McDonough County Jail Roster Overview
The McDonough County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail and holds the booking records. No official online roster, current-inmate search, or booking feed was found on the sheriff or county sites. Several private "jail roster" sites show up in search results, but they are not official and should not be relied on. The honest picture is simple. To learn who is in the Macomb jail right now, you contact the jail or file a records request, not a web roster.
The county jail also does not show everyone connected to a McDonough County case. Sentenced state prisoners move to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Federal defendants sit in the federal system, and immigration detainees appear in ICE custody. Each of those has its own locator, covered further down.
How to Find Someone in the McDonough County Jail
With no roster to search, the reliable method is a channel sweep. Start with the jail and work outward only if the first channel comes up short. Have the person's full name, date of birth, and approximate arrest date ready before you begin.
- Call the jail at 309-833-JAIL (5245) to confirm whether the person is booked, still held, or released.
- If the jail will not give the detail by phone, file a written FOIA request with the sheriff's FOIA officer for the booking record.
- Register with Illinois VINE to get custody and case alerts by phone, text, email, or app.
- If the person was sentenced and transferred, search the IDOC locator, or check BOP and ICE for federal or immigration custody.
The sheriff's office page, shown below, lists the jail phone, the office address, and the FOIA officer in one place. You can view it at the McDonough County Sheriff's Office page.
Those three contacts, the jail line, the main office number, and the FOIA officer, handle most current and past custody questions.
McDonough County Inmate Search Fields
Two official search tools have documented fields. The statewide IDOC locator handles sentenced prisoners, and the sheriff's public warrant list is a PDF rather than a search box. Neither is a county jail roster, but together they cover much of what people look for.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do you want to search? | Radio | Yes | Last Name, IDOC Number, or Birthdate |
| Search text / IDOC number | Text | Yes | Examples: Smith; Smith, John; partial Smit; K01234; 04-01-1965 |
| Find | Button | n/a | Runs the IDOC search |
| Federal BOP Inmate Locator | Link | n/a | Opens the federal locator |
The sheriff's active warrant PDF is not a custody list, but its columns help confirm whether someone has an open warrant that could lead to a booking.
| Warrant PDF Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Column | Person named on the warrant |
| Sex / Race / DOB | Column | Combined in one field |
| City, State | Column | Listed residence |
| Charge | Column | Often failure to appear or an underlying charge |
| Bond | Column | Dollar amount, sometimes 0.00 |
| Case # | Column | Court case number |
What a McDonough County Inmate Record Shows
The county jail booking record is reachable by phone or FOIA, not online, so it has no public profile layout. The most detailed public profile in this chain belongs to the IDOC locator for sentenced state prisoners. Its fields show what a full custody record can include.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Photos | Front and side images of the person in custody |
| IDOC Number and Name | State identifier and legal name |
| Parent Institution and Location | The prison holding the person |
| Offender Status | In custody, paroled, or discharged |
| Physical Profile | Date of birth, height, weight, hair, eyes, sex, race |
| Admission and Parole Dates | Admission, projected parole, and projected discharge dates |
| Sentencing Information | Offense, class, custody date, sentence, and county |
A county booking record requested by FOIA can include the arrestee's name, age, charges, arrest time and place, the arresting agency, and custody dates, under the state arrest-records law. Booking photos for current inmates are covered on the jail roster mugshots page.
Finding County, State, and Federal Inmates
Matching the person to the right custody system is the key step. The county jail holds pre-trial and short-sentence inmates. Sentenced felons go to IDOC. Federal defendants use the Bureau of Prisons, and immigration detainees use ICE. Each system answers a different question, so it pays to know which one applies before searching.
| Custody | Where to Look |
|---|---|
| Pre-trial or short sentence | McDonough County Jail (phone or FOIA) |
| Sentenced felon | IDOC inmate locator |
| Federal | Federal BOP locator |
| Immigration hold | ICE detainee locator |
Illinois VINE ties several of these together for notifications. It connects to county jail booking systems, IDOC, and circuit court clerks, and lets you register for custody and case alerts. The portal is shown below and is free to use.
VINE is best for staying informed about a change in custody, such as a release or transfer, rather than for a first lookup.
Requesting McDonough County Inmate Records
When a record is not available by phone, Illinois FOIA is the formal channel. The county FOIA page lists the sheriff's FOIA officer as Bailey Rauch at 110 S. McArthur St., Macomb, IL 61455, reachable at 309-833-2323 or brauch@sheriff.mcdonough.il.us. Illinois FOIA does not require a special form, so a clear written request is enough. The county charges nothing for an electronic response and 15 cents per page for paper copies after the first 50 pages. Ask for the specific booking record, arrest report, or custody dates, and give the person's name, date of birth, arrest date, and case number if you have them.
The sheriff's office runs more than the jail. Its listed functions include Jail, Visitation, Court Security, and Civil Process. Court Security handles courthouse security and moves inmates from the jail to court, while Civil Process handles legal filings and can be reached at 309-833-2633 on weekdays. Knowing which function holds the answer can save a call.
Warrant Lookups and the Sheriff App
If the question is whether someone has an open warrant rather than whether they are in custody, the sheriff publishes an active warrant list through Crime Stoppers. It is a PDF, not a search box, and recent versions have run dozens of pages. The Crime Stoppers page warns that a listed warrant may already have been served, dismissed, or adjudicated, so it is a lead rather than proof. Anonymous tips go to the Crime Stoppers hotline at 309-836-3222 or 1-800-222-TIPS.
The local Crime Stoppers program uses the P3 Tips app, which supports anonymous tips with photo or video uploads, a tip ID and password, and two-way follow-up chat. It is a tip tool, not an inmate roster, so it will not show custody. The app is available for both phones.
- P3 Tips for iPhone, through the Apple App Store
- P3 Tips for Android, through Google Play
- Crime Stoppers hotline at 309-836-3222 or 1-800-222-TIPS
McDonough County Jail Facility
The county runs a single jail, attached to the sheriff's office in downtown Macomb. The IDOC inspection lists a 1967 building with 4 single cells, 21 double cells, two 7-bed dormitories, and one 5-bed dormitory. Full facility detail sits on the McDonough County Jail page.
McDonough County Jail
110 S. McArthur St.
Macomb, IL 61455
309-833-JAIL (5245)
Sheriff's Office: 309-833-2323
Booking and Intake in McDonough County
No McDonough-specific booking page was published, so the process is described from Illinois jail standards and the IDOC inspection. After an arrest by a sheriff's deputy, Macomb Police, or another agency, a person lodged locally is transported to the jail at 110 S. McArthur St. Staff verify the legal basis for confinement, search the person and handle property, then complete fingerprints and a photograph as required by law.
Medical and mental-health screening follow. The 2024 inspection lists McDonough District Hospital for medical care, North Central Behavioral Health for mental health, and Dental ER for dental needs. Classification and housing come next, using the jail's mix of single cells, double cells, and dormitories. Because there is no online roster, the county does not publish how quickly a booking would appear in any public feed, so the jail phone line remains the way to confirm a new booking.
Visitation Hours and Rules
The sheriff's about page sets visitation twice a week, split by gender and day. Visits are first-come, capped at 30 minutes per inmate per week. An inmate must be in custody for 7 consecutive days before becoming eligible, and people serving periodic imprisonment such as weekends or work release are not eligible. The visitation rules page is pictured below and can be viewed on the sheriff's about-us page.
The schedule below shows the set windows for each group. Visitors under 17 must be with an adult who has photo identification.
| Day | Hours | Inmate Group |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Male inmates |
| Wednesday | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Female inmates |
| Saturday | 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Female inmates |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Male inmates |
Note: Visits tied to a known order of protection are not permitted, and visitors who cause problems with staff can lose visiting privileges.
How to Contact a McDonough County Inmate
Phone and messaging run through a vendor. The sheriff's phone-system page says a lobby kiosk in the main jail lobby lets family and friends add funds for inmate phone minutes, and inmates may rent an Apple iPod to send chirp or text messages. The IDOC inspection lists Combined Public Communications as the telephone, text, and video visitation provider. A full mail policy was not published beyond the jail address, so confirm current mail rules with the jail before sending anything.
Visitors may leave a limited set of items. The sheriff lists paper-bound books, paper-bound crossword or word-search books, a cashier's check, a money order, a certified bank check, and cash. Anything outside that list needs approval from the Jail Sergeant, Chief Deputy, or Sheriff before the visiting day.
Commissary and Inmate Funds
The county did not publish a named commissary vendor, deposit portal, or fee schedule on its official pages. What is documented is the lobby kiosk for adding phone funds and the rule on which items and forms of money visitors may leave. For anything more specific, such as deposit limits or video-visit fees, the jail is the source to confirm.
Note: Confirm a person is still in custody at the McDonough County Jail before sending money or traveling to visit, since releases and transfers happen without public notice.
Common Questions About McDonough County Inmate Records
Is there an official McDonough County jail roster online?
No official online roster, current-inmate search, or booking feed was found on the sheriff or county sites. To confirm current custody, call the jail at 309-833-JAIL (5245). For a record the jail will not give by phone, file a FOIA request with the sheriff's FOIA officer.
How do I find someone after they are sentenced?
Once a McDonough County court sentences someone to prison, the person transfers from the county jail to the Illinois Department of Corrections. At that point the county jail is no longer the live lookup. Search the IDOC Individual in Custody Search by last name, IDOC number, or birthdate.
Can I get alerts when custody changes?
Yes. Illinois VINE connects to county jail booking systems, IDOC, and circuit court clerks, and lets you register for free custody and case notifications by phone, text, email, or app. It is best for tracking a release or transfer rather than for a first lookup.