Search Kankakee County Booking Releases
Kankakee County booking releases come from the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office, which runs the county jail south of the Chicago metro area. The county has a population of about 106,635 and sits along the Kankakee River in northeastern Illinois. The Sheriff's Office uses a SecurusTech-powered inmate search tool that lets the public look up current detainees and recent booking records online at no cost. FOIA requests are also available for older records or more detailed booking release data from the jail.
Kankakee County Quick Facts
Kankakee County Sheriff Booking Releases
The Kankakee County Sheriff's Office is the single source for booking releases in the county. This office runs the county jail and handles all intake and release processing. Any person arrested in Kankakee County by local police, state troopers, or sheriff's deputies ends up at this facility for booking. The Sheriff's Office keeps the records from that point forward.
The office phone number is (815) 802-7100. You can call during business hours to ask about specific booking releases or to get guidance on how to submit a formal records request. Staff there deal with a steady flow of public inquiries about jail data. They can tell you whether a record is on file and how to get a copy of it.
The Kankakee County Sheriff's Office website provides direct access to their inmate search and other public safety tools.
The Sheriff's Office main page links to inmate search, jail information, and contact details.
From the main page, you can navigate to the inmate search tool, which is powered by SecurusTech and updated as new bookings are processed.
| Phone | (815) 802-7100 |
|---|---|
| Website | kankakeecountysheriff.com |
| Search System | SecurusTech |
| FOIA Response | 5 business days |
Kankakee County Online Inmate Search
The primary way to check booking releases in Kankakee County is through the online inmate search at kankakeecountysheriff.com/inmate-search. This tool is powered by SecurusTech, a vendor that provides jail management and inmate lookup systems to counties across the country. The search is free and does not require a login or account of any kind.
To use the tool, go to the inmate search page and enter a name. You can search by last name, first name, or both. The system pulls up records for anyone currently in custody or recently processed through the jail. Results show the person's name, booking date, charges, and custody status. This gives you a fast snapshot of the booking release without having to call the jail or visit in person.
The Kankakee County inmate search page uses SecurusTech to display current detainee records.
The SecurusTech system updates as new bookings and releases are processed, so data is generally current within a few hours of any change.
There are limits to what the online tool can show you. It focuses on people who are in custody right now or who were recently booked. Older records will not appear in the live search. The tool also does not provide the full booking file. You get the basics, which is enough for most people. If you need the complete record, including the arrest report, booking photo, or bond paperwork, you will need to go through a FOIA request with the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office.
FOIA Requests for Kankakee Booking Releases
The Illinois Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to request booking releases from the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office. The law is found at 5 ILCS 140. It covers all public records held by government agencies, and booking data is included. This is the path you take when the online search does not have what you need.
Write your request and send it to the Sheriff's Office. Include as much detail as you can. The person's full name is essential. Dates help narrow the search. If you have a booking number, include that too. The more specific you are, the faster the office can find and pull the records. Broad requests like "all booking releases for 2024" will take longer and may trigger a fee for the volume of pages involved.
Under 5 ILCS 140/2.15, the Sheriff's Office must respond within five business days. They can extend that by five more days with written notice to you. The first 50 pages are free. Additional pages cost $0.15 each for black and white copies. If the records you want are already in electronic format, the office may provide them that way at no extra cost.
Denied requests must come with an explanation. If you think the denial was wrong, you can appeal to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor. That appeal is free and can be done by letter or online.
How Booking Works in Kankakee County
Every arrest in Kankakee County that results in jail time goes through the same process. The person is brought to the county jail by the arresting officer. Intake staff handle the rest. They take a photo, collect fingerprints, and log the charges. Personal property is inventoried and stored. A medical screening is done during intake. All of this data goes into the booking record.
Bond is typically set based on the charges and a bond schedule. Some people post bond and are released within hours. Others wait for a court hearing. When someone is released, the jail logs the date, time, and reason. That release data is part of the booking file. Together, the booking and release entries form the complete record that is available through public records requests in Kankakee County.
Illinois Law on Booking Releases
Access to booking releases in Kankakee County rests on two main pieces of state law. The Freedom of Information Act at 5 ILCS 140 gives the public broad access to government records. Arrest and booking data are considered public records under this statute. The Sheriff's Office must provide them unless an exemption applies.
The Criminal Identification Act at 20 ILCS 2630 deals with criminal history records at a deeper level. This law covers rap sheets, arrest histories, and how data flows between law enforcement agencies. For most standard searches of booking releases in Kankakee County, the FOIA is the relevant law. The Criminal Identification Act comes into play more for formal background checks or when someone wants to seal or expunge their record.
Juvenile records are never part of public booking releases. Expunged records are removed from public access entirely. If a case was sealed by court order, that booking release is no longer available through any public channel.
What Kankakee County Booking Releases Show
Booking releases from the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office contain a set of standard data fields. The exact contents vary by case, but most records include the same core information. This is what you can expect to find when you search or request records.
- Full name of the person booked
- Date and time of booking
- Charges at the time of arrest
- Bond amount and conditions
- Release date, time, and reason
- Arresting agency or officer
The online SecurusTech search shows a condensed version of this data. Full records obtained through FOIA may include more, such as the booking photo, a property list, and notes from the intake process. Not every field is filled for every record. Bond amounts, for instance, may be left blank if the person was released on their own recognizance or held without bond.
Search Tips for Kankakee County Records
Start with the online inmate search. It is free and instant. If you find what you need there, you are done. No need to file paperwork or wait for a response. The SecurusTech tool is the fastest path to current booking releases in Kankakee County.
If the online search comes up empty, think about timing. The tool focuses on current and recent inmates. If the booking happened weeks or months ago, the record may no longer show in the live system. That is when you file a FOIA request. Call (815) 802-7100 first and ask if the records exist. Staff can point you in the right direction and tell you the best way to submit your request. Being specific in your FOIA letter makes a big difference. Names, dates, and the type of record you want will get you a faster response from the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Kankakee County. Each county runs its own jail and keeps separate booking releases. If you are not sure which county processed a booking, check the arrest report for the jurisdiction.