Illinois Department of Corrections: What Families Need to Know (2026)
Illinois's guide covers all 28 facilities on the department's Correctional Facilities list, under Director Latoya Hughes, with the warden, address, phone number, and visiting hours for each. The first rule to know is that every in-person visit must be signed up for in advance; there are no surprises at the gate.
For mail, the general rule is that mail for people in custody uses the same address as business mail, with the person's name and IDOC number included. There are exceptions worth noting: Lawrence Correctional Center lists a separate custody-mail address, and Lincoln, Logan, and Menard list a P.O. Box for mail for people in custody, so check the entry for the right facility.
Video visitation runs seven days a week at most facilities, though the windows differ. Dixon and Joliet Treatment Center, for example, post video hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, while other centers use shorter morning and afternoon blocks. Statewide hours posted by the department are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for medium security and 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for minimum security, seven days a week, for the facilities listed there. At Pontiac, visits run 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, and visitors must arrive by 1:30 p.m. to be processed.
Full guide: https://8a1c6da4-9eeb-47b4-b576-ee932f459420.usrfiles.com/ugd/de0afa_d92fd0469ef84c699e0bc4811c1c6a29.pdf
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