Sending and Receiving Mail at Menard: Timelines, Privileged Mail, Publications, and Certified Mail

Under IDOC rules, incoming and outgoing letters shouldn't be held longer than 48 hours - weekends, state holidays, and emergencies don't count toward that clock. Outgoing mail gets collected Monday through Friday (except state holidays), with the goal of reaching the U.S. Postal Service the same day. If a letter feels stuck, the usual culprits are weekend or holiday timing, or a delay during processing and inspection.

Packages follow a similar rule but with a longer window: 72 hours max, excluding weekends, holidays, and emergencies. Because packages require additional processing before delivery, they often feel slower - even when the facility is meeting that 72-hour standard.

Privileged Definition

• ✓ The Director
• ✓ Assistant Director
• ✓ Chiefs and Deputy Directors of the Department
• ✓ Department attorneys

Non-privileged mail gets handled differently. All incoming non-privileged mail - including mail from clerks of courts - can be opened and inspected for contraband. Outgoing mail must be left unsealed when collected or dropped in housing unit mailboxes, unless it qualifies as privileged.

1. Assume sealed non-privileged mail will be opened - if it isn’t privileged, sealed mail is opened under the rules.
2. Expect a return if staff can identify the sender - when the sender’s identity can be determined, the opened sealed non-privileged mail is returned.
3. Know the risk if the sender can’t be identified - if the sender’s identity cannot be determined, the mail can be destroyed.

Where publications come from matters. People in custody can only receive books, magazines, periodicals, and catalogs directly from the publisher or from an approved visitor. Anything else that counts as a "package" typically needs approval from the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) before it can be accepted.

If your loved one needs to send certified or registered mail from Menard, the facility handles it through procedures coordinated with the local post office. That arrangement is what makes it possible to process certified and registered pieces from inside.

• ✓ Sufficient funds in the person’s trust fund account
• ✓ A signed money voucher attached to the envelope so the proper postage can be applied and deducted

Quick Faq and Reader Tips

• ✓ Letters aren’t supposed to be held more than 48 hours, excluding weekends, holidays, and emergencies.
• ✓ Packages (if allowed) aren’t supposed to be held more than 72 hours, excluding weekends, holidays, and emergencies.
• ✓ Books, magazines, and catalogs must come directly from the publisher or from an approved visitor.
• ✓ Other packages generally require CAO approval, and all packages are opened and searched.
• ✓ For certified/registered mail sent out by someone incarcerated: they’ll need enough trust-fund money and a signed money voucher attached to the envelope.