Locate Western Illinois Correctional Center Inmates

Western Illinois Prison Overview

Western Illinois Correctional Center is operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections at 2500 Rt. 99 South, Mount Sterling, IL 62353. IDOC identifies it as a medium-security adult male facility. The IDOC facility page lists the phone as 217-773-4441, fax as 217-773-2202, Warden Justin Maher, and an opening date of April 1989. It is a state-prison facility for sentenced individuals in custody, so it should not be searched or described like Brown County's local jail access point.

The facility page says Western Illinois has 21 buildings inside a perimeter fence surrounding 32 acres. Buildings include four housing units, administration, health care, receiving and restrictive housing, dietary, warehouse and maintenance, a multipurpose academic, vocational and gymnasium building, a training facility, and a Correctional Industry meat processing plant. IDOC also notes that Western Illinois is the parent institution for Clayton Work Camp, although Clayton is in Adams County rather than physically in Brown County.

The IDOC Western Illinois Correctional Center facility page provides the facility contact, population, capacity, visitation, and program details used for prison custody questions.

The screenshot is facility-specific and supports the IDOC route for Western Illinois Correctional Center, rather than a Brown County jail roster route.

Western Illinois Population Data

IDOC publishes several dated numbers for Western Illinois Correctional Center. The facility page lists operational capacity as 2,123 and total population as 1,442 as of June 30, 2024. IDOC explains operational capacity as the maximum bed count including health care, crisis, restricted housing, protective custody, isolation, reception and classification, and beds down for future repair, based on an August 2022 bed-space capacity census.

The 2024 and 2025 figures should be read as dated snapshots from different IDOC sources. They do not describe Brown County Jail's population. The FY25 report also breaks out the Western Illinois general-population component in Brown County and the Clayton Work Camp component in Adams County, so physical geography and IDOC reporting totals should not be merged without that caveat.

Western Illinois Inmate Lookup

The correct search tool for Western Illinois Correctional Center is IDOC Individual in Custody Search. Brown County Sheriff's Office is not the record holder for IDOC prison custody, even though the prison is located in Brown County. A Brown County arrest record or Circuit Clerk court case may show how a case began, but the IDOC profile is the place to confirm prison custody and current IDOC facility assignment.

1. Open IDOC Individual in Custody Search and choose the available name or number search path.
2. Enter the person's legal name or IDOC number when known.
3. Review the result to confirm that the current facility is Western Illinois Correctional Center.
4. Use the IDOC number from the profile for mail, approved visitor contact, and deposit services.
5. If the person is not in IDOC custody, check Brown County sheriff records, court records, BOP, ICE, or VINELink based on the case type.

Western Illinois Contact

Facility-specific questions about visits, mail delivery, prison operations, and local procedures should go to Western Illinois Correctional Center or IDOC, not Brown County's sheriff. Court questions still go back to the court that handled the criminal case. For a Brown County case, the Circuit Clerk and Judici may show the case history, while IDOC shows the prison custody status after sentencing.

Use the individual's IDOC number whenever a prison record, mail address, deposit, or visitation issue requires identification. IDOC facilities house people from many Illinois counties, so a Brown County address does not mean the person's conviction came from Brown County.

Western Illinois Visitation

Western Illinois visits follow IDOC prison visitation rules. The IDOC facility page says visitors must sign up in advance through SignUpGenius. Statewide IDOC visitation rules say visitors should identify the person and facility through the search tool, make sure they are on the approved visiting list by writing the incarcerated person, schedule online, and arrive early. IDOC staff cannot verify by phone whether someone is on a person's approved visitor list.

Adult visitors must bring two forms of identification, including one state-issued photo ID, and provide vehicle information. IDOC prohibits items such as cell phones, tablets, smart watches, food, drink, smoking materials, currency, packages, purses, bags, books, magazines, and many personal items. Visitors, vehicles, and items are subject to search. Medication is limited by IDOC rules, with narrow exceptions for heart medication and asthma inhalers.

Western Illinois Mail Money

Mail for a person at Western Illinois Correctional Center should use the individual's name and IDOC number. IDOC mail rules say non-privileged incoming mail and publications may be scanned or photocopied in color, including the envelope and items inside, then digitally distributed or printed and delivered. IDOC recommends black ink and discourages glue, glitter, paint, crayon, adhesives, ribbon, cloth, and string.

Money orders are not mailed to Western Illinois Correctional Center. They go to the JPay lockbox with the incarcerated person's name, IDOC number, sender name, and sender address. IDOC also states that GTL is no longer used for deposit services, so old deposit instructions should be checked against current IDOC deposit pages before funds are sent.

Western Illinois Programs

IDOC describes Western Illinois as a general-population facility with programs meant to support reentry. The listed academic programs include Adult Basic Education, Advanced Adult Basic Education, and Adult Secondary Education or GED. Career and technical offerings include Automotive Technology, Construction Occupations, Horticulture, Career Technologies, and Culinary Arts. Correctional Industries meat processing is also part of the facility's work and training environment.

• Academic programs: Adult Basic Education, Advanced Adult Basic Education, and GED-level education.
• Career programs: Automotive Technology, Construction Occupations, Horticulture, Career Technologies, and Culinary Arts.
• Reentry and behavior programs: Life Style Redirections, Substance Abuse Education, Anger Management, and Parole School.
• Support programs: Chaplaincy, Library, religious volunteer services, Leisure Time Activity, and Individual Counseling.
• Work activity: Community Work Crews and Correctional Industries meat processing.

The programs list is specific to IDOC's facility description. It does not mean Brown County Jail offers the same services. County jail program details were not published in the Brown County official sources reviewed.

Western Illinois Is IDOC

Western Illinois Correctional Center often appears in Brown County inmate population research because the prison is physically in Mount Sterling. It should still be treated as a state-prison facility. People there are in IDOC custody after sentencing or prison classification, while Brown County Sheriff's Office handles local arrest and jail access questions. That distinction affects every practical step, including search, visits, mail, money, and release information.

Facility history and conditions also belong in the IDOC context. NPR Illinois and Tri States Public Radio reported in 2023 on sentencing of former Western Illinois officers involved in the Larry Earvin beating death. IDOC's current operational pages also reflect mail-process changes and the statewide shift in video visitation provider. Those are prison-system facts, not Brown County jail roster facts.