McLean County Detention Center Remote Inmate Video Visits

McLean County Bail Bond Information

Because McLean County and Illinois can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the McLean County Detention Center at 309-888-5065, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, and do this right after an arrestee has been booked. 

Ask the staff at the McLean County Detention Center or the McLean County Court Clerk these specific questions:

1. Is the defendant eligible for bail or a bond?
2. How much will the bail or bond be, and what are the additional fees?
3. Where do I go to pay it?
4. Are there any days or times of the day or night when I cannot post bail?
5. What types of payment are allowed? Cash? Money order? Credit card? What types of credit cards? Property or other collateral? Surety bonds?
6. Do I have to use a bail or bond agent?

If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released. 

This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.

McLean County Detention Center Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The McLean County Detention Center allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes
The McLean County Detention Center also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Jail, Illinois
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Legal Mail

Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Detention Center
104 West Front Street
Bloomington, IL 61702

Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The McLean County Detention Center allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address below.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the McLean County Detention Center standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.

All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Detention Center
104 West Front Street
Bloomington, IL 61702

TextBehind enables you to communicate with your incarcerated loved ones located inside the United States from anywhere in the world using text letters, kids' drawings, and custom greeting cards. Unlimited inmate reply letters are processed for electronic delivery to your smartphone and email at no extra charge.
The cost to send an electronic letter is approximately $1.00.

Here’s how it works for McLean County Detention Center:
1.    All offender mail (paper and electronic) is addressed and delivered to TextBehind. Electronic mail is sent through the apps (iphone, Google Play). Paper mail is sent to the address below:
Inmate Name and Inmate Number
McLean County Detention Center Illinois (note: please do not abbreviate the name)
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131
2.    If it was sent via TextBehind's app (iphone, Google Play), TextBehind can process it within one business day.
3.    An additional step is involved in processing mail that is sent using the U.S. Postal Service. TextBehind will  use a scanner to make digital files of the contents of the mailing—including cards, photos or artwork.
4.    All digital files are then forwarded to the offender’s assigned prison.
5.    McLean County Detention Center mailroom prints approved pages and delivers them to the inmate.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• TextBehind does not deliver any mail to the inmate directly, nor do they guarantee delivery of your letters to the inmates by the courier, jail or prison staff. Once they process your mail and ship them out on your behalf, they are out of the loop entirely. However, at times they may offer to resend your letters under certain strict conditions as a courtesy. 
• Inmates do not receive any invites when you add them, and neither do they need to accept the use of TextBehind service. Once you add the inmate, you can create letters for them. 

Here’s what happens when TextBehind receives a letter from an inmate:

• Upon receiving, TextBehind staff open their letters, scan, and upload high-quality images to your TextBehind account as a complimentary service. You are not required to have any money or credits balance in your TextBehind account to receive inmate letters.
• Next, you will receive a text and email alert to notify you of any new incoming reply letters. At that time, you can log into the TextBehind website or mobile app and view letters in your CONTACTS >> Click on Conversation Icon. 

YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS...

• Inmates do require a stamp to send out their letters to TextBehind using Postal Service.
• The cash or credit balance from your TextBehind account will not be shared with inmates as a substitute for the stamps. 
• All letters printed and shipped by TextBehind nationwide to virtually any jail or prison facility are delivered to the jails/prisons by couriers such as the USPS or FedEx as their standard process.
• After the shipments, TextBehind has no control over the process.
• The delivery of your letters depends on couriers and prison staff taking necessary action on time.

IMPORTANT TextBehind LINKS:
Register / Log in with TextBehind
Contact TextBehind with Questions
Add an Inmate to your list of Contacts

** Address to Mail letters using TextBehind **
Inmate Name and Inmate Number
McLean County Detention Center Illinois (note: please do not abbreviate the name)
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Why is TextBehind used by Lockups?
Due to the problem of letters and postcards containing, or soaked in contraband (drugs), TextBehind electronic and physical letters is replacing the former policy of allowing mail to be sent directly from inmate’s friends and family members, and vice versa.

How to Send Money to an Inmate in McLean County

To send commissary money to an inmate in McLean County Detention Center follow these steps:

• Register with Access Corrections by creating an account.
• 
• Select Illinois, then select McLean County Detention Center, and then the inmate you want to send money to.
• Choose the amount of money you want to send, and input your payment method.

For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for McLean County Detention Center.

Depositing Money for Communicating with an Inmate

How to Make a Deposit for Phone, Email or Visitation using GettingOut.com

McLean County Detention Center uses GettingOut for some or all of its communication services with an inmate.

If you want to deposit money using this company for your use or your inmate's account, there are four ways to do it:

• Online - They accept all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
• At the McLean County Detention Center using the kiosk in the jail lobby - (cash, debit or credit card) NOTE - McLean County Detention Center may require identity verification so bring your driver’s license or some other form of ID.
• By phone by calling 866-516-0115 - They have bi-lingual operators are standing by 24 hours 7 days a week to assist you with your deposit. Major credit cards accepted are Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
• By using their app, either Android or iphone. - All credit cards mentioned above are accepted.

For all the information you need to know, including tips, guidelines and warnings about depositing money in a McLean County Detention Center inmate's account for communication services, check out our Send Money page.

How Inmates Can Use a Tablet to Access Services at McLean County Detention Center

To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:

1.  First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL

2.  Purchase the services you want for your McLean County Detention Center inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.

To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.

How to Communicate with an McLean County Detention Center Inmate by Mail and by Email

To mail or email an inmate in McLean County follow these steps:

When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:

• All mail sent to an inmate at the McLean County Detention Center must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
• All mail must include the facility's address, as well as the inmate's name and assigned number.
• Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
• The McLean County Detention Center has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations. 
• All the information you need to understand mail and email policies can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

Emailing Messages & Photos

Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
 
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select McLean County Detention Center,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

• Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
• After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
• You can also send your McLean County inmate photos and videos.

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.

All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for McLean County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

How Do Inmates in McLean County Detention Center Make Phone Calls?

To receive phone calls from inmates in McLean County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:

• McLean County Detention Center uses the services of IC Solutions.
• 
• Register with them online or call them at 888-506-8407. 
• Agents are available 24 hours a day, and speak both English & Spanish.
• Services for McLean County inmates and their families and friends include Collect Calling, PIN Debits, Purchasing Calling Cards, Voicemail & Prepaid calls.  In addition, IC Solutions provides secure messaging, sending photos, video phone calls and online deposits for inmates and their families in McLean County.
• Although rates are subject to change, they generally run about $0.21 per minute for phone calls.

Note: All your calls with an inmate are recorded, stored and shared with law enforcement if the conversation deals with your case or any criminal activity. Anything communicated can be used against you or your inmate in court.

For all the information regarding phone calls with McLean County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.

How to visit an inmate in McLean County Illinois using Video Visitation or visiting an inmate at the jail

To visit an inmate in McLean County follow these steps:

• In addition to visiting inmates at the jail, McLean County Detention Center uses a video visitation service called IC Solutions.
  
• In order to visit with your inmate online or at the McLean County Jail Video Kiosk, you must first register with IC Solutions.
• Once you are logged into your existing IC Solutions account or have created a new account and are logged in, you must select Register for Video and enter McLean County Detention Center.
• Then select your McLean County Inmate.
• Then fund your account using either a Visa, Mastercard credit or debit card.
• Lastly, schedule a visit.
• The cost for a remote video visit ranges from $7-10 for 20-25 minute visit. Rates are subject to change.

For full instructions on all the benefits of using IC Solutions to visit a McLean County inmate, visiting an inmate at the jail itself, rates, policies, rules, dress codes, bringing children, attorney and clergy visits and more, go to our official Visit Inmate Page.