Clark County Booking Releases

Booking releases in Clark County are managed by Sheriff William D. Brown and his staff at the Sheriff's Office in Marshall. Clark County is on the eastern edge of Illinois, right along the Indiana border. About 15,266 people live here. The county jail processes all local arrests, and the Sheriff's Office keeps records of every booking and release. These files include the person's name, charges, bond amount, and when they were let go. You can request booking release records from Clark County by phone, in person, or through a written FOIA request under Illinois law.

Clark County Sheriff and Booking Records

Sheriff William D. Brown runs the Clark County Sheriff's Office out of 207 N 5th in Marshall, IL 62441. The office handles all law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Clark County and operates the county jail. When someone gets arrested in the county, they are booked at this location. Staff record the charges, personal details, and bond information at the time of booking. Release dates are also logged. All of these records are kept on file at the Sheriff's Office.

You can reach the Clark County Sheriff at (217) 826-6393. If you need to check on a current booking or find out if someone has been released, this is the number to call. The staff can give you basic info over the phone in most cases. For detailed records or copies of booking release files, you may need to submit a formal request. Walk-in visits are another option during normal business hours.

Search Clark County Booking Releases Online

Clark County does not run a public online jail roster or inmate search tool. This is typical for counties this size in Illinois. With fewer than 16,000 residents, the demand for a web-based system is not high enough to justify the cost. If you need to look up a booking or release in Clark County, your best bet is to call the Sheriff's Office at (217) 826-6393. The staff can confirm custody status and give you basic booking details.

The Clark County Sheriff's website has contact info and some general details about the department.

Check this page for the latest hours and contact numbers before reaching out about a Clark County booking release.

For people who have moved from the Clark County jail into the state prison system, the Illinois Department of Corrections offender search is a free tool. It covers anyone currently held in a state facility. This will not show local jail bookings, but it picks up where the county records leave off for people who have been sentenced and transferred.

FOIA Requests for Booking Releases

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) is the law that gives you the right to request booking release records from the Clark County Sheriff's Office. You write a request that says what records you want, and the office must respond within five business days. If the request is large, they can take an extra five days. This law applies to all public agencies in Illinois, including county sheriffs.

There is no charge for the first 50 pages. Beyond that, the fee is up to $0.15 per page. Certified copies can cost up to $1.00 each. When you send your FOIA request, include the person's full name and any other details you have. A date of birth or approximate arrest date can speed things up. Mail your request to the Clark County Sheriff's Office at 207 N 5th, Marshall, IL 62441.

Illinois also has a rule under 5 ILCS 140/2.15 that says arrest reports must be available within 72 hours. This is separate from the standard FOIA timeline. It means you can get very recent Clark County booking release data faster than the usual five-day window. The 72-hour rule covers the basic arrest report, which includes the booking details.

State Booking Release Resources

Beyond the county level, Illinois has a few state tools that can help with booking release searches. The Illinois Department of Corrections keeps records on everyone in the state prison system. If someone was booked in Clark County and later sent to a state facility, their record will be in the IDOC database. You can search it online for free.

The IDOC offender search portal lets you look up current and past state inmates.

This tool is useful when a Clark County case has moved beyond the county jail and into the state corrections system.

VINELink is another option. It is a free, nationwide victim notification service. You can sign up to get alerts when a person's custody status changes. This works for both county jails and state prisons in Illinois. If you are tracking a booking release case in Clark County, VINELink will notify you when the person is moved or released. The sign-up process takes just a few minutes.

Sealed Records in Clark County

Not every booking release record in Clark County will be available to the public. The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630) allows courts to seal or expunge certain criminal records. When a record is sealed, it is no longer available through FOIA or through the Sheriff's Office. The person's booking release file gets removed from public access. This typically happens after a court hearing where the judge agrees that the record should be sealed.

For most people searching Clark County booking releases, sealed records will not be a concern. The large majority of booking and release data stays in the public file. If you run into a situation where a record has been sealed, you would need to contact the Clark County Circuit Court to ask about your options. The court can tell you if a sealing order is in place and what (if any) information can still be shared.

Cities in Clark County

Clark County has several small towns but none with a population over 100,000. Marshall is the county seat and the largest town. Other communities include Martinsville, Casey, and Westfield. All booking releases for arrests in Clark County are processed by the Sheriff's Office in Marshall. It does not matter which town the arrest took place in. The records are filed at the county level.

Nearby Counties

Clark County sits on the Indiana border, so if you are not sure where an arrest took place, check the county. Booking release records are always filed in the county where the arrest happened. These counties surround Clark County.