The Tazewell County Inmate Population
Tazewell County has two very different custody systems in Pekin. The Tazewell County Justice Center, often called TCJC, is the county jail at 101 S. Capitol St. and is operated by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Jeffrey Lower. It holds people arrested by county, city, and state agencies, including pretrial detainees, warrants, county sentences, weekenders, holds, and courtesy holds.
FCI Pekin is also physically in Tazewell County, but it is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at 2600 S. Second St. It is not a county jail, not an Illinois Department of Corrections prison, and not searched through the sheriff's custody table. Anyone sentenced to federal custody should be checked through BOP, while a person sentenced to an Illinois state prison should be checked through IDOC.
Tazewell County Inmate Population Statistics
The best official county-jail population figure located in the research is the 2025 PREA audit for TCJC. That audit listed 225 designated facility capacity, 10 housing units, and an average daily population of 105 over the prior 12 months. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association county profile separately lists 226 jail beds. The sheriff's public custody table contained 116 visible rows when inspected on June 10, 2026, but that is a point-in-time web-table count, not certified average daily population.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| TCJC average daily population | 105 | 2025 PREA audit, prior 12-month average |
| TCJC designated facility capacity | 225 | 2025 PREA audit |
| TCJC jail beds | 226 | Illinois Sheriffs' Association profile, checked June 2026 |
| Current custody-table row count | 116 | Sheriff custody lookup source, June 10, 2026 |
| FCI Pekin total population | 1,303 | BOP public data, June 4, 2026 |
The sheriff's PREA page is one source for population and facility standards material used to interpret TCJC capacity.
The PREA material is useful because it distinguishes rated capacity, audit-day count, and average daily population instead of treating every number as the same kind of jail population figure.
Tazewell County Inmate Population Trends
No official multi-year TCJC average-daily-population table was located. The available figures still show how different population measures should be read: a historical 2013 correctional-population count is not current, the 2025 PREA average is an official audit lookback, and the June 2026 custody-table count is only the size of the public table on the inspection date.
| Year / Date | Population or Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 158 | Historical local jail count from Prisoners of the Census context source |
| 2025 PREA lookback | 105 ADP | Official PREA average daily population for the prior 12 months |
| 2025 PREA onsite day one | 105 | Single audit-day population count |
| June 10, 2026 | 116 rows | Public custody table snapshot, not certified ADP |
| June 4, 2026 | 1,303 | FCI Pekin federal population, separate from TCJC |
Who Makes Up the Tazewell County Inmate Population
The public TCJC custody lookup exposes individual row-level age, race, sex, charge, and agency fields, but no official aggregate demographic report by race, age band, sex, pretrial status, felony/misdemeanor status, or hold type was located. The PREA audit did publish special-population counts, including 3 cognitive or functional disability records, 6 blind or low-vision records, 1 deaf or hard-of-hearing record, 1 lesbian, gay, or bisexual record, and 0 transgender or intersex records on the audit count.
- Pretrial and sentenced status - TCJC holds pretrial detainees, county sentences, warrants, holds, weekenders, and courtesy holds, but no aggregate split was located.
- Age, race, and sex - The custody table shows these fields per row, with sample race abbreviations such as W, B, U, and H and sex values M/F.
- Agency source - Rows can involve the Sheriff's Office, Pekin, East Peoria, Morton, Mackinaw, Tremont, Peoria, Illinois State Police, and other agencies.
- Federal facility population - BOP lists FCI Pekin as mixed gender and reports the FCI and camp population separately.
Tazewell County Jail Capacity and Standards
TCJC's 105 average daily population is below both published capacity labels, but those figures should not be used as a promise about today's available beds. Jail population changes every day with bookings, releases, court orders, transfers, and holds. The sheriff-posted 2025 Jail and Detention Standards Unit compliance review says the jail was inspected on July 8, 2025 and listed no noncompliances. The same review noted improvements since the last monitoring, including a new phone system, new food carts, a new book cart, and newly purchased uniforms and towels.
Laws Governing the Tazewell County Inmate Population
Illinois public-records and jail-standards rules explain why the sheriff can publish a current custody table while still withholding or redacting other jail records. The online roster is a narrow access point. Fuller records, booking photos, incident reports, and older material may require a written FOIA request and can still be limited by exemptions, juvenile confidentiality, court orders, correctional security, privacy rules, or other state and federal law.
Key Statutes and Rules:
5 ILCS 140/1 and 140/1.2 - Illinois FOIA favors public access to records in a public body's custody unless an exemption applies.
5 ILCS 140/3 and 140/7 - Public bodies generally respond to FOIA requests within 5 business days, but law-enforcement exemptions may allow redaction or denial.
5 ILCS 140/2.15 - Arrest information must be furnished as soon as practical and no later than 72 hours after arrest, including a photograph when and if available.
730 ILCS 125/7 - The jail custodian must maintain a monthly list of committed persons and make the custody calendar available to the court.
20 Ill. Admin. Code Part 701 - Illinois County Jail Standards govern county jail operation and inspection.
Tazewell County and the State Prison Population
No Illinois Department of Corrections adult prison was located in Tazewell County during the facility sweep. IDOC still matters because a Tazewell County arrestee can leave TCJC after conviction and sentencing and become an IDOC individual in custody. Once that transfer happens, the sheriff's current-custody table is no longer the right place to search. Use the IDOC Individual in Custody Search by last name, IDOC number, or birthdate for sentenced state-prison custody.
How to Search the Tazewell County Inmate Population
The official first stop for a current county detainee is the Sheriff's Office inmate lookup - Custody table. It is a public table, not a login portal. The table can be searched across visible columns and filtered by a column using the "Search in" control.
The sheriff's custody lookup page shows the compact current-custody table used for local jail searches.
Because the table is built for filtering and sorting, a search works differently from a profile-style inmate database with separate detail pages.
- Open the sheriff's custody lookup and search by last name first.
- If the name is common, narrow with first name, DetaineeID, age, race, sex, booking date, charge word, or agency.
- Use the Search in dropdown to limit the filter to a specific column when too many rows remain.
- Use the page-size control to scan 10, 20, 50, or 100 rows.
- If there is no current-custody result, check spelling, recent booking timing, release, warrants, court records, IDOC, BOP, ICE ODLS, or VINE depending on the situation.
Current Inmate Lookup in Tazewell County
The custody lookup's accessible table columns are BookDate, BookTime, DetaineeID, LastName, FirstName, MiddleInit, Age, Race, Sex, Charge, and Agency. Source inspection found table filtering, sorting, page-size options, and a "No Result Found" message. It did not show a mugshot column, bond amount, housing unit, court date, case number, release date, or separate full profile link.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search | Text filter | No | Global search across visible/filterable columns |
| Search in | Dropdown | No | Can narrow to fields such as BookDate, DetaineeID, LastName, Charge, or Agency |
| Page size | Dropdown | No | Options shown in source: 10, 20, 50, 100 rows |
| Column headers | Sortable controls | No | Useful for booking date, name, agency, and charge review |
Past and Released Inmate Records
The sheriff's current-custody table should not be treated as a complete arrest-history database. A blank result can mean the person was released, transferred, listed under a different spelling, not yet posted, or never booked into TCJC. For historical booking records, incident reports, booking-photo requests, or records not shown online, use the Sheriff's FOIA request process. The FOIA page asks requesters to include name, address, phone number, email, date range, incident type, people involved, and report number if known, and says the FOIA Officer responds within 5 business days.
What a Tazewell County Inmate Record Shows
A Tazewell County custody row identifies the public booking context, but it is not a full court or jail classification record. Treat the charge field as a booking, hold, warrant, or custody label that may be abbreviated and may later differ from formal prosecutor filings in court.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| BookDate | Booking date visible in MM-DD-YYYY style in reviewed rows. |
| BookTime | Booking time in 24-hour HH:MM style. |
| DetaineeID | Local numeric public detainee identifier; not labeled "Booking Number." |
| Name fields | LastName, FirstName, and MiddleInit. |
| Age / Race / Sex | Basic identifying fields used to distinguish similarly named people. |
| Charge | Short charge, hold, warrant, or custody label, often abbreviated. |
| Agency | Arresting, holding, or associated law-enforcement agency. |
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
TCJC, IDOC, BOP, and ICE answer different custody questions. A person arrested locally may start in TCJC, then appear in the Tyler court portal after charges are filed, then move to IDOC after a state-prison sentence. A federal prisoner in Pekin is searched through BOP even though the facility is in the same county.
| County Jail | State Prison (IDOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pretrial detainees, warrants, holds, county sentences, weekenders | People sentenced to Illinois state prison |
| Run By | Tazewell County Sheriff's Office | Illinois Department of Corrections |
| Where to Look | Sheriff custody lookup | IDOC Individual in Custody Search |
| Stays Listed | Current-custody table only; released people may drop off | State profile while in IDOC custody or public status records remain available |
State, Federal, ICE, VINE, App, and Court Search
Use IDOC for sentenced Illinois prisoners. Use the BOP Inmate Locator for federal inmates, including FCI Pekin. BOP's June 4, 2026 public data listed FCI Pekin at 1,303 total inmates, split between 1,062 at the FCI and 241 at the camp.
The BOP FCI Pekin facility profile is the official source for the federal prison located inside Tazewell County.
That BOP profile should not be mixed with TCJC jail rules for bond, mail, visitation, or custody lookup because federal prisoners follow federal procedures.
Use ICE ODLS for immigration detention; no ICE detention facility was found in the county facility sweep. Illinois VINE can be used for custody notifications where participating records are available, but Tazewell-specific coverage should be verified in the live VINE interface before relying on it. The Tazewell Co Sheriff Android app and Tazewell County Sheriff IL iOS app exist for public-safety news, tips, and interactive features, but no app-only inmate roster was verified. For court dates, balances, case history, and formal filings, use the Tazewell Tyler Portal, not the jail table; county court guidance says Tazewell no longer uses Judici for current online court records.
Tazewell County Detention Facilities
The facility map for this county has one county jail and one federal prison. They are both in Pekin, but they hold different populations and use different lookup systems.
- Tazewell County Justice Center - County jail operated by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office for local arrests, pretrial custody, warrants, county sentences, weekenders, holds, and courtesy holds.
- FCI Pekin - Federal Bureau of Prisons facility with a medium-security FCI and adjacent minimum-security satellite camp for sentenced federal offenders.
Tazewell County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Tazewell County inmate population?
For the county jail, the 2025 PREA audit listed TCJC average daily population as 105 and designated facility capacity as 225. The sheriff custody lookup contained 116 rows when inspected on June 10, 2026, but that was only a current table snapshot. FCI Pekin is separate federal custody and had 1,303 inmates in BOP data dated June 4, 2026.
How do I search the Tazewell County inmate population?
Start with the sheriff's custody lookup for current TCJC detainees. Search by last name, first name, DetaineeID, booking date, charge, or agency. If the person is not in the county table, use the warrant lookup, Tyler Portal, IDOC, BOP, ICE ODLS, or VINE depending on whether the issue is a warrant, court case, state sentence, federal custody, immigration custody, or notification.
Does the Tazewell County roster show mugshots or court dates?
No mugshot, bond, housing, case-number, court-date, or release-date fields were present in the reviewed custody table. Booking-photo or older booking-record requests go through sheriff FOIA, while formal court dates and case history belong in the Tyler Portal or Circuit Clerk records.