Mailing Letters and Photos to Someone at Southwestern Illinois: How IDOC Scans and Delivers Mail
Sending letters or photos to someone at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center? Here's the key thing to know: IDOC now digitizes most incoming mail. This changes what you should send, how your loved one receives it, and what happens to the originals.
IDOC scans (and sometimes photocopies) incoming non-privileged mail to prevent harmful substances from entering facilities through paper. You can still send letters, cards, and photos - they just get processed differently now.
Letters, greeting cards, drawings, and photos all go through scanning and get delivered to tablets. Standard mail rules still apply though - anything that would've been rejected before will still be rejected now.
A few categories skip the scanning process. Publications aren't scanned, and neither are photos sent directly from photo printing companies. There's also a new publications rule taking effect September 30, 2025: after that date, all publications must come directly from the publisher - visitors won't be able to drop off books or magazines at facilities. For photos, here's an important exception: original photographs mailed directly from a photo printing vendor with the vendor's watermark or logo will be delivered as-is, unless they violate other mail rules.
Here's how it works: mailroom staff scan each piece of non-privileged mail in color - front and back of the envelope, plus every item inside. Letters, cards, photos - all of it. The scanned images become PDFs uploaded to the person's Bulletin Board, and they get a notification to download and view everything on their tablet.
Scanning is free - no cost to you or your loved one. But here's what you need to plan for: IDOC doesn't return originals after scanning. If you're sending something irreplaceable - a handwritten letter, a child's drawing, a special card - make a copy to send and keep the original at home.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Put the individual’s IDOC number near their name on the envelope, and on each page, photo, or document you include to help it move through processing faster.
- ✓ Stick to items that are accepted for scanning: letters, greeting cards, drawings, and photos.
- ✓ Remember that publications are not scanned, and photos sent directly from photo printing service companies are listed as not being scanned.
- ✓ If you want to keep an “original” version for yourself, send a copy - original mail documents aren’t returned after scanning.
Heads up: Starting September 30, 2025, publications must come directly from the publisher - no more visitor drop-offs. Original photos printed by a vendor with their watermark or logo can still be delivered as originals, as long as they don't violate other mail rules.
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