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.
Ottawa, Illinois, in LaSalle County, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Ottawa comes from a judge of the Circuit Court of LaSalle 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: Ottawa public records, LaSalle County warrants, Ottawa arrest records, Ottawa inmate search, Ottawa police reports, Ottawa property records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Ottawa
In Illinois an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Ottawa that means the Circuit Court of LaSalle 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.
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 Ottawa
The La Salle County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Ottawa (filed by the FBI as Ottawa Police Department) serve warrants in and around Ottawa.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in LaSalle County: Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team (other agency); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The Somonauk Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including LaSalle County, so its arrests are not broken out for LaSalle County here.
The agency that serves a warrant from LaSalle County is whichever one finds the person; an Illinois warrant is valid across Illinois.
Together, the 13 agencies in LaSalle County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,788 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Ottawa arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Ottawa 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 La Salle County Sheriff's Office, held about 110 people on an average day in 2019 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at lasalleso.com/inmateSearch. The Ottawa inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Ottawa on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Ottawa
The places to check for a warrant from Ottawa:
- The State's Attorney, phone 815-434-8340, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the La Salle County Sheriff's Office at lasalleso.com/inmateSearch, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the LaSalle County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the prosecutor's and the records request page) 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 Ottawa
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Ottawa that means appearing before the Circuit Court of LaSalle County, with the case put back on the calendar through the Circuit Clerk.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at lasallecountyil.gov, phone 815-434-8340.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Ottawa?
Not from the LaSalle County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the Circuit Clerk.
Who serves warrants in Ottawa?
The agency that reports for Ottawa inside the city and the La Salle 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 Ottawa held?
At the county jail, run by the La Salle County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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.