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 30, 2026.
Champaign County, Illinois, has about 212,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Champaign County is held at the county jail, run by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Champaign County public records, Champaign County arrest records, Champaign County warrants, Champaign County criminal records, Champaign County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Champaign County
The county jail, run by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Champaign County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Champaign County Sheriff's Office at champaigncountyil.gov/sheriff/inmatelookup.php (page title: Inmate Lookup | Champaign County Illinois), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Champaign County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 240 people, up from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2022, the last year with a capacity figure, was 295 beds, and it ran at 59 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Champaign County has about 212,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Champaign County Jail
The Champaign County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul, Mahomet, Tolono, Fisher and two more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Champaign County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Champaign County: Parkland College and the University of Illinois at Urbana (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Champaign's 1,629 for 2025, Ludlow's 1,152 for 2025 and Urbana's 880 for 2025.
Together, the eight agencies in Champaign County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,678 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Champaign County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Champaign County serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Champaign County?
Look on the custody page of the Champaign County Sheriff's Office at champaigncountyil.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Champaign County jail?
About 240 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 295 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Champaign County go?
To a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Is this the official Champaign County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.