McHenry County Felony Records

McHenry County felony records are maintained by the Clerk of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court in Woodstock, Illinois. About 307,000 people live in the county, which sits at the northwest edge of the Chicago metro area. McHenry County has its own Public Case Access portal for searching court records online. You can also contact the felony division directly by phone or email the clerk for copy requests. The office keeps all filings, court orders, and docket entries for every criminal case in the county.

McHenry County Circuit Clerk Info

The McHenry County Circuit Clerk's office handles all court records for the 22nd Circuit. The courthouse at 2200 N. Seminary Avenue in Woodstock has multiple rooms for different divisions. Rooms 136 and 353 also serve the clerk's office functions. McHenry County has a dedicated felony and misdemeanor phone line at (815) 334-4313. This is useful if you need quick answers about a specific case or want to check on a felony record status.

To request copies by email, send a message to CircuitClerk@mchenrycountyil.gov. Include the case number, document title, file date, party names, and your own name, address, email, and phone number. The staff will process the request and let you know the cost.

McHenry County Felony Records Online

McHenry County has a Public Case Access portal for the 22nd Judicial Circuit. You can search by case number or last name. The system shows open cases from 2008 to the present. Closed civil cases go back ten years from the current date. This is a good starting point for looking up McHenry County felony records without visiting the courthouse.

Keep in mind that juvenile court records are not available through this portal. Records that have been impounded by court order also will not show up. The 22nd Judicial Circuit homepage has additional court information and links for McHenry County.

McHenry County also appears on the Judici system, which covers over 82 Illinois counties and holds more than 100 million court records from the history of Illinois courts.

Judici is an officially endorsed case search tool that many Illinois counties use, including McHenry County.

Fees for McHenry County Felony Records

McHenry County follows standard copy rates. The first page is $2.00. Pages two through twenty cost $0.50 each. Pages twenty-one and beyond are $0.25. If you do not have a case number, a $6.00 search fee is added. Certification costs $6.00 per seal.

Payment options include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover for online or in-person payments. Cash and mail payments are also accepted. This gives you flexibility when requesting McHenry County felony records.

Note: Cell phones are allowed in the McHenry County courthouse but must be powered off during proceedings.

McHenry County Felony Case Laws

Under the Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630), law enforcement in McHenry County sends fingerprints and arrest data for all felony arrests to the Illinois State Police. The ISP Bureau of Identification maintains a statewide database from these submissions. Public name-based searches through the ISP under the Uniform Conviction Information Act return only conviction data for $10 electronically.

Sentencing for McHenry County felony cases follows the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5). Class X felonies carry 6 to 30 years in prison with no probation option. Class 1 is 4 to 15 years. Class 2 is 3 to 7. Class 3 is 2 to 5 years. Class 4 is 1 to 3 years. These ranges help you understand what you see on McHenry County felony records.

Expungement and sealing are available for some McHenry County felony records. You file a petition with the circuit court. The Illinois FOIA lets you request arrest reports from local police agencies, but the court itself is exempt from FOIA rules. Contact the McHenry County Sheriff or local police for FOIA-covered records.

State Records for McHenry County

Beyond the county clerk, the ISP Bureau of Identification in Joliet holds criminal history data from all Illinois counties including McHenry. You can run a name-based search for $10 electronically or $16 by paper form. Fingerprint searches cost $15 through a Live Scan vendor. These state-level searches can turn up McHenry County felony records alongside records from other counties.

The re:SearchIL statewide repository may hold some McHenry County documents. Full case documents typically require an in-person visit under the Illinois Supreme Court's Electronic Access Policy.

Counties Near McHenry County

McHenry County borders several counties in the northern part of Illinois. Check the neighboring clerk if a felony case was filed elsewhere.