Clark County Police Blotter

Clark County police blotter records cover arrests, incident reports, and crime data from the Sheriff's office in Marshall, Illinois. This eastern Illinois county sits along the Indiana border and has a small population spread across rural communities. The Sheriff handles most police blotter activity for the county, with local departments in Marshall and Casey covering their own areas. You can access these records by contacting the Sheriff, filing a FOIA request, or reaching out to the local police department that handled the incident. All police blotter records here are public.

Clark County Sheriff Police Blotter

The Clark County Sheriff's Office is based in Marshall and covers the unincorporated parts of the county. The Sheriff runs the county jail and logs all bookings, creating police blotter records for each person brought in. These records include the person's name, charges, booking date, and bond details. The Sheriff also responds to calls for service throughout the rural areas of Clark County, and each call gets entered into the blotter.

The Clark County Sheriff's website provides information about the department and its services to the community.

Visit the Sheriff's site to find contact details for requesting police blotter records in Clark County.

Clark County is small. The Sheriff's office does not have a large online records database. Most police blotter searches require a phone call or a written request. Call the office during business hours for recent arrest information, or send a FOIA request for anything more detailed. Marshall and Casey each have their own police departments that keep separate arrest logs and blotter records for incidents within their city limits.

How to Request Clark County Police Blotter Records

Illinois law gives everyone the right to request police blotter records. The Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) covers all government records, and police blotter data is among the most accessible. Section 3 says records are presumed open. That means Clark County agencies must release police blotter logs unless a narrow exemption applies. Arrest names, charges, and dates are public in nearly all cases.

Write your request and send it to the FOIA officer at the Clark County Sheriff's Office or whichever agency holds the records. Be specific about what you want. Include names, dates, and the type of incident if you know it. The agency has five business days to respond. An extension of up to five more days is possible if they explain why. The first 50 pages of copies are free. Additional pages are 15 cents each. You can also review records in person at no cost.

If your request is denied, the agency must cite a specific exemption under Section 7 of the FOIA. Active investigations are the most common basis for withholding police blotter records. But basic arrest data from Clark County is public by default. You have the right to appeal any denial to the Public Access Counselor at the Attorney General's office. The appeal process is free and straightforward.

Note: Clark County shares the 5th Judicial Circuit with Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, and Vermilion counties.

State Resources for Clark County Police Blotter

The Illinois State Police holds records from state-level incidents in Clark County. State troopers patrol routes through the area, including highways that cross near the Indiana border. Any arrest or incident handled by ISP gets logged at the state level. To request those police blotter records, use the ISP FOIA page. This is separate from the county-level records held by the Sheriff.

The Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting portal also contains data from Clark County agencies. Under the Uniform Crime Reporting Act, all law enforcement agencies must submit crime data to the state each year. You can use this portal to see reported crimes by type and year for Clark County. The data shows broad trends in crime and law enforcement activity, though it does not replace direct access to individual police blotter entries.

The Illinois State Police news releases page posts information about major law enforcement actions statewide, including some that affect Clark County.

Check this page for press releases about state-level police activity that may involve Clark County.

What Clark County Police Blotter Records Include

A police blotter entry in Clark County records one law enforcement event. Each entry documents what happened, when it happened, and who was involved. The blotter is a summary, not a full case file. It gives you the core facts.

A typical Clark County police blotter entry shows:

• Date and time
• Location of the incident
• Type of offense or call for service
• Name and age of the person arrested, if applicable
• Charges filed

Not every entry involves an arrest. Many are routine calls. Traffic stops, noise complaints, and property checks all end up in the blotter. In Clark County, the low number of daily entries makes it easy to find records by date. For the full incident report, you would file a separate request with the agency that handled the call. The blotter tells you what happened at a glance. The incident report fills in the rest of the story.

Nearby Counties

Clark County sits on the eastern edge of Illinois along the Indiana border. Police blotter records for incidents near a county line may be held by an agency in a neighboring county.