Illinois Inmate Search

There's an offender locator feature on the Illinois Department of Corrections website where you can search an inmate using their name, Date of birth, or IDOC number. In any one of its 28 facilities statewide, the department manages an online searchable database for inmates incarcerated, paroled, or under supervision. 

On the IDOC website's search engine, you'll select the Inmate Search' option under 'Offender Search,' which takes you to a page titled 'Individuals in Custody.' You'll be asked how you want to perform your Illinois offender lookup using the person's last name, IDOC number, or birthdate. 

Once you've filled in the required information, click on the 'Find' button, which performs searches of inmates and returns results according to your input parameters. Data returned can include the individual's mugshot, physical profile, identifying marks, and the facility they're incarcerated in. 

In addition, you may find other details of your inmate search, such as the offender's sentencing details, custody status, and release or parole information. Besides the official IDOC website inmate search function, there's a plethora of third-party-managed databases on digital platforms that you can use to streamline your search. 

Other than accessing archived information to find a previous prisoner in any Illinois facilities, similar methods include: 

• Public Jail Files 

These are criminal records databases entered once an arrest is made, and with their procession through the justice system, changes are made for documenting and regular revision. Monitoring performed on an inmate, interviews by the police, and visitors or transfers from facilities are also recorded. 

• Illinois VINELink 

Using digital techniques and platforms, the VINELink program is designed to help victims find details regarding their perpetrator's conservatorship. Under the State's Office of the Attorney General, this facility is Illinois's most significant inmate alert system and features details of inmates currently incarcerated.  

• BOP Inmate Locator 

If you're looking for a federal prisoner in Illinois, the Federal Bureau of Prison's inmate locator may have details helpful to your search. Besides the BOP locator, parole boards and detainee search tools require parameters like the prisoner's previous residence, sex, and racial identity. 

• Illinois Sex Offenders 

The Illinois Sex Offender Registry details information on people jailed for sexual offenses, streamlining the data to make it publicly available and conveniently free. You'll also find knowledge on perpetrators under legally required conditional release or a probation officer's oversight. 

Illinois Inmate Roster 

An archive search allows you to find released inmates, and the IDOC also manages a sex offender registrant alongside the Illinois Police Department. Records available refer to police and court paperwork, plus documents pointing to incarceration within the state and county correctional institutions. 

You can use updates from the Illinois inmate roster and data received on the IDOC offender search tool to find an incarcerated person within the state. There are 92 county jails spread across 102 counties in the state, and these also maintain independent rosters that describe, among others, the inmate's: 

• Name and date of birth 
• Age and sex 
• Height, weight, hair, and eye color 
• Booking date and booking agency 

Apart from these, a designated inmate ID number is generated depending on the offender's crime or the facility they're housed in. Many of these county sheriff's departments allow the public to search for inmates using various online inmate locator tools. 

For instance, the DuPage County Sheriff provides an online roster of released inmates currently incarcerated in this county. On the other hand, the Cook County Sheriff has a platform with an online inmate locator too. You can also search for individuals in Lake County using their names, booking dates, or numbers, but Will County Sheriff's Office offers a simple online inquiry database. 

About the State Department of Corrections 

In Illinois, no unified department handled the judicial, court, and penitential system until 1964, with the constitution's passing. While there were city and county jails and state and federal prisons, there wasn't a designated government department to oversee this task. 

The Illinois Department of Corrections, IDOC, was formed in 1970, taking over the daunting task of structuring a previously unheard-of prison system. They incorporated the existing prisons into state-run facilities, adding more institutions and offices over the coming decade. 

The IDOC is in charge of all state prisons, county jails, juvenile centers, and parole services, alongside 25 correctional centers, book, work, and transitional camps. There's one transitional office, and three correctional centers that serve women and inmates have access to vocational programs and training.