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Illinois

Illinois splits corrections oversight. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) certifies county corrections officers, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) trains its own prison officers and parole agents, and the courts set standards for probation officers. Since 2023 the State has opened a reciprocity path for out-of-state jail officers, limited parole drug testing to documented reasonable suspicion, extended restraint limits for pregnant and postpartum people to every county, required published restrictive housing data, and required IDOC to publish contraband and staff-hospitalization data. Entries are dated by effective date.

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Part of
Corrections Ledger

At a glance

Certifying body
Split system. ILETSB certifies county corrections officers, sworn officers of the sheriff “primarily responsible for the control and custody of offenders, detainees or inmates,” who must earn the Board’s basic county correctional certificate within 6 months of initial full-time employment (50 ILCS 705/2, 705/8.1(a)). State prison correctional officers are not ILETSB-certified; IDOC hires and trains them through its own Training Academy. Adult probation officers fall under the Supreme Court and its Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC); parole agents are IDOC employees. ILETSB is covered on the Illinois Officer Ledger page.
Statute
Illinois Police Training Act, 50 ILCS 705 (county corrections officers: sections 2, 7(e), 8.1); rules at 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720. State corrections: Unified Code of Corrections, 730 ILCS 5 (IDOC powers, 3-2-2; jail standards, 3-15-2 and 3-15-3). Probation: Probation and Probation Officers Act, 730 ILCS 110. County jails: County Jail Act, 730 ILCS 125, and Counties Code, 55 ILCS 5/3-15003 and following.
Minimum standards
County corrections officers: the Board’s basic county correctional certificate (or an equivalent course or training waiver) within 6 months of full-time hire, with at most a 90-day extension for good cause; failure means forfeiting the position (705/8.1(a)). Trainees must pass the State comprehensive certification exam to qualify as “a permanent law enforcement or permanent correctional officer” (20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.20(h)). Since 2024, officers trained under federal law or in another state may get a reciprocity waiver (entry below). IDOC correctional officer trainees are screened with the TABE (waived with 15 college credit hours), a physical agility test, an observation exam, and a structured interview, and serve a three-month trainee appointment (IDOC).
Basic training
County corrections: the Minimum Standards Basic County Correctional Training Course prescribed by ILETSB under 50 ILCS 705/7(e); the statute and the Part 1720 sections reviewed set no hour figure. IDOC: new correctional officer trainees complete an 8-week program, two weeks at their parent facility and six weeks at the IDOC Corrections Training Academy in Decatur, which opened in 2022 (IDOC Training Academy).
In-service training
The mandatory in-service topics and cycles in 50 ILCS 705/7 and 10.6 are written for “law enforcement officers.” No statutory in-service hour requirement specific to county corrections officers or IDOC correctional officers was found; IDOC says its Academy provides “ongoing staff development.” For probation, the AOIC Division “shall establish training standards for continuing education of probation officers and supervisors” (730 ILCS 110/15).
Decertification
ILETSB’s automatic decertification (705/6.1) and discretionary decertification after a hearing (705/6.3) are written for “law enforcement officers.” The Act’s definition of law enforcement officer (705/2) does not include county corrections officers, so 6.1 and 6.3 do not apply to them on their face; Board practice was not verified. ILETSB says decertified officers go on a list shared with the National Decertification Index (ILETSB). IDOC correctional officers hold no state certificate to revoke. Details are on the Officer Ledger page.
Jail standards
IDOC sets minimum standards for county and municipal jails, and its Jail and Detention Standards Unit, with four regional jail inspectors, monitors compliance with the County Jail Standards (20 Ill. Adm. Code 701) and the Municipal Jail and Lockup Standards (IDOC). General standards inspections are discretionary: IDOC “may inspect” each facility at least once a year, with results public (730 ILCS 5/3-15-2(b)). Annual inspection is mandatory for the jail mental health and developmental disability standards: “At least once each year, the Department of Corrections must inspect each county jail” (3-15-3(b)). After notice of noncompliance and six months, the Director may petition a court to order compliance. No more than two inmates may be housed in a cell. The text of Part 701 itself was not read.
Probation and parole officers
Adult probation officers are county court employees. The Supreme Court, through the AOIC Probation Services Division, “may” set qualifications for hiring, promotion, and training, keep lists of qualified applicants, and run training, and “shall” set continuing education standards (730 ILCS 110/15). Armed probation officers train under the Peace Officer and Probation Officer Firearm Training Act (50 ILCS 710). Parole agents are IDOC employees supervising parole and mandatory supervised release, and supervising officers “shall receive specialized training in the special needs of female releasees or parolees” (730 ILCS 5/3-14-2(e)).
Restrictive housing
No statutory cap on time in restrictive housing was found. Since 2025, the Restrictive Housing Data Publication and Verification Act requires IDOC to post quarterly and annual reports (entry below). Discipline, segregation, and investigative status are governed by IDOC rule 20 Ill. Adm. Code 504, which was not read, so whether it sets maximum segregation terms is not stated here.
Corrections use of force
720 ILCS 5/7-5.5 binds “a peace officer, or any other person acting under the color of law,” which includes corrections staff. It bars chokeholds and above-the-shoulder restraint with risk of asphyxiation unless deadly force is justified, force used as punishment or retaliation, and impact projectiles or tasers aimed at the head and other listed areas (720 ILCS 5/7-5.5). IDOC (730 ILCS 5/3-6-7), county departments of corrections (55 ILCS 5/3-15003.6), and county jails (730 ILCS 125/17.5) may not restrain a person known to be pregnant or in postpartum recovery without an individualized finding of substantial flight risk or another extraordinary circumstance. Leg irons, shackles, and waist shackles are never allowed, and restraints come off at once at medical staff’s request (since January 1, 2025 in every county; entry below).

Changes, 2023 to 2026

  • IDOC must publish contraband, naloxone, and staff-hospitalization data

    P.A. 104-412 (SB 2201), adding 730 ILCS 5/3-2-15Approved August 15, 2025; effective July 1, 2026; later data categories begin July 1, 2027

    “The Department of Corrections shall annually collect and publish on its website” data on contraband found, including where it was found (including the correctional employee dining facility), how it entered (including the “correctional employee entrance”), searches, type, and the number of staff versus committed persons caught; prosecution referrals; naloxone use by employees and committed persons; and emergency medical responses and hospitalizations of people in custody and of staff. For contraband data, the Act requires collection by facility but publication only as statewide aggregates: “Data shall be presented as a statewide aggregate and shall not identify any particular facility, county, or locality.” The aggregate-only sentence sits in the contraband paragraph; the substance use programming, custody hospitalization, and staff hospitalization paragraphs call for data “by facility.” Contraband data and some medical data are collected from July 1, 2026, and published by August 1 each year.

    For corrections staff: Contraband found on staff or at the staff entrance will appear in public statewide data that do not identify facilities; staff emergency responses and hospitalizations are reported by facility.

    P.A. 104-412 SB 2201 bill status

  • IDOC intake and reentry staff must be trained to identify trafficking victims

    P.A. 104-159 (SB 2323), amending 730 ILCS 5/3-2-2 (new paragraphs (u-7) to (u-9)) and other lawsApproved August 13, 2025; effective January 1, 2026, except the effective-date section and one Department of Human Services paragraph, effective on approval

    IDOC must work with the Department of Human Services on screening and follow-up protocols for intake and reentry personnel and contractors, covering people in custody who show signs of past labor or sex trafficking victimization or sexual exploitation. IDOC must “provide statewide training for Department of Corrections intake and reentry personnel and contractors” on identifying and responding to them, and offer specialized services through staff with victim-centered, trauma-informed training.

    For corrections staff: IDOC intake and reentry staff and contractors receive statewide training on identifying and referring trafficking victims.

    P.A. 104-159 SB 2323 bill status

  • Self-insured counties and cities must cover counseling for corrections officers with no cost-sharing

    P.A. 103-1011 (SB 3538), amending 55 ILCS 5/5-1069 and adding 65 ILCS 5/10-4-2.4 and 70 ILCS 705/6.3Approved August 9, 2024; act effective January 1, 2025; coverage required on and after June 1, 2025

    If a county or municipality, including a home rule unit, self-insures employee health coverage, the coverage must include mental health counseling for first responders, defined to include “police and corrections officers” and deputy sheriffs, with no deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other cost-sharing. The duty applies on and after June 1, 2025, and does not apply where it would disqualify a high-deductible health plan from health savings account eligibility. The act also adds a section to the Fire Protection District Act.

    For corrections staff: Jail officers whose county or city self-insures can get counseling with no out-of-pocket cost, unless they are on an HSA-eligible high-deductible plan.

    P.A. 103-1011 SB 3538 bill status

  • Restrictive Housing Data Publication and Verification Act

    P.A. 103-1074 (HB 4828), new ActApproved and effective March 21, 2025; quarterly reports from July 1, 2025

    “Beginning on July 1, 2025, the Department of Corrections shall post quarterly reports on the use of restrictive housing on the Department’s official website.” Restrictive housing includes Restrictive Housing, Administrative Detention, Investigatory Status, Disciplinary Segregation, and Temporary Confinement. Reports cover placements by age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, and serious mental illness; time in restrictive housing; the conduct and charges behind placement; unit populations; emergency confinement, self-harm, suicide, and assaults; facility-wide lockdowns and their reasons; health care access times; grievances; and alternatives to restrictive housing. An annual report goes to the Governor and General Assembly and is published. The bill’s short title referred to isolated confinement restriction, but the enacted Act sets reporting duties, not limits on use.

    For corrections staff: Each restrictive housing placement, lockdown, and incident in segregation units is counted in published quarterly data, so the records you keep are the source.

    P.A. 103-1074 HB 4828 bill status

  • Restraint limits for pregnant and postpartum people extended to every county

    P.A. 103-745 (HB 5431), amending 55 ILCS 5/3-15003.6 and following, 730 ILCS 5/3-6-7 and following, 730 ILCS 125/17.5 and following, and 210 ILCS 160/30Approved August 2, 2024; effective January 1, 2025

    For county departments of corrections, the act deletes the limit to counties of more than 3,000,000 people, so the restraint rules apply in all counties. “Postpartum” becomes 6 weeks after birth unless a medical professional sets a longer period. In IDOC, county corrections, and county jails, security restraints may not be used on a person known to be pregnant or in postpartum recovery without an individualized finding of substantial flight risk or another extraordinary circumstance. “Leg irons, shackles or waist shackles shall not be used on any pregnant or postpartum committed person regardless of security classification.” Electronic monitoring devices on a pregnant participant must be removed during labor and delivery, or earlier at medical staff’s request. The act also requires informational materials, supplemental nutrition, and annual reports on pregnancies, deliveries, and miscarriages in custody.

    For corrections staff: Do not restrain a pregnant or postpartum person without a documented individualized finding, never use leg irons or waist shackles, and remove restraints when medical staff ask.

    P.A. 103-745 HB 5431 bill status

  • Reciprocity waiver for out-of-state and federally trained county corrections officers

    P.A. 103-389 (SB 1754), amending 50 ILCS 705/8.1 and 8.2 and adding 5 ILCS 100/5-45.35Approved July 28, 2023; effective January 1, 2024

    ILETSB must adopt uniform rules, with emergency rulemaking authorized, for a training waiver for people previously employed and qualified as law enforcement or county corrections officers under federal law or another state’s law, or who completed a correctional officer academy elsewhere. Before a waiver is approved, the person must complete Board-approved coursework on Illinois law, firearms training, and the equivalency certification exam. Prior experience counts whether or not it was with Illinois agencies.

    For corrections staff: Jail officers moving to Illinois from another state or federal service can be certified through coursework and an exam instead of the full basic course.

    P.A. 103-389 SB 1754 bill status

  • Parole drug testing requires documented reasonable suspicion; remote check-ins allowed

    P.A. 103-271 (SB 423), amending 730 ILCS 5/3-3-7, 3-3-8, 3-14-2, 5-6-3 and 730 ILCS 190/10Approved July 28, 2023; effective January 1, 2024

    The parole and mandatory supervised release condition to submit to a urinalysis test now applies only “if there is reasonable suspicion of illicit drug use and the source of the reasonable suspicion is documented in the Department’s case management system.” Supervising officers may use phones and other electronic platforms instead of in-person reporting, and reporting must account for the person’s medical needs, caregiving, and work schedule. Probation officers may likewise use technology for reporting under AOIC standards. The Prisoner Review Board must cut 90 days from supervision for a qualifying degree or credential.

    For corrections staff: Parole agents must record the reasonable-suspicion basis in the case system before ordering a drug test, and may meet supervisees remotely.

    P.A. 103-271 SB 423 bill status

Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

  • Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board appointments (effective January 1, 2027): P.A. 104-578 (SB 1700), approved July 16, 2026. Correctional officers and full-time deputy sheriffs not employed as county police officers must be at least 18 when appointed, and correctional officers serve a probationary period of at least 15 months (county police officers at least 12). Not yet in force. P.A. 104-578
  • Line-of-duty disability pay for county correctional officers (effective January 1, 2027): P.A. 104-815 (SB 3076), approved August 7, 2026, adds “any part-time or full-time county correctional officer or any other part-time or full-time employee of a county sheriff” to the Public Employee Disability Act, which already covers State correctional officers. P.A. 104-611 (HB 4491), also effective January 1, 2027, amends the same sections but, as reviewed, does not add county officers. Not yet in force. P.A. 104-815

No statutory limit on solitary confinement was enacted: HB 4828 (103rd General Assembly) carried an isolated confinement restriction short title but became law only as the data-publication Act described above. P.A. 104-630 re-punctuates the first-responder definition used in P.A. 103-1011; its effective date was not confirmed.

Checked and unchanged

  • www.ilga.gov refused automated requests. Statute, Public Act, and bill-status text here comes from the General Assembly’s official file repository (ftp.ilga.gov). Its ILCS snapshot is dated November 24, 2025, so 2026 acts were read from the Public Act files.
  • Not verified: the text of 20 Ill. Adm. Code 504 (IDOC discipline and segregation) and 701 (County Jail Standards), and the hour length of the ILETSB basic county correctional course.
  • Not checked: Public Acts larger than 1.5 MB (budget and omnibus acts) were not scanned for corrections provisions.

Bills in the legislature

Bills in the current session whose title concerns corrections officers, jails, probation and parole, and conditions of confinement, found automatically in LegiScan's copy of the legislature's records and refreshed daily (last on October 21, 2026). This list is not reviewed by an editor and is not a summary of the bills; each links to the legislature's own page, which controls. Bills that become law are added to the dated entries above once checked.

The law, section by section

Every section of the statutes and rules this page relies on that could be read from an official source, 104 in all, each linked to the official text. Headings are copied from the official tables of contents, checked October 21, 2026.

Illinois Police Training Act (50 ILCS 705)Statute · 52 sections

Official text current through ILGA public file repository: "updated on 11/21/2025 with all Public Acts through Public Act 104-433" (ILCS aReadMe.txt); later Public Acts not reflected; read 2026-10-20. ilga.gov blocks non-browser clients (HTTP 403) and directs automated access to its Public File Repository (ftp.ilga.gov); section list and order from the repository's Section Sequence file, headings from each section file. Sections 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12 have no catchline, so heading is null. Repealed 9.1, 10.5 and 10.15 omitted. The Act has no articles. Same list as the Officer Ledger library; the repository has not been updated since (ILCS directory dated 11/24/2025, checked 2026-10-21). 50 ILCS 705, official text

Illinois Police Training Act

Illinois Administrative Code, Title 20, Part 1720: Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (correctional and county corrections officer training)Rules · 29 sections

Official text current through ILGA public file repository section files dated 4/15/2023 to 10/9/2026; later amendments, if any, are not reflected; read 2026-10-20. ilga.gov (JCAR) blocks non-browser clients (HTTP 403) and points automated access to its Public File Repository; section numbers and headings read from each file's "sectionname" field, and links point there. Subpart names are not in the repository files, so subparts are given by letter only. Repealed sections (1700.90, 1700.105, 1720.100 to 1720.150) and appendices omitted. Partial list: only Part 1720, which the page cites, taken from the Officer Ledger library list (Parts 1700 to 1790); the repository has not changed since. 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720, official text

Part 1720 ILLINOIS POLICE TRAINING ACT, Subpart A

  • 1720.10 Course Requirements
  • 1720.15 Equivalency Examination
  • 1720.20 Minimum Requirements of the Trainee
  • 1720.25 Procedures for Administration of Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers Certification Examination
  • 1720.30 School Standards and Requirements
  • 1720.35 Academy Entrance Qualifications
  • 1720.40 Qualification of Police Instructors
  • 1720.50 Reimbursements
  • 1720.60 Requirements of Participating Local Agencies
  • 1720.70 Minimum Training Requirements for Illinois Sheriffs
  • 1720.80 Conservator of the Peace Training Course
  • 1720.90 SAFE-T Act Transitional Certification Authority

Part 1720 ILLINOIS POLICE TRAINING ACT, Subpart C

Part 1720 ILLINOIS POLICE TRAINING ACT, Subpart D

Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5): Department of Corrections powers, pregnant committed persons, jail standardsStatute · 4 sections

Official text current through ILGA Public File Repository (directory dated 11/24/2025; aReadMe: "updated on 11/21/2025 with all Public Acts through Public Act 104-433"); later Public Acts not reflected; read 2026-10-21. ilga.gov blocks non-browser clients (HTTP 403, "Automated Request Blocked") and directs automated access to its Public File Repository (ftp.ilga.gov); headings read from each section file in the repository, and section links point there. Partial list: only the sections the tracker page cites. 730 ILCS 5/3-2-2, 5/3-6-7, 5/3-15-2, 5/3-15-3, official text

Unified Code of Corrections

Probation and Probation Officers Act (730 ILCS 110)Statute · 16 sections

Official text current through ILGA Public File Repository (directory dated 11/24/2025; aReadMe: "updated on 11/21/2025 with all Public Acts through Public Act 104-433"); later Public Acts not reflected; read 2026-10-21. ilga.gov blocks non-browser clients (HTTP 403, "Automated Request Blocked") and directs automated access to its Public File Repository (ftp.ilga.gov); headings read from each section file in the repository, and section links point there. Section list from the repository directory for the Act; the Act has no articles. Sections that have no catchline in the repository file have a null heading. 730 ILCS 110, official text

Probation and Probation Officers Act

County Jail Act (730 ILCS 125) and Counties Code Division 3-15 (sheriff): cited sectionsStatute · 3 sections

Official text current through ILGA Public File Repository (directory dated 11/24/2025; aReadMe: "updated on 11/21/2025 with all Public Acts through Public Act 104-433"); later Public Acts not reflected; read 2026-10-21. ilga.gov blocks non-browser clients (HTTP 403, "Automated Request Blocked") and directs automated access to its Public File Repository (ftp.ilga.gov); headings read from each section file in the repository, and section links point there. Partial lists: only the sections the tracker page cites. The County Jail Act has 38 section files and Division 3-15 many more; they are not listed in full, to keep requests to the repository to a polite number in this pass. 730 ILCS 125/17.5; 55 ILCS 5/3-15003, 5/3-15003.6, official text

County Jail Act

Counties Code, Division 3-15. Sheriff

USCLI's source monitor re-reads the 28 official sources cited on this page around the clock; 2 answered unchanged at their latest check. The oldest of those checks was on October 21, 2026. 4 did not answer at the last check and are being retried.

Last updated October 21, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Illinois corrections law: Corrections Ledger,” uscli.org/corrections-tracker/illinois (last updated October 21, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.