Find Inmates at Decatur Correctional Center

Decatur Correctional Center Overview

Decatur Correctional Center is operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections at 2310 East Mound Road in Decatur. It is a minimum-security female facility, and its population is sentenced state-prison custody rather than local pre-trial detention. The prison opened in January 2000 and received its first women in custody on January 24, 2000. The warden listed on the IDOC facility page is Jaclyn Thompson. People generally arrive here after conviction, sentencing, classification, and admission to state custody.

The facility has eight dormitory-style housing units. IDOC lists an operational capacity of 707 and a separate nursery operational capacity of 8. Operational capacity is bed-space capacity that includes health care, crisis, restricted housing, protective custody, and reception beds, measured in a capacity census the state conducted in August 2022. Because the population number after the "Population" label was not exposed in the captured source lines, no current head count is stated here.

Decatur Correctional Center Capacity and Population

The capacity figures come straight from the IDOC facility page. The prison carries an operational capacity of 707 beds, with a small nursery capacity of 8 that reflects its role as a facility for women, including a parenting program. The state did not expose a current population number in the reviewed source, so this page lists only the capacity figures it can cite.

For statewide population reporting and annual figures, the IDOC reports-and-statistics page is the official source, since the prison does not publish a live count the way a jail roster does. The state also reported an average annual cost per individual of $72,581 for fiscal year 2022, a figure that reflects the cost of housing one person in state custody rather than the size of the population.

Keep this capacity in perspective against the county jail downtown. A jail count rises and falls daily as people are booked and released, while a prison population shifts more slowly through sentencing, transfer, parole, and discharge. The 707-bed operational capacity here is a state planning figure, not a same-day census, and it should not be read as the number of women held on any given date.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Decatur Correctional Center

The correct tool for a state prisoner is the IDOC Individual in Custody Search, not the county roster. It searches by last name, IDOC number, or birthdate, and returns a selectable list of matches when a name is common. The result profile shows the parent institution and location, so it confirms whether a person is held at Decatur Correctional Center.

1. Open the IDOC Individual in Custody Search.
2. Choose a search method: Last Name, IDOC Number, or Birthdate.
3. Enter the value, such as a last name or an IDOC number like K01234, and submit.
4. Open a match to confirm the location and read the sentencing and status details.

The embedded IDOC search form, with its Last Name, IDOC Number, and Birthdate options, is shown below.

A state profile may show front and side photos, parent institution, offender status, location, physical profile, admission and projected parole dates, and sentencing information. If a person was arrested in Macon County but not yet sentenced, they may still be on the county jail roster instead.

Decatur Correctional Center Address and Contact

The prison sits on the east side of Decatur, separate from the downtown jail. Use the facility phone for visitation and custody questions, and route mail to the addresses in the next section. The IDOC public information office handles broader records questions for state custody.

For custody-status alerts on a state case, IDOC profiles link to VINELink Illinois, which sends notifications about a person in custody.

VINELink is a notification tool rather than a replacement for the IDOC locator, so use it alongside the official search rather than in place of it.

Visiting Someone at Decatur Correctional Center

Prison visitation works differently from a county jail. Visitors must follow the IDOC Visitation Rules and Information, and they must sign up in advance for Decatur Correctional Center through the facility's scheduling page. Video visitation runs on a set daily schedule, and visitors should log on early to be ready for the start time.

Visitors should log on 15 minutes before a scheduled video start, and in-person visits require advance registration through the facility's sign-up system. Approval and IDOC rules apply, so confirm the schedule before traveling.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Decatur Correctional Center

State prison communication and deposits use IDOC vendors, not the county jail's JailATM or HomeWAV. Mail is addressed to the individual in custody by name and IDOC number at the facility. The state profile pages display payment and contact links for JPay, Western Union, and GTL, which handle deposits and phone services for state prisoners.

Because vendor steps and fees are set by IDOC and its providers, confirm the current process on the official IDOC contact pages before sending mail or funds. These systems are entirely separate from the county jail's JailATM and HomeWAV services, so an account or deposit set up for a person in the Macon County Jail does not carry over once they enter state prison. Each move between custody systems means setting up contact and money again with the new provider.

Admission and Classification at Decatur Correctional Center

There is no street-arrest booking at a state prison. A woman arrives at Decatur Correctional Center only after a conviction and sentence in a county court, followed by intake into the state system. IDOC handles reception and classification, sets the parent institution, and records sentencing details such as the mittimus, offense class, custody date, and projected parole and discharge dates.

This is why a relative who was arrested in Macon County may first appear on the county jail roster and only later in the IDOC locator. The transfer runs one direction for most people: a local arrest and booking come first, and a prison sentence moves the record into state custody. Someone still awaiting trial belongs on the Macon County Jail roster instead.

About Decatur Correctional Center

Decatur Correctional Center is built around programs for women, with a stated mission to help individuals strengthen ties with their children and families. Its programs address medical, social, psychological, and educational needs and aim to prepare people for re-entry. Captured program examples include Family Connections Visitations, Parent and Child Together Video Conferencing, and youthful-offender counseling and support groups. The nursery capacity reflects that family focus, since the facility allows a small number of mothers to care for an infant on site while serving a sentence. These programs are part of what sets a minimum-security women's prison apart from a county jail down the road.

The facility is governed by Illinois corrections law rather than the county jail standards that apply downtown. Detailed conditions data beyond the official facility page was not reviewed for this build, so this page reports only the sourced facts. For sentencing and custody specifics on any one person, the IDOC locator profile is the authoritative record.