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 2, 2026.
McDonough County, Illinois, has about 27,000 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 McDonough County 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: McDonough County public records, McDonough County arrest records, McDonough County warrants, McDonough County inmate search, McDonough County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Circuit Court of McDonough County
A criminal case from McDonough County is filed in the Circuit Court of McDonough County, and the court file, kept by the Circuit Clerk, is the record of it that the public may see.
For McDonough County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/33/McDonough-County-Courthouse/... (page title: McDonough County Circuit Court | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (309) 837-4891, 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 McDonough County
The McDonough County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Macomb, Bushnell, Colchester and Blandinsville keep the arrest records in McDonough County: 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in McDonough County: Western Illinois University (campus police); it keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the two agencies in McDonough County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,241 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 McDonough County arrest records.
The State's Attorney for McDonough County
Charges in McDonough 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 McDonough County.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at mcg.mcdonough.il.us/statesattorney.html (page title: McDonough County States Attorney), phone (309)837-2309, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for McDonough County
Registered sex offenders living in McDonough County 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 McDonough 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 McDonough County?
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 McDonough County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at illinoiscourts.gov (page title: McDonough County Circuit Court | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts).
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 McDonough County?
The State's Attorney, reached at (309)837-2309, which files its cases in the Circuit Court of McDonough County.
Is this the official McDonough 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.