Mercer County, Illinois Public Records

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Mercer County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Mercer County. Ask that agency for its record. Under 815 ILCS 505/2QQQ, anyone who publishes criminal record information, including photographs, may not charge a fee to remove, correct or modify it. Under 5 ILCS 140/2.15(e), a law enforcement agency may not post booking photographs on its social networking site for civil, petty or business offenses or Class B and C misdemeanors, except to help find a missing person or a wanted person.

The Illinois criminal history record comes from the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification. Under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, conviction information is public: request it by name with the UCIA name based request form or by fingerprints through a Live Scan vendor.

Search the Illinois Sex Offender Registry (Illinois State Police), or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Register with the county clerk, or the board of election commissioners where one exists (the local election authority) or through the Illinois State Board of Elections. You can also register online with the state online registration. Regular registration closes 27 days before Election Day and online registration 16 days before; grace period registration and voting run in person at designated sites from the 27th day before through Election Day.

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Mercer County are kept by the Mercer County Recorder of Deeds. Property values are set by the Township Assessor in township counties, or the County Supervisor of Assessments, and tax bills come from the County Treasurer, also called the County Collector. Source: official state page.

Certified birth and death certificates for Illinois come from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records. You may contact the county clerk where the event occurred. By mail with a check or money order payable to IDPH to Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records, 110 W Lawrence Ave., Springfield, IL 62704-2610, or through the county clerk where the birth occurred. Fee: $10 for a certified copy (or $15 for a certified copy with the information collected at birth); $2 for each additional copy requested at the same time.

Business entity filings are searched with the Illinois Secretary of State, Business Services. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships using a business name other than the owners' legal names register it with the county clerk under the Assumed Name Act; some municipalities and counties impose their own taxes.