Champaign County Police Records Search

Champaign County police records are maintained by the Sheriff's Office at the Scott M. Bennett Administrative Center in Urbana. This central Illinois county has a population over 208,000 and is home to the University of Illinois. You can request police records from the Champaign County Sheriff through FOIA by mail, email, or in person. The Sheriff's FOIA email is SheriffFOIA@co.champaign.il.us. This page covers the steps to search for and get police records from Champaign County law enforcement agencies.

Champaign County Sheriff's Office

The Champaign County Sheriff's Office handles police records for the unincorporated parts of the county. The main office is at 204 E. Main Street in Urbana, IL 61801. This building is the Scott M. Bennett Administrative Center. You can reach the office by phone at 217-384-1204 or by fax at 217-384-1219.

FOIA requests for Champaign County police records go to SheriffFOIA@co.champaign.il.us. You can also download the FOIA request form from the sheriff's website, fill it out, and send it by mail or drop it off in person. State what records you need with specific dates and names. The more detail you give, the faster the staff can find what you are looking for in Champaign County. Standard FOIA fees apply for copies of police records.

The Champaign County Circuit Clerk's website is shown here, as it connects to court records tied to police cases.

Court records on this site show charges, filings, and case outcomes connected to police reports in Champaign County.

FOIA Law and Champaign County Police Records

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/) is the law that gives you the right to ask for police records from any public agency in Champaign County. Every government body must have a FOIA officer who handles requests. The sheriff's office, city police departments, and the university police all fall under this law.

When you submit a FOIA request in Champaign County, the agency has five business days to respond. They can extend this to ten days if the request is large or complex. The response will either give you the records, tell you the cost, or explain why the request was denied. If the agency denies your request, they must cite the specific FOIA exemption. Common reasons for denial include open investigations, personal privacy protections, and law enforcement safety concerns. You have the right to appeal any denial to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor.

The first 50 pages of black and white copies are free under state FOIA rules. After that, pages cost $0.15 each for standard letter or legal size. Color copies and non-standard sizes cost more. Champaign County agencies follow these state rates.

Champaign County Circuit Clerk Records

Susan McGrath is the Champaign County Circuit Clerk. Her office at 101 East Main Street in Urbana keeps all court files tied to police cases. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Call 217-384-3725 for questions about court records in Champaign County.

The Champaign County Circuit Clerk's website lets you look up case information. After police make an arrest in Champaign County, the State's Attorney files charges and the case goes to the circuit court. The clerk's records show what charges were filed, plea agreements, trial results, and sentencing. This information fills in the gaps after you get the initial police report. If you want the full story on a case, check both the police records and the court records in Champaign County.

State Police Resources for Champaign County

ISP Troop 7 covers Champaign County from its office in Pesotum. State troopers handle incidents on interstates and state routes through the county. If an ISP trooper wrote the police report, you must request it from the state, not the county. Go to isp.illinois.gov/Foia to file your request. You can also email ISP.FOIA.Officer@illinois.gov.

Criminal history information for Champaign County residents is managed by the ISP Bureau of Identification in Joliet. The Uniform Conviction Information Act (20 ILCS 2635/) allows only conviction data to be shared with the public. Arrest records without a conviction stay private. The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/) lays out the rules for sealing and expunging records. If you need to check your own criminal history in Champaign County, visit a Live Scan vendor for fingerprinting. ISP will mail your transcript to you at no charge.

Note: ISP crash reports cost $5.00 each and payment must be by check or money order made out to Illinois State Police.

Types of Police Records Available in Champaign County

Champaign County police agencies hold many kinds of records. The specific type you need depends on the incident and which agency responded to it.

Records you can ask for in Champaign County include:

• Incident and offense reports
• Arrest records and booking logs
• Traffic accident and crash reports
• Dispatch and call records
• Court filings and case dispositions

Some records are harder to get than others. Active case files may be partly withheld until the investigation ends. Witness statements in open cases are often redacted. Once the case closes, you can ask again for a more complete version of the police record from Champaign County. The ISP Sex Offender Registry at sor.isp.illinois.gov is a public database that covers Champaign County and does not require a FOIA request to use.

Cities in Champaign County

Champaign County has several cities with their own police departments. The two largest are Champaign and Urbana, which sit next to each other. Police records from a city department must be requested from that agency, not the county sheriff.

Urbana, Rantoul, Mahomet, and Savoy also have local law enforcement. Contact the specific city police department for reports from their jurisdiction. All criminal cases from Champaign County go through the circuit court in Urbana.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Champaign County in central Illinois. Each has its own sheriff and court system for police records.