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. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Des Plaines, Illinois, in Cook County, has about 59,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Des Plaines comes from a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, is served by whichever agency finds the person, and is recorded in the court file of the case it was issued in. This guide says who issues and serves warrants here, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one and how one is cleared.
This guide covers who issues warrants, who serves warrants, after a warrant arrest, checking for a warrant, clearing a warrant and common questions.
Related guides: Des Plaines public records, Cook County warrants, Des Plaines arrest records, Des Plaines inmate search, Des Plaines criminal records, Des Plaines court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Des Plaines
In Illinois an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Des Plaines that means the Circuit Court of Cook County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic and juvenile case.
A bench warrant follows a missed court date in any of those courts. Whichever kind it is, the warrant is part of the file of the case it was issued in, and the Circuit Clerk keeps that file.
For Cook County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at cookcountyil.gov/service/court-records-and-archives (page title: Court Records and Archives), 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.
Who Serves Warrants in Des Plaines
The Cook County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Des Plaines (filed by the FBI as Des Plaines Police Department) serve warrants in and around Des Plaines.
The FBI's agency list also places 14 campus police departments and 15 other agencies in Cook County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Elgin Police Department, the Buffalo Grove Police Department, the Deerfield Police Department and eight more are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Cook County, so their arrests are not broken out for Cook County here.
The agency that serves a warrant from Cook County is whichever one finds the person; an Illinois warrant is valid across Illinois.
Together, the 100 agencies in Cook County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 71,187 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Des Plaines arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Des Plaines Is Held
A person arrested on a warrant and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Cook County Sheriff's Office, held about 4,790 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at cookcountyil.gov/service/locate-inmate. The Des Plaines inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Des Plaines on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Des Plaines
The places to check for a warrant from Des Plaines:
- The court file of the case, through the Circuit Clerk, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The State's Attorney, phone (312) 603-1880, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Cook County Sheriff's Office at cookcountyil.gov/service/locate-inmate, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Cook County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court's and the prosecutor's) is a list of open warrants, so a check means asking the court or the prosecutor about a case by name.
Clearing a Warrant from Des Plaines
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Des Plaines starts with the Circuit Clerk: the case goes back on the calendar and the judge recalls the warrant when the person appears.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at cookcountyil.gov/agency/states-attorney, phone (312) 603-1880.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Des Plaines?
Not from the Cook County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Circuit Clerk.
Who serves warrants in Des Plaines?
The agency that reports for Des Plaines inside the city and the Cook County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an Illinois warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Des Plaines held?
At the county jail, run by the Cook County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Des Plaines cleared?
By appearing before the court that issued it; the judge recalls the warrant in court. The case is put back on the calendar through the Circuit Clerk.
Is this the official Des Plaines 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.