Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Benton, Illinois, in Franklin County, has about 6,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Illinois the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Circuit Clerk; the statewide criminal history kept by the Illinois State Police is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Benton is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Benton public records, Franklin County criminal records, Benton arrest records, Benton warrants, Benton inmate search, Benton court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Circuit Court of Franklin County
In Illinois the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Benton are heard by the Circuit Court of Franklin County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic and juvenile case, and the file of each case is kept by the Circuit Clerk.
For Franklin County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at franklincountyil.gov/circuitclerk (page title: Circuit Clerk | Franklin County), phone (618) 435-9800, Monday-Friday 8:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Illinois has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The Illinois Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Illinois is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, through the Illinois State Police. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
To see your own record, the route is a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at isp.illinois.gov/BureauOfIdentification/MyRecord.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Benton
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Benton (filed by the FBI as Benton Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Benton: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
Together, the five agencies in Franklin County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,463 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Benton arrest records.
The State's Attorney for Franklin County
Charges in Franklin County are filed by the State's Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Circuit Court of Franklin County.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyil.gov/states-attorney (page title: State's Attorney | Franklin County), phone (618) 439-4316, 411 East Main Street Benton, IL 62812, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Benton
Registered sex offenders living in Benton are listed on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, run by the Illinois State Police at illinois.gov. The registry is public and can be searched online.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Franklin County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act a county office must answer a request within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension, and it may charge copying only after the first 50 pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Benton?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Illinois State Police: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Can I search Benton criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at franklincountyil.gov/circuitclerk (page title: Circuit Clerk | Franklin County).
How do I get my own Illinois criminal history?
Through a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Who prosecutes crimes in Benton?
The State's Attorney, reached at (618) 439-4316, which files its cases in the Circuit Court of Franklin County.
Is this the official Benton website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.