How to Find an Illinois Arrest Warrant

An Illinois arrest warrant is issued by a judge; however the details are only available in case of the ‘most wanted’ fugitives' warrants. Other arrest warrant details are not available for public usage. An Illinois arrest warrant is issued against an individual when there is ‘probable cause’ that a crime has been committed by that individual. This is done on the basis of evidence collected and the investigation by the law enforcement agencies. If there is enough reason to suspect an individual for committing the crime, a circuit court judge can issue an arrest warrant for detaining the person.

Illinois Outstanding Warrants

Illinois arrest warrants may be of another nature as well. Known as outstanding warrants or bench warrants, this category of warrants is issued if an individual fails to appear at court on a scheduled hearing date. If it’s the first instance of failure to appear at court on an appointed date and time, the judge may lift the warrant on the request of your attorney. However if the individual has a habit of missing court hearings, the warrant may remain active and the person may be arrested any time the law enforcement agencies have the chance.

Illinois Arrest Warrant: Follow-Up

An arrest warrant in Illinois is usually followed up by court hearings where the charged individual has the right to opt for an attorney to present his or her case. If the charges pressed against the individual are proved to be true, the judge sentences the offender according to the local laws. In such cases, the arrest warrant details and the arrest records are preserved by the government agencies in the person’s criminal history data. However if they are proven not guilty or the case is dismissed or they are acquitted for some reason, the arrest warrant and arrest record are not added to the database.

Illinois Arrest Warrant: Database

The Criminal History Record Information System (CHRI) maintains all arrest warrant data in its database. This is done under the supervision of the Illinois State Police. It is part of the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS). It is a computerized telecommunications system operating on a statewide basis. All justice related information of the State of Illinois, both at the state level and the national level, is stored and supplied by this particular system to the members of the criminal justice community of Illinois.

Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS)

It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to keep the LEADS database updated. All information related to arrest warrants as well as outstanding warrants are entered by the state police and the sheriff’s office into the system. However, a record in LEADS is created only when certain standards are met and enough information is available. A legal agreement, certification in the initial stage, training and audits on a periodic basis ensure that the LEADS records are complete and accurate. The LEADS is however accessible only to the different units of the criminal justice system.

About 800 units of the criminal justice community participate in the LEADS network. They have direct access to the data available on LEADS, including Illinois arrest warrant details. The participants of the LEADS network are the federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, the attorneys of the state, the court clerks, the probation departments, the Illinois Department of Corrections as well as the local jails located in the counties of Illinois. The federal government can also access the LEADS files for reference and use.

The Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) of Illinois has a number of applications for simplifying the criminal justice procedure. Among them is that the LEADS Informational File application consists of the Criminal History Record Information System (CHRI). The present CHRI system contains information about more than 1.7 million offenders of Illinois. However the information is limited to offenders charged with Class A and B misdemeanors and all classes of felons who have been arrested and prosecuted in an Illinois court of law.

According to the Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/2.1), it is the responsibility of the Illinois State Police to preserve and manage the database of all offenders living in the State of Illinois. This database contains the criminal history information about an offender including the arrest warrant details. This information is classified and is shared only by government agencies. The Criminal History Record Information System (CHRI) that keeps all the data, including the arrest warrant information, serves as a single repository of criminal history information in Illinois.

Illinois Arrest Warrants: Details

The information about Illinois arrest warrants in the CHRI system includes details like the type of warrant, the county that has issued the warrant, the warrant court case number along with details of the charges against the individual and the date of the crime. If you want to know whether there is an arrest warrant against your name you can find the information from the local law enforcement agency. The crime, for which an arrest warrant is issued, can be as trivial as failure to appear at traffic court hearing or failure to pay a parking fine.

The details of the individuals against whom fugitives’ warrants have been issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections are available for public viewing. For this, you need to check out the listings at http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/wanted/default.asp. The information about each fugitive is available here.

The State of Illinois criminal justice community is considering the use of electronic arrest warrants for convenience. If the system is put into use, the scope for error would be minimized and the system would be more efficient.