The information below provides complete instructions regarding the Cook County Jail Cermak Hospital Visitation Process, Schedule, Hours, Rules, and Video Visits in Chicago, Illinois.
Following these instructions exactly will enhance your chances of getting official approval to visit an inmate.
It is highly recommended that prior to an inmate visit you call the jail at 773-869-7100 to confirm that visits have not been cancelled.
Anyone who has been approved to visit an inmate and can present a valid, current, government-issued ID can schedule an inmate visit.
Cook County Jail requires all visitors to fill out an application prior to your visiting an inmate.
Carefully fill out the application. Incomplete paperwork is cause for denial.
Honesty, especially regarding past criminal convictions, probation etc., is important. These things will most likely show up on the background check – which if lied about on the application, will cause visits to be denied.
Call 773-869-7100 to ask specific questions about the application.
Click here to go to the jail's website for more information about the application process.
Address: 2800 South California Avenue, Chicago Illinois 60608
Entrance Directions: Visitation for Cermak Hospital must enter in the Main Gate, located at 27th and California, just south of the Criminal Courts Buildings.
Sunday
2-N, 2-S, 2-E
8:00am - 1:00pm
3-N, 3-W, 3-S
3:30pm - 8:30pm
4th Floor , 5th Floor
Monday
2-W, 3-E, 3-S
3:30pm - 8:30pm
Tuesday
3-N, 3-W, 3-S
3:30pm - 8:30pm
Wednesday
NO VISITS
Thursday
2-N, 2-S, 2-E
3:30pm - 8:30pm
Friday
NO VISITS
Saturday
2nd Floor, 3rd Floor
2-W, 3-E, 3-S
3:30pm - 8:30pm
Call 773-869-7100 or click here to view normal visiting hours and procedures for scheduling a visit.
Jail staff will turn anyone away who is not dressed appropriately for a visit. The best way to be sure the visit takes place is to dress as if you are meeting someone’s grandmother for the first time.
Don’t wear revealing clothing
Don’t wear clothing that depict drugs, weapons or alcohol.
Don’t wear clothing that reflect gang affiliation.
The guards can turn you away from the visit if they believe your clothing is not appropriate.
If you traveled from more than 150 miles away, verified by a government-issued ID with an address on it, you will be allowed to visit four times within a 30 day period. Once the 30 days is up, you must be properly processed to have more visits.
A warrant check will be done on you while you are visiting.
Jail visits are conducted in person behind plexi-glass or on a televised screen from another location.
Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and guardians must provide proof of their guardianship. Visits are limited to two approved adults and four children.
If an inmate wishes to have more than seven people on the approved visitation list, or have more than two adults at a visit, it must be requested and approved through the jail’s social service office.
Leave all personal belongings, except for your state ID in your vehicle or in a locker (if one is provided).
Children must be monitored at all times or jail staff will end the visit early. If needed, bring a friend who may not be on the list, but can watch the children in the lobby while you are visiting.
If an inmate is hospitalized, visits are restricted to immediate family members only. This means parents, step-parents, children, siblings and grandparents. A guard will be present at all times. Exceptions as to who can visit must be requested through social services.
Call 773.674.5225 or click here to go to the jail's official website for additional Rules regarding Cook County Jail Division Cermak visitation.
Many jails are implementing video visits. These visits are conducted via the Internet on computers, IPADS and Smart phones.
Video visits allow the visit to take place in the privacy of your own home. Some family members 'take their inmate with them' to church, the park, the doctor or anywhere else simply by signing in and bringing the device along.
Video visits save you from having to get your children ready, drive to the jail, wait in long lines and go through security checkpoints just to see the inmate.
Video visitation is slowly gaining favor with all jails in America as jail management realizes the financial savings and reduced security risks involved with remote visitation.
Click here to see if video visitation is now available at Cook County Jail Cermak Hospital – as well as to view the complete set of rules, the cost to you and how to get set up online.
