Find Free Lake County Arrest Records (Online Lookup)

Search free Lake County arrest records today to find information on anyone who may have had a run-in with the law and alleged crimes they may have committed.

Members of the public can access arrest records in Lake County thanks to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act; the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) also permits citizens to acquire records produced by federal agencies.

Patrons may search for arrest records via local, county and state agencies at no cost. Citizens may obtain these records electronically and via phone and mail requests.

This brief resource provides helpful information directly from government agencies to help interested parties track down any arrest records they’re seeking in Lake County, Illinois.

How To Obtain Current Lake County Arrest Records & Check Out Mugshots: Free

Arrest records are important data generated by public agencies, and their accessibility is of equal importance since it permits members of the public to find information on inmates who are in custody. It also permits citizens to obtain background data on individuals for personal and professional purposes, such as screening tenants and employees.

These records are public information due to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act – 5 ILCS 140/2.15, which mandates that state or local law enforcement agencies provide arrest information as soon as is practical but no later than 72 hours from the time of apprehension. These statutes don’t limit who can access these records; anyone can do so, including friends, family, employers, landlords and financial institutions.

Additionally, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits citizens to access records produced by federal agencies.¹ Certain exemptions apply to the accessibility of these records; they include trade secrets and classified information.

Requesters need information about the subject to find arrest records in Lake County. At a minimum, they will need to know the first and last names of the offender. Secondly and critically, interested parties must determine which law enforcement agency apprehended the subject, i.e., the county of arrest.

This can also be distilled to whether the offender was taken into custody by the sheriff’s office or a local city police department.

In addition, knowing the date of birth (DOB) or having a physical description (sex, race, height etc) of the subject can aid the search. Lastly, having information such as the booking numbers or court case number can make it easier to pinpoint the record; however, this information will typically not be known by first-time requestors.

Citizens who need to find individuals in custody or look up past arrest information can turn to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the County Clerk of the Circuit Court. They may also seek these records in local jurisdictions like city police departments.

Retrieve Arrest Records via the Sheriff’s Office: The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county tasked with the apprehension and detention of suspects held in the county jail. Citizens can search for inmates currently in custody using the Lake County Detainee Search Tool, which is free for public use.²

Users can search through this public index using criteria such as first and last names, booking number and the booking date. The following Information is on the offender’s record set.

• Full Names
• Address
• Booking Number
• Sex
• Status (Full Custody, Ankle Monitoring etc.)
• Date Confined
• Court Date
• Disposition
• Bond Type & Amount
• Offense

The Sheriff’s Office advises interested individuals seeking information from this database that the data may not be accurate or up to date.

As a result, they should contact the office either by calling 847.377.2000, 847.377.4000 and 847-549-5200; they may also visit the Administrative Office or the Adult Corrections Facility Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, at the addresses below.³ Requestors can additionally email [email protected].

Sheriff’s Office Administrative Office
25 South Martin Luther King Junior Avenue
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

Adult Corrections Facility
20 South County Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

Moreover, citizens can perform a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request through email and mail for arrest records. This will be delved into in detail in the next section.

Find Arrest Data Through the County Clerk of the Circuit Court: Subjects arrested, booked and charged must appear at the Lake County Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, where disposition records are created.

Since these documents are created permanently, this makes the courts a viable source for obtaining recent and prior arrest records. The Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court is the custodian of criminal records of the circuit court and is charged with disseminating the same.⁴

The fastest way to find and view court records is online through the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Online Portal, which is free for public use. However, users must register for free to use the system. In addition, the public can’t access anyone else’s records; only parties to the case and the attorney or firm representative may view court cases online.

Email [email protected] to obtain information on use of the system.

Therefore, members of the public interested in Record Searches may do so through mail or in person. Requestors must provide the following when searching for arrest records.

• Full Names
• Years of Search
• Type of Cases (Criminal)
• DOB
• Self Addressed & Stamped Envelope (SASE)

Each search costs $6.00 per name per year for the background check. Requesters can make payments via money order, cashier’s check or money order. In-person requests can be paid for via cash or credit card.

Citizens can mail their requests to the Lake County Circuit Courthouse address below; they may also perform in-person requests at this address Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM.⁵

Clerk of the Circuit Court
Attention: Record Search
18 North County Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

For further questions, call 847.377.3380 or email [email protected].

Search for Arrest Records Through City Police Departments: Interested parties can turn to local jurisdictions such as city police departments and municipal courts for petty crimes.⁶

When offenders are taken into custody by city police departments, they will typically be transferred to county jail if they don’t make bail. This process can take up to 48 hours, which makes these agencies a favorable choice for those seeking information on subjects recently arrested.

The most populated city in Lake County, Waukegan, will be used to show how to search for arrest records locally.

The Waukegan Police Department does not maintain an online roster for arrests in detention.⁷ However, the public can contact the agency by calling 847.360.9000 or visiting its physical address below to ascertain information about individuals in custody.

Waukegan Police Department
101 North West Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

Lastly, citizens can seek arrest records from third-party vendors such as VINELink, who provide information about those in custody at no cost. This company draws information from state, county and local law enforcement agencies in Illinois.

While many requests directed to public agencies seek arrest records that have just occurred, there are just as many petitions for older apprehension data. The next section shows how citizens can find this information.

How To Look Up Prior Crimes & Arrests Made in Lake County

Arrest records and information about past convictions are a sound barometer to gauge a person’s character—this may be helpful to employers, landlords and financial institutions.

While arrest records do not point to guilt, particularly if they don’t result in a conviction, repetitive apprehensions can shed light on someone’s behavior and vices.

As with obtaining recent arrests, the same public agencies can be contacted to seek older arrest records. In addition, patrons can seek criminal and arrest data from the Illinois State Police.

Seek Older Arrests & Crime Records via the Sheriff’s Office: The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has a Records Section that maintains a database of its arrest records.⁸ This section allows interested parties to seek past criminal data by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request.

Since some records may be exempt from disclosure, pursuant to Section 7 – Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the office may require up to 5 business days to review the request and take a reasonable period thereafter to service the request.

Interested parties can make these requests via mail, email, in person or fax. To initiate a request, citizens must complete a FOIA Form and email it to [email protected], fax it to 847.360.5763 or mail it to the address below.⁹

Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Adult Corrections Facility
Attention: FOIA
20 South County Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

Patrons may also hand deliver their requests to the address below. The first 50 pages are free for black and white pages; any page after that costs $0.15 each.

Request Crime Records & Arrest Data From the Circuit Court: As with recent arrest records, the Lake County Circuit Court is a reliable source for criminal and prior apprehension information. Citizens can seek these records online using the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Case Search Tool; use of this instrument was delved into in the sections above.

Interested parties can seek criminal records from the circuit court via mail and in person.¹⁰ The process discussed earlier for obtaining recent arrest records can be used to find older apprehension and criminal records—see the section above for details.

Citizens can execute mail and in-person requests at the Courthouse Location below.

Clerk of the Circuit Court
Attention: Record Search
18 North County Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

For inquiries, contact the clerk via phone at 847.377.3380 or email [email protected].

Seek Prior Arrests & Conviction Information via Local Channels: Interested parties can search for prior criminal and arrest information from the Waukegan Police Department through its Records Department by applying for a FOIA request or making an in-person visit. These requests only apply to records that fall under the city’s jurisdiction.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are submitted via the Waukegan FOIA System.¹¹

Requesters must fill out a FOIA Request Form for older arrest and criminal records; users must set up a free account to submit a request successfully. These requests are free for the first 50 pages but incur a $0.15 per page thereafter.

Alternatively, citizens may pick up police reports from the Records Department window Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. A $5.00 applies for in-person requests and a $10.00 charge for mail-in requests. The Records Department is located on the first floor of City Hall at the address below.

Waukegan City Hall
First Floor 100 North Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue
Waukegan, IL 60085

Acquire Criminal & Arrest Data via the Illinois State Police: Citizens may seek criminal and older arrest records from the state custodian of these records, the Illinois State Police. The Uniform Conviction Information Act (UCIA) – 20 ILCS 2635/1 et seq permits conviction records to be accessible to the general public without any restrictions.

To search for conviction records, citizens must utilize the Criminal History Information Response Process (CHIRP), a portal allowing them to request law enforcement data for anyone. Users must, however, obtain a Digital ID using an Illinois driver’s license. Out of state applicants must fill out an alternative form upon which they will receive their ID within 3-4 weeks.

Payments for checks are done with credit cards or e-Checks, and charges for these checks can be found in this fee schedule.¹²

Interested parties may also opt for fingerprint searches that also scour national records through the FBI via Live Scan.

The Illinois State Police provides guidance on the criminal history record search process.¹³

For questions, call the Illinois State Police at 815.740.5160 or email [email protected]. Citizens with questions about obtaining a digital ID can contact the DoIT by phone at 217-524-3648 or via email at [email protected].

Once offenders have been located in jail, patrons will need to secure their release from custody; typically, this is by paying a bond amount set either by the superior court or the jail. The following section expands upon this.

How Do I Post Bail for an Arrest Made in Lake County?

Defendants in custody are eager for freedom; this is possible if a bond amount has been set for their release by the 19th Judicial Circuit Court – Lake County.¹⁴ Therefore, family and legal representatives can pay a set amount set by the court to allow the defendant to be released and attend court hearings while on the outside.

Before securing an inmate’s release, interested parties should verify that defendants are still in jail and obtain a confirmation of the bond amount. They can do this for free and conveniently using the Lake County Inmate Search Tool.

Citizens can post bond for an inmate through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at the jail reception in Waukegan.¹⁵ Those posting bond must complete an Inmate Bond Identification Form and pay for the bail amount in cash (exact amount) or a certified cashier’s check payable to the ‘Clerk of the Circuit Court.’

Patrons will also need to fill out page 2 of the 19th Judicial Circuit’s Bail Bond Form, which acknowledges that the bond paid can be applied towards court costs, fines or other purposes sanctioned by the court.

Lake County Adult Corrections Facility
20 South County Street
Waukegan, IL 60085

Phone: 847.377.4188

Moreover, the bondsman will need to complete the Lake County Source of Bond Information Form and provide a valid ID such as a driver’s license or Mexican Matricula card.

In addition, defendants can execute a self-release bonding procedure via ConnectNetwork, which offers a safe and secure network to fund an inmate’s trust and self-release account. This is done by calling 888.428.1845 or through a mobile app for iOS and Android.

Once the case disposition is completed, defendants are entitled to receive a refund of their bond minus any court-approved charges.¹⁶

Bond is not meant to be excessive as to cause hardship to the defendant as accommodated by the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, severe cases such as murder, rape or the defendant having a prior criminal past may result in higher bonds amount being set. In cases like this, defendants will require the services of bond agents to help post bail on their behalf.

Bond agents will typically charge between 10% and 20% of the total bail amount—this is non-refundable since this is how these companies generate income. Defendants and their families can find bond agents online, by telephone or in person. They will handle the process of releasing the inmate from custody.

Sometimes, they may also require defendants to put up collateral in title deeds, jewelry or bank accounts.

Citizens will need to find and view Lake County arrest records to locate loved ones in jail, or they may be needed by employers screening job applicants; whatever the reason, this resource provides helpful information to help citizens find the information they are looking for.