Montgomery County Booking Releases

Montgomery County booking releases are handled by the Sheriff's Office at 140 N. Main St. in Hillsboro. The county has around 27,942 residents and covers a section of south-central Illinois between Springfield and the Metro East area. Montgomery County does not have a public online jail roster, so if you need booking release data, a phone call to the Sheriff is the quickest option. You can reach the office at (217) 532-9511 or email tysonh@montgomerycountyil.gov for records requests.

Montgomery County Sheriff Booking Releases

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail and maintains all booking release records. When someone is arrested within the county and brought to the jail, staff process the intake. They record the charges, bond amount, booking date, and personal info. Release data gets added when the person leaves custody. These files are public under Illinois law.

The office is at 140 N. Main St. in Hillsboro, IL 62049. Call (217) 532-9511 to ask about someone in the jail or to get info about a past booking release. Staff can check the system by name and tell you if a person is in custody, what their charges are, and when they were booked in. For released individuals, they can usually confirm the date and circumstances of the release.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's website has department info, contact details, and links to related county services.

This page is the starting point for anyone who needs to reach the Montgomery County Sheriff for jail inquiries or booking release records.

You can also email the office at tysonh@montgomerycountyil.gov. This works well for records requests where you do not need an answer right away. Put the person's full name and date of birth in your email, along with what records you need. Staff will get back to you within a few business days for simple requests.

Checking on Someone in Montgomery County

Montgomery County does not have an online inmate roster. This is standard for smaller counties in Illinois where the jail population stays relatively low. To check on someone, you need to call or visit the Sheriff's Office.

Call (217) 532-9511 with the person's full name. A date of birth speeds up the search, especially if the name is common. Staff will look up the name and let you know if the person is in custody. They can share the charge, bond amount, and booking date. If the person is no longer in the jail, staff can usually confirm when they were released. This whole process takes a few minutes on the phone.

You can also walk into the Sheriff's Office at 140 N. Main St. in Hillsboro during business hours. Ask at the front desk. The staff there can pull up booking release records while you wait. If you need a paper copy, they can help with that too, though they may ask you to put the request in writing for their records.

For people who do not want to call or visit, email is a slower but workable option. Send a message to tysonh@montgomerycountyil.gov. Explain who you are looking for and what you need. Keep in mind that email responses are not instant. Give it a couple of business days before following up.

FOIA Requests for Montgomery County Booking Releases

If you need an official written copy of a booking release, file a Freedom of Information Act request. The Illinois FOIA law (5 ILCS 140) gives anyone the right to ask for government records. Booking releases fall under this law. Montgomery County has five business days to respond after they get your request.

Send your FOIA request to the Sheriff's Office at 140 N. Main St., Hillsboro, IL 62049. You can also email it to tysonh@montgomerycountyil.gov. In your request, include the person's full name, date of birth, and any date range that applies. Be specific about what you need. A clear request gets handled faster than a vague one. If you just want to confirm a booking date and charge, say that. If you want the full booking report with all details, say that instead.

Under 5 ILCS 140/2.15, arrest records must be released within 72 hours of the arrest. This rule applies to booking data in Montgomery County. So for recent arrests, the law says you can get records quickly. The first 50 pages of a FOIA response are free. After that, copies cost $0.15 per page for black and white prints. Certified copies may cost more.

The Sheriff's Office can deny a FOIA request if a specific exemption applies. Sealed records, juvenile files, and certain personal information (like Social Security numbers) are exempt. But the core booking release data for adults is almost always public. If a request is denied, you have the right to appeal the decision.

Illinois Law on Montgomery County Records

Two state laws govern how booking releases work in Montgomery County. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) says government records are open to the public unless an exemption applies. Booking data, arrest logs, and release records are all covered. The five-day response rule and low copy fees make the process reasonable for most people.

The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630) covers criminal history records, which includes arrest files and booking data. Courts have the power to seal or expunge records under this law. A sealed booking release will not show up in a public search or a FOIA response. But sealing is the exception. Most adult booking releases in Montgomery County are fully public.

Juvenile records are sealed from public access across all of Illinois. You will not find booking release data for minors through the Sheriff's Office or any public database. Those records are handled by the juvenile court system.

What Montgomery County Booking Releases Show

A booking release record from Montgomery County typically has the person's full name, date of birth, and physical description. The record shows the booking date and time. Charges at the time of arrest are listed. Bond amounts are included. The release date, time, and type of release are recorded when the person leaves custody.

Release types you might see include bond posted, released on recognizance, time served, transferred, and charges dropped. The arresting agency is also noted. Arrests in Montgomery County can come from the Sheriff's Office, local police departments in towns like Hillsboro, Litchfield, and Nokomis, or the Illinois State Police. The booking release will say which agency made the arrest.

The record covers the jail stay only. It does not include court outcomes, sentencing details, or case dispositions. For that information, you would need to contact the Montgomery County Circuit Clerk. Court records and booking releases are separate sets of files, though they connect through the same names and case numbers.

Other Ways to Search Montgomery County Records

The Montgomery County Circuit Clerk maintains court records related to criminal cases. If someone was booked and then charged, the court file has the full case history. That includes filings, motions, hearing dates, and final outcomes. This goes deeper than what a booking release covers. Contact the clerk's office in Hillsboro if you need court-level records.

The Illinois State Police run a criminal history database. You can request a background check through the ISP for a fee. This gives you a broader view than a single county booking release since it covers the person's record across the entire state. It takes some processing time but is useful for a complete picture.

The Illinois Department of Corrections has an online inmate search that covers state prison facilities. If someone was booked in Montgomery County and later sentenced to state prison, the IDOC database will show their status. It does not cover county jail bookings directly, but it fills in the picture for people who moved from county custody to state time.

Nearby Counties

Each county in Illinois runs its own jail and keeps its own booking release files. If you are unsure which county handled a booking, check where the arrest took place. These counties border Montgomery County.