Illinois Warrant Search – Outstanding & Active Warrants in IL

Section 725 ILCS 5/107-9 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes deals with the issue of an arrest order upon complaint. It states that a directive for the detention of a defendant can be issued by the court when an affiant files a complaint with a tribunal that has criminal jurisdiction, stating in the affidavit the crime that has occurred, why the incident is deemed criminal in nature and the evidence that points to the involvement of the accused in it.

This petition and the information it brings before the magistrate has to be enough to establish probable cause. This is a perquisite that has to be met before an active warrant can be issued against a person in Illinois. This affirmation is examined under oath by the sitting magistrate to ensure that there is enough cause to believe that the accused did indeed participate in a criminal act.

The complaint filed for the issue of an arrest warrant

The affidavit requesting that a warrant be issued against an individual can come from the police or the victim of a criminal violation. This written petition has to contain the following information

• The name of the accused and/or any aliases; if the name of the accused is unknown, any name or description that can serve to reasonably identify this person, can be used
• The description of the incident and why it is considered a crime
• The time and place at which the incident occurred
• Description of the evidence available against the offender

All petitions filed in IL for warrant issue have to be in writing and these have to be subscribed and sworn to the affiant.

The warrant for arrest

An active warrant from Illinois will be a written order issued by the local tribunal in the name of the accused. This command will be directed to police officers, troopers, marshals and federal law enforcement personnel from within the state. However, once the order becomes an outstanding warrant, as it remains un-served, it can be executed in any part of the country and by any office of the law. However, this provision is only available when the order in question is issued in a felony.

If the crime that the suspect is being accused of is a misdemeanor, the warrant will necessarily have to be executed within the state of Illinois. If the arrest occurs in any other county other than the jurisdiction in which the order was issued, the defendant will be deported to the office of the sheriff of the county in which the warrant was released.

The execution of warrants in Illinois

Active warrants for arrest can be served at any time and at any place. In fact, not even search warrants are above time restrictions as these do expire when left un-executed. The same also holds true for bench warrants. However, in case of arrest warrants issued in criminal matters, the order has perpetual validity. Pursuant to 725 ILCS 5/107-5:

Arrest refers to the actual physical detention of a person by way of being taken into custody by a law enforcement officer or by his submission

• An arrest under a warrant can be made at any time of the day or night
• Such detention can occur anywhere within the geographical limits of the state and beyond
• All necessary and reasonable force, but no more, can be used to effect the arrests.
• Officers can enter any property or building to seek the detention of the accused

Looking for outstanding warrants and arrest records from Illinois

Crime History Information in the state is maintained by the Illinois State Police which disseminates this data to the public through the Bureau of Identification. It is possible to request both a fingerprint and a name based inquiry. Needless to say, the former is far more accurate than a personal identifier search which can bring back results on all offenders in the police database that match the input criteria.

The forms for background checks can be found on the site of the ISP at http://www.isp.state.il.us/crimhistory/chri.cfm. The charges for these inquiries differ; while a name based search will set you back by $16, a fingerprint inquiry can be availed for $20. Once you have filled the form, you can mail it to the Illinois State Police Bureau of Investigation at 260 North Chicago Street, Joliet, Illinois 60431-1060.

For court records, you will need to get in touch with the office of the clerk of court in your county; this department is in charge of keeping the court dockets database. So, they will have information on all criminal as well as civil cases. For information on prisoners who are serving time in one of the state correction facilities, try the inmate locater tool on the Illinois Department of corrections site at http://www.idoc.state.il.us/. Finally, a most wanted list can be accessed from the website of some of the local law enforcement agencies.