Accessing the Illinois Sex Offender List

A person who has been convicted of sex crimes is known as a sex offender. Sexual offenses like rape, downloading of child pornography or molestation of a minor are considered to be unlawful according to the statutes laid down by the United States of America. Although the federal law requires every state to maintain a sex offender list, the details of its inmates and the eligibility of the individuals who are included within the list along with the total duration of remaining in the registry are all decided by the individual laws governing each state.

The State of Illinois has a set of standards for identification of sex offenders as well as predators which in turn help the residents of the state to take adequate precautionary measures.

Although the sex offender registry of Illinois is maintained by the State Police of Illinois,  the local law enforcement agencies of the state also have the responsibility of providing information as well as maintaining the Illinois sex offender list as well.

Sex Offender Registration:

The sex offender registry of Illinois attempts to inform the general public of known sex offenders after they have been released from the state incarceration or state held correctional facilities. While every attempt to include individuals found guilty of indecent solicitation of children, child trafficking and aggravated assault with the intent of sexual abuse or any other violation as specified under Sections of the Criminal Code of 1961 is taken by the State authorities, a few of these sex offenders try to escape the law by failing to register themselves. The residents of the state are at liberty to bring such criminals to justice by informing the Illinois Sex Offender Registry Team at 1-888-41-ISORT or by sending an e-mail to locationunknown@atg.state.il.us.

Information Required for Registration:

The name, residential address as well as the date of birth along with other personal identifiers like the last attended school, vehicle details and e-mail address is all required to be included within the registration form. Photographs, fingerprints as well as DNA samples are needed to be supplied as well.

Every sex offender in the state of Illinois is required to report a change of address to the local law enforcement agency within 3 working days. An out of town offender is also required to register himself within 3 days as well. The State of Illinois is particularly strict when it comes to sex offenses. All offenders are required to report at their local enforcement authorities regardless of whether they have been convicted by federal, state or out of country jurisdictions.

Duration of Registration:

All sex offenders are required to register for a period of 10 years or for life depending on the time of conviction. Offenders labeled as dangerous or violent need to register themselves after every three months. This is also applicable to the other sex offenders who had been convicted on or after July 2005.

Access to Sex Offender List:

Details of the offense along with name, address and physical description of the sex offender is considered to be an open record. Any resident of Illinois can view the list of sex offenders by accessing the website www.isp.state.il.us/sor Apart from the state resource every police station located in prominent municipalities along with the county Sheriff’s department maintains a list of sex offenders for public inspection as well. The rules and regulations for viewing the list are subject to local rules. Requests for information can be made in writing or over the telephone apart from visiting the enforcement agency in person.

The official resources for specific counties can be also be accessed over the Internet. A list of the more important resources for the state of Illinois is given below

•    http://www.bellevillepolice.org/  for sex offender list kept at Belleville police department. 

•    The Cook County Sheriff’s department can be accessed from http://www.cookcountysheriff.org/

•    The DuPage County website and its Sheriff’s department can be viewed from http://www.dupagesheriff.org/

•    The official website for Hoffman Estates police department provides sex offender information for the local area. http://www.hoffmanestates.org/index.aspx?page=195 

•    The Kane County website can be accessed from http://www.kanesheriff.com/

•    http://www.co.lake.il.us/SHERIFF/Person/listSexOffender.asp#showhere provides sex offender information for Lake County and http://www.co.mclean.il.us will enable you to retrieve similar information for McLean County.

•    The St. Clair County website http://www.co.st-clair.il.us/Pages/default.aspx will give   you details of registered sex offenders in accordance with the Megan’s Law.

•    The Wheaton police department (http://www.wheaton.il.us/departments/police/default.aspx?id=170) also provides the facility of going through the list of sex offenders residing in the county