How Illinois phone service is changing and what Big Muddy River families need to know

Big Muddy River is part of IDOC's statewide phone vendor change from Securus to ICSolutions. The rollout started February 3, 2025, with facilities switching one by one - so Big Muddy River's changeover will happen as part of that schedule.

Once a facility starts its switch, the transition typically takes about two weeks. Your loved one should get details about Big Muddy River's specific timing as the date approaches.

One of the biggest worries during a vendor switch: will they still be able to call? Good news - IDOC says in-custody phone credits and phone lists (PAN) will transfer to ICSolutions automatically. Your loved one's calling setup inside should move over with them.

IDOC recommends keeping enough funds in your Securus Advance Connect account to cover one to two weeks of calls before the switch. That buffer helps you avoid scrambling if the timeline overlaps with billing cycles or the brief service interruption.

Once Big Muddy River switches to ICSolutions, the domestic call rate drops to $0.008 per minute - down slightly from $0.009 per minute.

IDOC also shared example totals showing what families actually pay after government-related charges. For calls to an ICS prepaid account, the total per-minute rate works out to $0.011746 for out-of-state calls and $0.009092 for in-state calls. A 10-minute call costs $0.117 (out-of-state) or $0.091 (in-state). A 20-minute call costs $0.235 (out-of-state) or $0.182 (in-state). Note: the total charged gets rounded up to the nearest cent.

1. Create your ICSolutions account - Use ICSolutions’ Illinois IDOC facilities page to start the sign-up process.
2. Follow the Big Muddy River instructions - The same page provides facility-specific steps, so you can match your account setup to Big Muddy River’s process.
3. Get set up before the switch completes - Setting up early helps you avoid delays once calls start routing through ICSolutions.