Madison County Booking Releases
Madison County booking releases are managed by the Sheriff's Office in Edwardsville, Illinois. The county has a population of about 264,238 and sits in the southwestern part of the state, just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Booking release records cover all arrests processed through the Madison County jail on Randle Street. Unlike many Illinois counties, Madison County does not offer an online inmate search tool. To check on someone's custody status or get booking release data, you need to call the jail information line at 618-692-1064 or submit a formal FOIA request through the county's online portal.
Madison County Quick Facts
Madison County Sheriff and Booking Releases
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is the primary agency that handles booking release records for the county. The administrative office is at 405 Randle Street in Edwardsville, IL 62025. You can call the admin line at 618-692-6087 for general questions about the office and its services. For specific questions about inmates, bookings, or release status, the jail and inmate information line at 618-692-1064 is the number to call. Staff on that line can tell you if someone is currently in custody and provide basic booking details.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office website provides an overview of the department and its divisions.
This page gives contact details and department information for booking release inquiries in Madison County.
When someone is arrested in Madison County, intake staff at the jail create a booking record. They log the person's name, date of birth, physical description, charges, the arresting agency, and the time of booking. A booking number gets assigned to that entry. As the person moves through the system, whether they bond out, go to trial, or get transferred, the record gets updated. The release portion captures when the person left custody and the reason for release. All of this information makes up the full booking release file that the public can request.
| Address |
Madison County Sheriff's Office 405 Randle Street Edwardsville, IL 62025 |
|---|---|
| Admin Phone | 618-692-6087 |
| Jail/Inmate Info | 618-692-1064 |
| Website | madisoncountyil.gov/sheriff |
Madison County Booking Releases by Phone
Madison County does not have an online inmate search tool. This is an important thing to know. Many counties in Illinois offer a web-based lookup where you can type in a name and see who is in jail. Madison County is not one of them. If you want to check on someone's custody status or find out about a booking, you need to call the jail information line at 618-692-1064. Staff can check their system and give you basic booking details over the phone.
The jail division page on the county website gives more detail about the facility and its operations.
This section explains how the Madison County jail operates and what services are available to the public.
Calling is straightforward. Give the staff the person's full name and, if you have it, their date of birth. They will check the jail management system and let you know if the person is in custody. If the person has already been released, the phone staff may still be able to tell you the booking and release dates. For anything more detailed, like copies of the actual booking report or charge documents, you will need to go through a written records request. But for a quick yes-or-no on custody status, the phone line is the way to go in Madison County.
Madison County Court Records and Booking Releases
While the Sheriff's Office does not put inmate data online, the Madison County Circuit Clerk does offer a court records search tool. This is useful because court records tie directly to booking releases. Every arrest that leads to criminal charges will have a corresponding case file at the Circuit Clerk's Office. You can search for these records online and find case numbers, hearing dates, charges, and disposition info that adds context to what is in the booking release file.
The Circuit Clerk's court records search page shows the interface for looking up case information in Madison County.
Use this tool to find case details tied to booking releases in Madison County.
The Circuit Clerk's Office is at 155 N. Main Street, Suite 120, in Edwardsville, IL 62025. The phone number is 618-296-4470. Staff there can help you find case files, get copies of court documents, and explain what the records show. If you have a booking number from the Sheriff's Office, the clerk can usually cross-reference it to find the matching court case in Madison County. The two systems are separate, but they track the same events from different angles. The booking release shows the arrest and jail stay. The court record shows what happened in front of a judge.
FOIA Requests for Madison County Booking Releases
For detailed booking release records in Madison County, a Freedom of Information Act request is often the best approach. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) gives the public the right to request records from any government body in the state. That includes the Madison County Sheriff's Office and its jail records. The county has an online FOIA portal that makes filing a request fairly simple.
The Madison County FOIA portal shows the submission page for public records requests.
You can submit your booking release records request through this portal at any time.
Under state law, the Sheriff's Office must respond to your FOIA request within five business days. Be specific in what you ask for. Include the person's full name, date of birth if you know it, and the approximate date range for the records you want. If you are looking for a specific booking release from Madison County, mention the booking date or arrest date. The more details you provide, the faster the records staff can pull the right file. Vague or overly broad requests take longer to process and may get a partial response.
Under 5 ILCS 140/2.15, arrest reports must be made available within 72 hours of the arrest. This gives you a legal right to get very recent booking data from Madison County quickly. The arrest report will show the name, charges, and arresting agency. It is a separate document from the full booking release file, but it confirms that the arrest took place and gives you the basic facts. If you need the complete booking release record with all the intake details and release conditions, the FOIA process is how you get it.
Illinois Law and Madison County Booking Records
Two main state laws govern how booking release records are handled in Madison County. The Freedom of Information Act is the one most people know about. It sets the rules for public access to government records. But the Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630) also plays a big role. This law controls how criminal history data is stored, shared, and restricted across the state. It applies to every county in Illinois, including Madison.
Under the Criminal Identification Act, the Illinois State Police maintain a central repository of arrest records. When the Madison County Sheriff books someone, that data gets reported to the state system. The state database helps law enforcement agencies share information. It also means that a booking in Madison County becomes part of a person's statewide criminal history record. Public access to this central database is more limited than access to local records. But at the county level, most booking release records remain open to public requests unless a court has ordered them sealed or expunged.
Sealed and expunged records will not appear in response to a FOIA request. The Madison County Sheriff's Office is required by law to withhold those records from public view. If a judge orders a record sealed, the booking release data for that arrest gets pulled from any public access point. This applies to both the Sheriff's files and the court records at the Circuit Clerk's Office. However, the vast majority of adult booking releases in Madison County stay public. Juvenile records are a different matter entirely and are not available through standard public records channels.
How to Get Madison County Booking Releases
Since Madison County lacks an online inmate search, your options for getting booking release records are more limited than in some other counties. But there are still clear paths to get what you need.
- Call the jail information line at 618-692-1064 for current custody status
- File a FOIA request through the online portal for detailed booking release records
- Search court records online through the Circuit Clerk's website
- Visit the Sheriff's Office at 405 Randle Street in Edwardsville in person
- Contact the Circuit Clerk at 618-296-4470 for case-level information
The phone line is your fastest option for a quick check. Call, give the person's name, and the staff will tell you if they are in jail. For anything that needs documentation, the FOIA portal is the way to go. The online submission system tracks your request and sends you updates as it gets processed. Most simple requests for Madison County booking releases come back within a few business days. If you go in person to the Sheriff's Office, bring identification and as much detail about the person you are looking for as possible. A full name and approximate arrest date will help the records staff pull the right file.
Keep in mind that the court records search is a good supplement. It won't show you the jail booking data itself, but it will show you everything that happened in court after the arrest. Between the booking release from the Sheriff and the court file from the Clerk, you can put together a complete picture of any criminal case in Madison County.
Cities in Madison County
Madison County includes cities and communities such as Edwardsville, Granite City, Collinsville, Alton, and Troy. None of these cities meet the population threshold for a dedicated page on this site. All booking releases for people arrested in Madison County run through the Sheriff's Office and the jail in Edwardsville. It does not matter which city the arrest took place in. The booking record goes to the county system either way.
Nearby Counties
Several counties border Madison County. If you are not sure which county handled a booking, check where the arrest actually happened. The booking release will be on file in the county where the arrest took place, not where the person lives or works.