If someone you love is locked up in Illinois, video can save you a brutal drive. Most of the people in Illinois prisons come from the Chicago area, but a lot of the prisons sit hours south, downstate. Menard is the better part of a six-hour drive from Chicago. For a family without a car or a free weekend, a video visit isn't a luxury, it's the only realistic way to see a face.
But video in Illinois is not one system. It depends on where the person is being held. The state prison system (IDOC) runs the long-term facilities. County and city jails, run by sheriffs, handle people awaiting trial or serving short time. And federal and immigration custody play by their own rules, which in Illinois are unusual. Figure out which bucket your person is in first, because everything else flows from that.
Do Illinois state prisons offer video visitation?
Yes. IDOC offers both in-person and video visits at its correctional centers. In-person visiting resumed after the pandemic shutdown and is back at facilities statewide. Video is offered alongside it at nearly all IDOC facilities, with one notable exception: the Adult Transition Centers (ATCs), the work-release and reentry facilities, which are not on the video system.
The vendor is ICSolutions. IDOC moved its video visitation from GTL (now ViaPath) over to ICSolutions across all facilities except the ATCs, so even if you set up an account with the old provider years ago, you register with ICSolutions now. When you create your ICSolutions account, you can enter your old GTL Visitor ID to speed up approval, but the active system is ICSolutions.
Whether the visit is in person or video, the rules are the same on the front end: you must be on the incarcerated person's approved visitor list, and you need a valid photo ID. Get added to the list first, then register and schedule.
A note on who can visit in Illinois
Illinois has a specific rule worth knowing before you get your hopes up. If a prospective visitor has a criminal conviction or pending charges, including someone out on bond, on parole, on mandatory supervised release, on probation, or a formerly incarcerated person, they can only visit with the written approval of the facility's Chief Administrative Officer. If you're currently on parole or probation, you need written approval from both that officer and your own parole or probation agent. This trips up a lot of families, so handle it early rather than getting turned away.
County and city jails
This is where most day-to-day video visiting in Illinois happens, and it varies wildly because each sheriff picks their own setup.
Cook County is the giant. The Cook County Department of Corrections, one of the largest single-site jails in the country, runs its family video visits through Microsoft Teams rather than a traditional corrections vendor. The process: your loved one adds you to their visitation list, then Cook County staff contact you to schedule a day and time, and you connect through a Teams account tied to your email. Cook County offers both in-person and video.
Outside Cook County, the more typical pattern is a corrections vendor. Lake County uses Securus. Many downstate and collar counties also run Securus, where you register, schedule at least 24 hours ahead, and do onsite visits at the jail or remote visits from home for a fee. Other counties use GettingOut/ViaPath, ICSolutions, HomeWAV, or smaller providers.
The vendor is jail-specific. The company that works for one county won't be the one next door, and one warning saves people money and grief: accounts do not transfer between vendors. If your person moves from a Securus jail to a HomeWAV jail, your funds and account don't follow. You set up fresh with the new vendor.
How county jail video visitation usually works
There are two flavors, and the difference is the whole ballgame for your wallet.
Onsite (or "onsite video") means you drive to the jail and sit at a video terminal in the lobby to talk to the person, who's on a screen inside. Some jails schedule these on set days, often two short visits a week. Onsite video is frequently free.
Remote video means you connect from your own phone, tablet, or computer at home. That convenience is what you pay for. Remote sessions are charged per session or per minute, and you typically have to register and reserve a slot at least a day in advance.
Illinois jail video rates shift around, partly because the FCC has been capping these rates through 2024 to 2026 and partly because every facility prices differently. I'm not going to print a per-minute number here, because by the time you read it, it'll be wrong. Look up the rate on your specific jail's vendor page before you pay. What's stable is the structure: onsite tends to be free, remote tends to cost, and there are usually advance-registration rules.
Setting up a video visit
The steps are roughly the same whichever vendor you're dealing with:
1. Find the vendor for that exact facility. For IDOC it's ICSolutions. For a county jail, check the sheriff's website, since it could be Microsoft Teams (Cook County), Securus, or something else. Don't guess.
2. Create an account and verify your identity with a photo ID. Vendors require you to confirm who you are. For ICSolutions, entering your old GTL Visitor ID can speed approval.
3. Add your inmate using their booking or ID number, and get on the approved visitor list. For IDOC that means the approved-visitor process, including the conviction-disclosure rule above; for Cook County, your loved one adds you and staff schedule with you; for other jails it's usually adding them in the vendor app.
4. Schedule your visit, choosing onsite or remote, and pay if it's a remote/paid session. Many jails require booking at least 24 hours ahead.
5. Test your device and log in early. Get on about 15 minutes ahead. Check your camera, microphone, speakers, and internet. A failed connection on your end usually still burns the visit slot.
Federal and immigration custody
If your person is in federal Bureau of Prisons custody, that's a separate system. The BOP runs primarily in-person visiting with only limited video, so use the BOP inmate locator to find the institution and check that facility's specific visiting rules.
Immigration custody in Illinois is genuinely different from most states, and you need to understand why. The Illinois Way Forward Act bans Illinois counties and local governments from holding or detaining people for ICE. Jails that used to take ICE detainees under federal contract, including McHenry, Kankakee, and Pulaski counties, had to end those agreements, and courts have upheld the ban. So you generally won't find someone sitting in an Illinois county jail on an immigration hold the way you would in other states.
What Illinois does have is the Broadview Processing Center, an ICE-operated facility used largely for processing and staging rather than long-term detention. People taken into ICE custody in Illinois are frequently transferred out of state to detention centers elsewhere, which means video and phone often become the only contact across a long distance. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, which needs the person's A-Number (the nine-digit alien registration number) or their name plus country of birth. Because transfers happen fast, check the locator often.
A note on staying connected
Video is good for one thing money can't really replace: seeing a face, watching a kid wave, reading an expression. In a state where your person might be six hours downstate or shipped to ICE detention two states over, that matters more than usual.
But be honest with yourself about what carries the weight day to day. Mail is the steadiest line there is. It doesn't drop the call, doesn't need a scheduled slot, and the person can hold it and read it again at 2 a.m. when the walls close in. Phone calls are the backbone of staying in touch, the thing you'll actually do most weeks. Video is the bonus on top, the face-to-face when you can get it. Build your routine around mail and calls, and treat video as the thing that makes the distance feel a little smaller.
Related pages:
/prisons/illinois
FCC 2026 call and video rate caps guide
Arrest Record Search (affiliate)
Frequently asked questions
Do Illinois state prisons offer video visits?
Yes. IDOC offers video at nearly all facilities, alongside in-person visits. The Adult Transition Centers (ATCs) are the main exception and aren't on the video system.
Is in-person visiting still allowed in Illinois?
Yes. In-person visiting resumed statewide after the pandemic shutdown and runs alongside video at IDOC facilities.
What vendor does IDOC use for video visits?
ICSolutions. You register and schedule through an ICSolutions friends-and-family account.
Why did IDOC switch from GTL to ICSolutions?
IDOC migrated video visitation from GTL (now ViaPath) to ICSolutions at all facilities except ATCs. You can enter your old GTL Visitor ID to speed approval.
How do I get on the approved visitor list?
You must be added to the incarcerated person's approved list and show valid photo ID. Get added before you try to register or schedule.
Can people with records visit in Illinois?
Only with written approval. A visitor with a conviction, pending charges, or on parole/probation needs the Chief Administrative Officer's written approval, and parolees also need their agent's approval.
What vendor does Cook County Jail use?
Cook County runs family video visits through Microsoft Teams, not a traditional corrections vendor. Your loved one adds you and staff schedule the visit.
How do Cook County video visits work?
Your loved one adds your name to their list, Cook County staff contact you to set a time, and you connect via a Microsoft Teams account tied to your email.
Are county jail video visits free?
Sometimes. Onsite video at the jail is often free. Remote video from home is usually charged per session or minute, and Cook County's Teams visits have their own setup.
What is onsite vs remote video visiting?
Onsite means you go to the jail and use a terminal there, usually free. Remote means you connect from your own device at home, which typically costs money.
Do vendor accounts transfer between jails?
No. Accounts and funds don't move between vendors. If your person transfers to a jail using a different company, you set up a new account with that vendor.
How do I find which facility someone is in?
Use the IDOC individual search for state custody, the county jail roster for local custody, and the BOP locator for federal. Confirm before scheduling, since people move.
Can Illinois jails hold ICE detainees?
Generally no. The Illinois Way Forward Act bars Illinois counties from holding people for ICE, and former contracts in counties like McHenry and Pulaski were ended.
How do I find someone in ICE custody?
Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. You'll need the person's A-Number, or their full name plus country of birth. Check often, since ICE transfers people out of state.
Is video the only way to see an inmate?
It depends on the facility. Many IDOC facilities and county jails offer both in-person and video, but for distant facilities or after a transfer, video may be your only realistic option.
What do I need to set up a video visit?
The right vendor for that facility, a verified account with a photo ID, the inmate's booking or ID number, approval to be on the list, and a tested device with good internet. ====================================================================