ILCS » Chapter 50 · Act 205
Illinois Compiled Statutes

50 ILCS 205/4 (2026)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Section, all public records made or received by, or under the authority of, or coming into the custody, control or possession of any officer or agency shall not be mutilated, destroyed, transferred, removed or otherwise damaged or disposed of, in whole or in part, except as provided by law

✓ current as of May 2026
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(50 ILCS 205/4) (from Ch. 116, par. 43.104)
    Sec. 4. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Section, all public records made or received by, or under the authority of, or coming into the custody, control or possession of any officer or agency shall not be mutilated, destroyed, transferred, removed or otherwise damaged or disposed of, in whole or in part, except as provided by law. Any person who knowingly, without lawful authority and with the intent to defraud any party, public officer, or entity, alters, destroys, defaces, removes, or conceals any public record commits a Class 4 felony.
    Court records filed with the clerks of the Circuit Court shall be destroyed in accordance with the Supreme Court's General Administrative Order on Recordkeeping in the Circuit Courts. The clerks of the Circuit Courts shall notify the Supreme Court, in writing, specifying case records or other documents which they intend to destroy. The Supreme Court shall review the schedule of items to be destroyed and notify the appropriate Local Records Commission of the Court's intent to destroy such records. The Local Records Commission, within 90 days after receipt of the Supreme Court's notice, may undertake to photograph, microphotograph, or digitize electronically any or all such records and documents, or, in the alternative, may transport such original records to the State Archives or other storage location under its supervision.
    The Archivist may accept for deposit in the State Archives or regional depositories official papers, drawings, maps, writings and records of every description of counties, municipal corporations, political subdivisions and courts of this State, when such materials are deemed by the Archivist to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the State of Illinois.
    The officer or clerk depositing such records may, upon request, obtain from the Archivist, without charge, a certified copy or reproduction of any specific record, paper or document when such record, paper or document is required for public use.
    (b) Upon request from a chief of police, county sheriff, or State's Attorney, if a person has been arrested for a criminal offense and an investigation reveals that the person arrested was not in fact the individual the arresting officer believed him or her to be, the law enforcement agency whose officers made the arrest shall delete or retract the arrest records of that person whom the investigation revealed as not the individual the arresting officer believed him or her to be. In this subsection (b):
        "Arrest records" are as described in Section 3b of
    
this Act.
        "Law enforcement agency" means an agency of a unit of
    
local government which is vested by law or ordinance with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce criminal laws or ordinances.
(Source: P.A. 98-1063, eff. 1-1-15; 99-363, eff. 1-1-16.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2019–2026 · leading case: City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, 2020 IL 124831 (Ill. 2020).
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City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, 2020 IL 124831 (Ill. 2020). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). ¶4 Section 6 of the Local Records Act provides for the creation of a local records commission (Commission) to administer the requirements set forth in the Act.”
City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, 2019 IL App (1st) 172907 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). The Local Act then requires that “no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission [(Commission)] is first obtained.”
City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, 2019 IL App (1st) 172907 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “" 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). The Local Act then requires that "no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission is first obtained.”
Marva Mack v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2019). “Department policy and Illinois law, 50 ILCS 205/4, prohibited unauthorized removal of public records, like the edit sheets, so Mack had to attend a “Pre-Disciplinary Meeting,” at which she admitted that she had lied about the whereabouts of the edit sheets because she feared…”
Marva Mack v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2019). “Department policy and Illinois law, 50 ILCS 205/4, prohibited unauthorized removal of public records, like the edit sheets, so Mack had to attend a “Pre-Disciplinary Meeting,” at which she admitted that she had lied about the whereabouts of the edit sheets because she feared…”
People v. Weller, 2026 IL App (4th) 260144 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2024). Pursuant to our supreme court’s “General Administrative Order on Recordkeeping in the Circuit Courts” (Ill.”
— 50 ILCS 205/4(a) — 4 cases
City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, 2020 IL 124831 (Ill. 2020). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). ¶4 Section 6 of the Local Records Act provides for the creation of a local records commission (Commission) to administer the requirements set forth in the Act.”
City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, 2019 IL App (1st) 172907 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). The Local Act then requires that “no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission [(Commission)] is first obtained.”
City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, 2019 IL App (1st) 172907 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “" 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2016). The Local Act then requires that "no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission is first obtained.”
People v. Weller, 2026 IL App (4th) 260144 (Ill. App. Ct. 2026). “” 50 ILCS 205/4(a) (West 2024). Pursuant to our supreme court’s “General Administrative Order on Recordkeeping in the Circuit Courts” (Ill.”
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