Lawmakers demand fixes for Illinois prison mail system overhaul

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois lawmakers are criticizing the state’s Department of Corrections over a recent change to how mail is being processed and delivered to prisoners.

Since September 29, Illinois prisons have stopped giving physical mail to inmates, instead providing them with tablets to receive emails. The change aims to prevent drugs from entering prisons, according to the IDOC.

“We received some answers to questions from our September meeting on Friday last week. We have to accelerate and improve the collaborative process between the Department of Corrections and this committee,” said Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria).

Lawmakers and families of incarcerated individuals claim the rollout has not been implemented properly. They say the app used for scanning mail does not work as it should, and inmates aren’t receiving mail like they’re supposed to.

According to the IDOC, there are now 29,000 tablets in the prison system, one for each prisoner. The emergency ruling will expire at the end of the year, but IDOC officials hope to make a permanent ruling before the start of 2026.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.