Search Lake County Police Records

Lake County police records come from the Sheriff's Office, local police departments, and the Circuit Clerk in Waukegan. This page explains how to find and request police records from Lake County agencies.

Lake County Sheriff Police Records

The Lake County Sheriff's Office is the main county-level law enforcement agency. The office is at 25 S Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Waukegan, IL 60085. The main number is (847) 377-4000. For the Records Section directly, call (847) 377-4200. The sheriff handles patrol, investigations, and jail operations for unincorporated parts of Lake County.

The sheriff's office has a dedicated Records Section that processes public requests. Services include copies of police reports, fingerprinting, sex offender registry checks, and expungement processing. You should wait 5 to 7 days after an incident before you request a report. It takes that long for the paperwork to get processed and entered into the system.

The Lake County Sheriff's website is shown below.

The sheriff's main page has links to the records section, FOIA info, and contact details.

The Records Section page shows the services offered by the Lake County Sheriff.

The records page lists what you can request and how to do it at the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

FOIA Requests for Lake County Police Records

Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/), you can request police records from any public body in Lake County. To submit a FOIA request to the sheriff, mail it to the Sheriff's Office, Attn: FOIA, 25 S MLK Jr. Ave, Waukegan, IL 60085. You can also deliver it in person or check with the office about email submissions.

Lake County must respond within five business days. Complex requests may take up to ten days total. The first 50 pages of black and white copies are free. After that, each page costs $0.15. If the office denies your request, they must cite the specific FOIA exemption that applies. You can appeal a denial to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor.

Lake County is a large county with over 714,000 people. Many communities have their own police departments. If the incident happened within a city's limits, you may need to send your FOIA request to that city's police department, not the county sheriff. The sheriff handles unincorporated areas and provides support to smaller agencies.

This page from the Lake County Sheriff site shows additional info about report requests.

Lake County Circuit Clerk Court Records

The Lake County Circuit Clerk's office is at 18 N. County Street in Waukegan, IL 60085. Call (847) 377-3380 for questions. The Lake County Circuit Clerk website has information about court services. Lake County is part of the 19th Judicial Circuit.

The circuit clerk site is the starting point for court record searches in Lake County.

After an arrest in Lake County, the case moves to circuit court. The clerk keeps every filing, motion, hearing record, and order. Court records show charges, plea deals, verdicts, and sentences. If you have a police report and want to know the case result, the circuit clerk's records are where you look next.

The 19th Judicial Circuit also provides some public records access online. The 19th Circuit Court public records page has details on what is available digitally. Some records can be searched online. Others need an in-person visit to the courthouse in Waukegan.

The 19th Circuit public records page covers online access to court records in Lake County.

Criminal Background Checks in Lake County

Criminal background checks are separate from police report requests. The Uniform Conviction Information Act (20 ILCS 2635/) limits public access to conviction data only. Arrests without convictions stay private. The Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification processes criminal history checks for the whole state.

Use the CHIRP portal for name-based searches. Visit a Live Scan vendor for fingerprint-based checks. The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/) sets the rules for sealed and expunged records. Sealed records cannot be viewed by the public. The Access and Review process lets you check your own record for free at a Live Scan location.

Neither the Lake County Sheriff nor the circuit clerk can run a full background check. Their files cover local cases. For a statewide criminal history, go through ISP directly.

Illinois State Police Records in Lake County

ISP Troop 3 covers Lake County. Troopers patrol highways and state roads in the area. If a state trooper handled the incident, the report is with ISP. Contact the ISP FOIA Officer at ISP.FOIA.Officer@illinois.gov or visit isp.illinois.gov/Foia.

Crash reports from ISP cost $5.00 each by mail. Send a check to the Patrol Records Unit at 801 South 7th Street, Suite 600-M, Springfield, IL 62703. Online ordering is available too. Lake County has major highways like I-94 and Route 41, so ISP handles a good share of crash reports in the area. For other record types from state troopers, a standard FOIA request applies.

Cities in Lake County

Lake County has many cities with their own police departments. Each city department keeps its own police records. Contact the local department for incidents within city limits. The county sheriff handles unincorporated areas.

Other Lake County communities like North Chicago, Gurnee, Mundelein, Libertyville, and Highland Park also have their own police departments. Contact those departments directly for records in their jurisdiction.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Lake County. Check the exact address of the incident before sending a records request to the wrong county.