312-745-6948
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Generally, inmates are held by the police departments for 72 hours before either being released or shifted to the county jail. So, if an individual is arrested by a city police department, the relevant police department may be able to provide information before the county sheriff’s office knows about it.
Citizens can also request a police request through the Chicago Police Department by visiting in person or through a mailing request. Information such as the victim or the reporting person’s name and address, report number (RD number), location of the incident, and a check or money order payable to the ‘Department of Revenue, City of Chicago’ must be included with the request.
The applicable fee is 50 cents per copy of the case report. Individuals mailing their requests can do so at the following address:
Chicago Police Department
Records Inquiry & Customer Service Section
Unit 163, 3510 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
Phone: 312-745-6948
Citizens who wish to visit in person can do so at the following address:
Central Police Headquarters
3510 S. Michigan Ave.
1st Floor, Room 1043
Chicago, IL 60653
Phone: 312-746-6000
Email: [email protected]
Lastly, citizens can also use third-party sources, such as VINELink, to retrieve arrest-related information for any individual in Cook County. While searching for arrest records in Cook County, interested parties can also look up information related to prior arrests and offenses.
Find Prior Arrest & Offense Information in Cook County Illinois
In order to look up information related to prior arrests and offenses, there are multiple different agencies that provide this information.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office can provide information related to the arrest history of any individual; record seekers can also utilize the FOIA request form to retrieve public records related to the arrest and criminal history of any individual in Cook County, Illinois. Citizens can use the following contact information:
Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Attn: Freedom of Information Officer
Richard J. Daley Center
50 W. Washington, Room 704
Chicago, IL 60602
Police Phone: 708-865-4700
Information on Individuals in Custody: (773)-674-JAIL (5245)
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Circuit Court of Cook County can also provide information related to the arrest history of convicted individuals who have been through court proceedings.4 Interested individuals can contact the Court by using the following information:
Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
50 W. Washington, Suite 1001
Chicago, Illinois 60602-1305
Customer Service Call Center: 312-603-5030
Hours: Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
City of Chicago, Illinois: Interested parties can also look up prior arrest & offense information through the Chicago Police Department.
The Adult Arrests Search Tool is a dedicated tool that allows individuals to search for prior arrest information. Record seekers can contact the Chicago Police Department at the address given below:
Chicago Police Department — Records Division
ATTN: Freedom of Information Officer
3510 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60653
Phone: 312-745-6948
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Citizens can also obtain prior arrest information on the state level through the Criminal History Information Response Process (CHIRP), while mail requests can be shared by filling out the FOIA form and directing it to the following address:5
Illinois State Police
Sarah Wheeler – FOIA Officer
801 South 7th Street, Suite 1000-S
Springfield, Illinois 62703
Email: [email protected]
Citizens can also use the Illinois State Criminal Records Search Tool to get information on the offense and prior arrest history of any individual.6 This search tool enables interested parties to narrow down search results through:
- Name
- Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) number
- Birth date
Individuals looking for arrest records usually do so to get the inmate released from jail. Consequently, having an understanding of how to post bail or use a bail bondsman in Cook County, Illinois, can help citizens get their loved ones released from jail. This process is outlined in the upcoming section.
How To Post Bail or Use a Bail Bondsman in Cook County
Once citizens have located the arrest record of any individual and have information related to whether the inmate is being held, the post-bail process can be initiated to get the inmate released from jail.
Bail bonds are agreements between the suspect and the court where bail is granted if the judge believes that the suspect will be available for all court proceedings. During the bail bonding process, the defendant or friends & family must pay a percentage of the bond amount depending upon the type of bond, such as in the case of surety bonds, and this amount will be payable to the Clerk of Circuit Court.
Once all court proceedings have elapsed and the bail terms have not been breached by the defendant, this amount will be refunded to the bond applicant.
There are two types of bail bonds that are commonly used in Cook County, Illinois:
- Recognizance/ Personal Bond: These types of bonds are agreements between suspects and courts, in which a suspect agrees to appear for court proceedings and abide by all the bail conditions to get released from jail.
- Surety Bond: In these types of bonds, the court requires a surety, which acts as a guarantee to release the suspect from jail in order to ensure that the suspect returns to court.
In Cook County Jail, the friends and family of the individual held in jail can make bond payments in the form of cash, credit cards, or cashier checks.
The Clerk of Circuit Court manages the bonding facility at the Cook County Department of Corrections.7, 8 Bond posting can be done Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the following courthouse addresses:
Markham Courthouse
6th Municipal District
16501 Kedzie Avenue
Markham, IL 60428
Phone: 708-232-4170
Bridgeview Courthouse
5th Municipal District
10220 S. 76th Avenue
Bridgeview 60455
Phone: 708-974-6000
Maywood Courthouse
4th Municipal District
1500 Maybrook Avenue
Maywood 60153
Phone: 708-865-6060
Rolling Meadows Courthouse
3rd Municipal District
2121 Euclid Avenue
Rolling Meadows 60008
Phone: 847-818-3000
Skokie Courthouse
2nd Municipal District
5600 Old Orchard Rd.,
Skokie 60077
Phone: 847-470-7200
As an alternative to the traditional cash bail system, the courts in Cook County have adopted a pre-trial release system that enables suspects to get released from jail without having to arrange for the full amount of cash bail; not only this but the pre-trial release system is evaluated on a case-to-case basis by the judges before a suspect is released from prison.
For individuals in custody, the bail bond form is provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to expedite the bonding process.9 In order to understand how bonds work, interested parties can go through the rule book of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Additionally, a third-party can also be used to post bonds, such as an approved bail bonding company or bail bondsman for Cook County, Illinois. A bail bonding company or a bail bondsman will charge a percentage amount (usually 10% of the bail amount) when posting a bond; however, it is important to note that this amount would be non-refundable.
Interested parties can refer to the below contact information for phone inquiries and visiting in person:
Cook County Department of Corrections
2700 South California Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60608
Main Phone: 773-674-7100
Information related to Individuals in Custody: 773-674-JAIL (5245)
Record seekers looking for Cook County arrest records can find them through multiple different agencies; with this resource, citizens can efficiently utilize the official government agencies to get information on any convicted or to-be-arrested individual in Cook County, Illinois.
References
1Cook County Sheriff’s Office. (2024). Individual in Custody Locator. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://iic.ccsheriff.org/IndividualInCustodyLocator/Search>
2Cook County Sheriff’s Office. (2022, June 16). Freedom of Information Act Request. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://www.cookcountysheriffil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FOIA-Form_20220616.pdf>
3Chicago Police Department. (2024). Arrest Search Home. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://publicsearch1.chicagopolice.org/>
4Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. (n.d.). Criminal Department. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/divisions/criminal-department>
5Illinois State Police. (n.d.). Document or Audio File Request Form. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://isp.illinois.gov/StaticFiles/docs/FOIA/Document%20and%20Audio%20File%20Request%20Form.pdf>
6Illinois Department of Corrections. (2024). Individual in Custody Search. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html>
7Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. (n.d.). Contact Us. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/contact-us>
8Cook County Government. (n.d.). Department of Corrections. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/department-corrections>
9Cook County Sheriff’s Office. (n.d.). Bonding. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from <https://www.cookcountysheriffil.gov/departments/cook-county-department-of-corrections/bonding/>