TYPE OF MAIL ALLOWED FOR the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services
The purpose of these rules are not to make life difficult for you or to ‘punish’ incarcerated inmates further, but are here for the safety and security of all the inmates and staff who reside and work in what can be a very dangerous place.
For the time being, Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services is still allowing inmates to receive physical mail, however many jails and prisons around the country are starting to go full-on digital; only allowing electronic messages and digital images to be accessible by inmates through kiosks or jail provided handheld devices.
All Cook County Jail Inmates are made aware of the following Rules and Policies and for your benefit these are posted here.
Many items that are needed by inmates that you may want to mail but can’t, can be purchased directly from the Cook County Jail’s Commissary. Even indigent inmates, those without any funds, are provided basic hygiene items and other items necessary for their physical and mental health.
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services Inmates are allowed mail in envelopes and on postcards.
They are also allowed to receive books and magazines, but only a maximum of three per mailing. Newspapers are not allowed.
Mailing Address:
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
The following is a list of PROHIBITED items:
If any of these items are mailed to an inmate in the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services, they will be returned intact to the sender (provided there is a return address) and the inmate will NOT be notified.
Read and follow this list carefully. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy.
If any of these items are found in the mail sent to an inmate, everything in the envelope or package will be returned to the sender and the inmate will NOT be notified.
Any mail that has any perfume, oil, sticky substance or anything other the the original paper or the original condition of the item, will be returned along with everything else in the envelope or parcel.
You the sender may obtain a review of returned items by writing to the Department of Corrections within 10 days of receipt of a Notice of Returned Mail and stating your objections, to the following address:
Mail Rejection
Cook County Department of Corrections
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
The staff of the Cook County Correcions reserves the right to add to this list of prohibited items at any time.
By law, every inmate is entitled to receive mail delivered through the United State Postal Service. While for years, this mail was always delivered in the form of a letter or a postcard from friends and loved ones directly to the inmate, the definition of inmate mail has changed a bit.
Inmate mail can be:
• A letter in an envelope,
• A postcard,
• A greeting card, or
• A digital letter
Because of security and contraband concerns, mainly the paper and envelope that a letter is written on or enclosed in, being soaked in a liquid form of drugs, many jails are increasingly limiting the type of mail inmates can get.
Some still allow regular mail in an envelope with a stamp, but many now have the letter sent to a third-party that opens the letter, scans it and the envelope into a computer, emails the letter to the jail where they print it out, giving the photocopies to the inmate, or they send it to a computer kiosk or tablet digitally that the inmate can access.
Others only allow postcards, specifically the white, pre-stamped postcards that you can purchase from the post office.
When greeting cards are allowed, they can’t be cards with glitter, music or other do-dads. They can only be plain paper cards.
Some jails, in fact most, require that mail be written or typed with only black or blue ink. Some allow black pencils to be used.
None allow crayons, markers, lipstick prints, etc.
All require white envelopes, white paper or lined paper such as from a pad. Very few allow paper that is card stock. It must be plain white, 20-lb. printer paper.
To see the inmate mail policies for Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services check out the inmate mail details above or call the jail at 773-674-7100 for specific information.
There are five different types of addresses for every jail:
1. The physical address of the jail
2. The mailing address for an inmate’s personal mail
3. The mailing address for the inmate’s legal mail
4. The mailing address for the jail’s administrative staff
5. The mailing address for sending money to the inmate’s trust or commissary fund
Visit the Inmate Money page for this information
In general, the only three addresses that friends and family of inmates need to be concerned about are:
• The inmate address for personal mail.
• The address for sending money orders to the inmate’s commissary account.
Visit the Inmate Money page for this information.
• The physical address of the jail.
Because this section is about mailing an inmate, the address for mailing an inmate is:
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services
3026 South California Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
If the red address is visible, then use that address, as that is the new address the jail is using for an inmate's personal mail to combat contraband entering the facility.
To mail a letter to an inmate in the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services, first completely read all the mail policies and guidelines that are on this page. Also read any updated mail guidelines that are on the official page for facility. If you still have questions, then call the jail at 773-674-7100 and ask specifics.
It is important to understand that if even one thing is done incorrectly when sending a letter to the jail, even if everything else is done correctly, then your letter will not be delivered to the inmate. In fact, even though the jail claims they will mail your letter back to you so that you will know it was not delivered, there is always the chance it will be disposed of.
So here you are at home, wondering why your inmate is not responding to your letter, when in fact, they may not have even received it.
All mail to the inmate must be addressed as follows:
A full return address, which includes your full name and full address. Without this the mail will not be delivered to the inmate.
A complete address to the inmate, including:
Full Name (name that they were booked under)
Inmate ID# (booking #, SO #, etc.)
Inmate’s Housing location (if you know it)
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip code
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
A letter that is not addressed completely may not get delivered. Keep in mind that often there is more than one inmate in a jail with the same name. You certainly don’t want the wrong inmate getting your private mail, do you?
Sometimes. There are some jails that will deliver you a notification that a letter which was intended for you was returned because it was either improperly addressed, did not have return address, contained contraband of some sort, had things written in it that were against mail and jail policies, or were sent by someone you were not allowed contact with such as co-defendant or someone the court had forbidden contact with such as a spouse in a domestic violence case.
Most of the time though, the letter is either returned or destroyed, and if there are illegal substances in the letter, it will be turned over to the Cook County Sheriff or District Attorney for possible criminal investigation and/or indictment.
Generally nothing but a letter, printouts from a computer printer or photographs can be sent to an inmate in the mail. If there is anything else enclosed, the entire letter and the contents will be returned to you or destroyed.
There are a few exceptions to this, such as several county jails in New York, including the infamous Riker’s Island. Riker’s allows all kinds of things to be mailed to an inmate, including a box of items every month.
Every jail has their own policy regarding allowing inmates to receive photographs in the mail, if at all. For Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services’s policy, review the information on this page.
In general, most jails allow an inmate to have anywhere from four to six photographs in their possession at any one time. These cannot be polaroids, and the photos cannot be construed as even mildly sexual (such as a woman or child in a bathing suit), gang related, drug related or violent.
Some jails allow only photocopied photos.
Some jails only allow photos that are sent digitally and must remain digital.
There are only a few jails that do not allow any photos of any kind.
If you are still uncertain as the policy regarding photographs at this facility, call them at 773-674-7100.
Most jails allow newspapers, magazines and books to be sent to an inmate, if they come directly from the publisher, such as directly from the newspaper or magazine themselves, or from the specific book publisher or trusted mail order source such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
There is often a limit of the quantity of books and magazines an inmate can either receive at one time, receive each month, or have in their possession at any one time.
Hardcover books, or books with wire spiral binders are never allowed.
Any publications that portray or discuss violence, sex, gang activity, drugs, jail escapes or anything else against jail policies are not allowed and will be returned.
The policy of the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services should be detailed on this page. However, if it is not, then call the jail at 773-674-7100 and ask.
Keep in mind that the address the publications should be mailed to is not always the mailing address of where the inmate gets their regular mail, the mail that is scanned and forwarded digitally to them.
The mailing address for publications is:
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services
3026 South California Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
Use the address in red if it is visible to you.
NOTE: There are a few New York jails that allow publications to be sent directly to them as opposed to having it sent through the publisher. One of the most notable exceptions is Riker’s Island in New York City.
There is no limit to how often you can send letters or cards to an inmate. You are only limited to the types of letters and cards that you can send, considering Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services’s policies, which are outlined on this page.
An inmate can mail letters as often as they like. There is no limit to the number of letters that an inmate can write and send. They are only limited by the number of stamps they can afford to purchase through commissary, and the amount of commissary spend that the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services allows.
Contraband is defined as anything that the jail does not allow to be mailed to an inmate, which is just about everything. The list would fill ten sets of encyclopedias.
It easier to say what is allowed to be sent through the mail:
• When allowed, a certain number of photographs.
• When allowed, newspapers, magazines and books, if they are sent from a publisher.
• When allowed, a care package of snacks, hygiene products or clothing from a commissary company that has contracted with the jail.
Some jails allow printouts of photographs and information to be sent to an inmate through the mail. Refer to the mail policy on this page or by calling the jail directly at 773-674-7100.
Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.
You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with.
Check this page, the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 773-674-7100 to see which one that the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services works with.
Here are the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, that provide this service to jails in the United States:
Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct
The only gifts you can send an inmate must come from one of the stores above, and Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services must contract with them.
If the item that you send an inmate is illegal, then you and/or your inmate can get in trouble, otherwise if it is not illegal, it will just be destroyed or in some cases, returned to you.
Note that if you continue to send items that are considered contraband, some of your communication privileges with your inmate, such as visitation or phone calls, may be suspended.
No, you cannot send postage stamps. Stamps must be purchased by the inmate through commissary. You can send them the money for stamps, but not the stamps.
Stamps can be purchased in the jail commissary be the inmate.
Yes. If an inmate is indigent, the jail will provide them 2-3 stamps, and an equal amount of envelopes and stationery each week.
Yes. If you send the inmate drugs, a weapon or anything illegal, it will be turned over to the Cook County Sheriff or District Attorney and it is most likely that you will be prosecuted.
How Do You Fill Out an Envelope Mailed to an Inmate in the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services?
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
All mail sent to an inmate at the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services must include the senders name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and discarded.
Policies Regarding Mailing Photos to Inmates in the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services allows:
Inmate Mail Tips
(Scroll down for Video Visitation instructions)
As long as there is a threat of inmates getting sick from COVID or other pandemic related illness, the following rules will be in affect for all inmates and their visitors:
Once regular in-person visitation returns in 2023, the following will link you to the actual visitation schedules for each Cook County Jail Division:
Video Visitation is done using Microsoft Teams Group Chat Software.
There are five ways to deposit money in an inmate's account in the Cook County Jail Corrections System:
In order to do any of these you need to know the exact name the inmate was booked under, and the booking number.
If you can't find the inmate and booking number online, call the Records Office at 773-674-2390.
Each week, an individual in custody can purchase up to $100 worth of clothing & supplies, and also $100 worth of food items.
1. Online or Telephone Deposits - Note that it my take up to two business days for the funds to show up in the inmate's account.
JailATM - You need to first register with JailATM in order to look up your inmate's name and booking number and deposit money into their trust fund account. They charge a small fee every time you make a deposit. If you have questions or prefer to use their phone service in order to deposit money, call them at 870-627-5476.
Western Union - First, you need to know the exact spelling of the inmate's name and booking number.
You also need to know these codes: The City Code is: CCDOC or COOK COUNTY DEPT CORRECTION
State Code is: ILLINOIS
Money Gram - First, you need to know the exact spelling of the inmate's name, AND their booking number.
You will also have to know the Receive Code, which is 1750.
For questions, concerns or to add funds via Money Gram over the phone, call 800-225-5227
2. Currency Exchange Facilities -
Deposit funds in-person at Currency Exchanges that offer Western Union or Money Gram services.
Codes:
Western Union
City Code: CCDOC or COOK COUNTY DEPT CORRECTION
State: ILLINOIS
Money Gram
Receive Code: 1750
JailATM
Visit JailATM to register or call 870-627-5476
3. Mailing a Payment -
* Money orders - $100 maximum
* Cashiers Checks - $1,000 maximum
When sending an inmate money by mail, the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services will only accept:
If you want to send more you can, but you need to send multiple checks that do not exceed the maximum amounts listed above.
**Important Notes**
Mailing Address:
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
4. Dropping off a payment at a Kiosk - $300 maximum
When dropping off an inmate's money in person, the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services will only accept.
These Kiosks are ATM machines that are managed by JailATM.
JailATM Locations at the Cook County Jail to drop off inmate money:
The following is the procedure to pick-up money from an incarcerated male or female inmate’s money account, regardless of which Cook County Jail they were in:
Once an inmate is released, they can go to the following address, and as long as they can present a government issued picture ID, they can get the balance of their Trust Fund Account issued to them.
Division 5
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
Hours: 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
If they don't have an ID, the balance will be mailed to the address that Cook County Corrections has on file.
If they are being released to another facility, upon request, the balance will be sent there.
Letters can be mailed to:
Cook County Department of Corrections
Trust/Finance Office – Individual in Custody Trust Fund
Division 5 Second Floor
2700 S California Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
If you have any questions, call the Trust/Finance Office at 773-674-6864.
For more information, including fees, more detailed instructions, deposit limits, type of items available to purchase, and more, check out our Inmate Money page.
Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services Inmates are allowed mail in envelopes and on postcards. They are also allowed to receive photos.
They are also allowed to receive books and magazines, but not newspapers.
Mailing Address:
NAME:
BOOKING #:
2700 S. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
To learn all the rules, policies and guidelines, and they are extensive, for sending anything in the mail to an inmate at any of the Cook County Jails, check out our Inmate Mail Page.
Follow these instructions on how to open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)
For full instructions on the Cook County Jail - Women's Justice Services Inmate Phone System, what the costs are, how it works, and tips and guidelines on rules, regulations and saving money on calls, check out our Inmate Phones Page.
