Jacksonville Correctional Center Overview
Jacksonville Correctional Center is operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections at 2268 East Morton Avenue in Jacksonville. It is a minimum-security prison for adult men, all of them already sentenced, which sets it apart from the Morgan County Jail and its mix of pre-trial detainees. The facility's stated mission is custody, care, and safety for the men held there, along with skills for a more successful return to the community, serving both first-time and repeat individuals in custody.
The prison opened in October 1984, the same year the county jail downtown was built, but the two should never be merged. One is a state prison reached through the statewide locator, the other a county jail reached by phone. Because Jacksonville Correctional Center is a minimum-security men's facility, it does not hold newly arrested people, women, juveniles, or county pre-trial detainees.
Jacksonville Correctional Center Capacity and Population
State figures give the prison an operational capacity of 1,628. As of June 30, 2024, it held 460 people at the Jacksonville site. A broader state count of 551 folds in two work camps that use Jacksonville for business and mail processing but sit outside Morgan County, so the on-site Jacksonville number is the one that describes the local facility.
State data also listed an average annual cost of about 60,000 dollars per individual in custody for an earlier fiscal year, a reminder that prison operations are state-funded and state-run. The large gap between the 1,628 operational capacity and the 460 people on site reflects how the state assigns and moves people across the whole prison system rather than anything specific to Morgan County. The capacity figure describes the building, while the population figure is a point-in-time count tied to its June 30, 2024 date, so both should be read with their source date attached rather than treated as a fixed number.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Jacksonville Correctional Center
To find someone at Jacksonville Correctional Center, use the Illinois Department of Corrections Individual in Custody Search, not the county jail. The locator searches the whole state system, so a person sentenced from Morgan County will appear under a state number and a current facility once they are processed. Search by last name, state number, or birthdate.
- Open the statewide Individual in Custody Search on the corrections website.
- Choose to search by last name, state ID number, or birthdate.
- Confirm the current facility on the person's profile, since placement can change.
- Open the profile for status, sentence, and projected parole or discharge dates.
A broad last-name search can return a long list, since the locator covers the whole state, so narrowing by first name or the state ID number gets to the right person faster. The results list shows the state number, birthdate, and name, and the current facility appears only after you open an individual profile. A printer-friendly version of a profile is available, with an option to include or leave out the photo.
State profiles also link victims to a custody-notification service, so a person can move from a profile to release alerts. That service, VINELink, is shown below.
VINELink is best for release and transfer notifications, and it does not replace the state locator for a basic inmate search.
Jacksonville Correctional Center Address and Contact
The prison sits on the east side of Jacksonville, away from the downtown county complex. Use the facility line for general questions, and the state corrections website for visitation scheduling and deposit rules.
Jacksonville Correctional Center
2268 East Morton Avenue
Jacksonville, IL 62650
(217) 245-1481
State prison, searched through the IDOC locator
Visiting Someone at Jacksonville Correctional Center
State prison visits follow corrections rules, not county jail rules, and they require approval and scheduling. The facility's own rules allow seven visits per month, but only three of those may fall on weekends, holidays, or state-observed holidays. Video visits are scheduled through the state's video vendor rather than by calling the prison, and all visits are monitored. The table sums up the main limits.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Monthly visit limit | Seven visits per month |
| Weekend and holiday limit | Only three of the seven may be on weekends or holidays |
| Video visits | Scheduled through the ICSolutions website, not by calling the prison |
| Advance scheduling | At least 7 days ahead, up to 30 days ahead |
| Visitor count | No more than three approved visitors per video visit |
| Monitoring | All visits are subject to monitoring and recording |
The video rules are specific. Statewide, a general-population or protective-custody person may have one video visit per day and no more than two per week, and each counts against the monthly allotment. Only visitors actually scheduled may appear on a video visit, and a visitor should check for open dates and times before scheduling, since a requested slot is not guaranteed. Visits can be limited or cancelled for behavior, facility operations, or lockdown conditions, so confirm an approved schedule before traveling.
Mail, Phone, and Money at Jacksonville Correctional Center
Mail and money for a state prison follow state vendors, which differ from the county jail. Both business mail and mail to a person in custody go to 2268 East Morton Avenue, but mail to an individual must include that person's name and state ID number. State profiles link deposit and communication vendors, and the corrections deposit-services page carries the current fees and rules.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Individual name and state ID number, 2268 East Morton Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650 |
| Phone and Video | State vendors, with video scheduled through ICSolutions |
| Money Deposit | State deposit-services vendors such as JPay, Western Union, and GTL |
Note: include the state ID number on mail and deposits, since a state prison record is keyed to that number rather than a county booking number.
Reception and Classification at Jacksonville Correctional Center
A state prison does not book people off the street. A person reaches Jacksonville Correctional Center only after a conviction and a prison sentence. The court issues sentencing paperwork, state corrections takes custody, assigns a state ID number if the person does not already have one, and classifies them through reception. Placement is decided by the state, so a Morgan County defendant is not automatically sent to this prison just because it sits in the same county.
That is the key contrast with the local jail. People held in the Morgan County Jail are mostly waiting on a case, and only after sentencing does custody move into the state system. The right lookup follows the person: county channels before sentencing, the statewide locator after.
About Jacksonville Correctional Center
Jacksonville Correctional Center frames its work around reintegration, with the state describing services aimed at helping men build skills for life after release. State corrections systemwide offers adult education, vocational training, chaplaincy, health care, and mental-health services, though the specific program roster at any one prison is set by the department rather than listed in full on a single page. The facility's minimum-security status reflects the population it holds. The Jacksonville count also connects to two state work camps, at Greene County and Pittsfield, that use Jacksonville for business and mail processing but sit outside Morgan County, which is why the broader state total runs higher than the on-site number.
For a basic search, none of this changes the tool. Whether you want custody status, a sentence detail, or a release projection, the statewide locator is the source, and the county jail line cannot answer for a state prisoner. The broader split between county and state custody is covered on the jail inmate records page.
Note: Confirm custody and an approved visit schedule through state corrections before traveling to Jacksonville Correctional Center, since placement and rules can change.