Sheridan, Pontiac prisons opening to visitors April 26

Beginning Monday, April 26, the Sheridan and Pontiac correctional centers will begin accepting visitors again.

Illinois prisons are resuming in-person visitation, affording incarcerated people the opportunity to see their loved ones for the first time in more than a year.

With most people in the Illinois Department of Corrections custody now vaccinated, the agency developed a multiphase plan for resuming in-person visits in the safest manner possible.

To mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread, IDOC, after consultation with the Illinois Department of Public Health, suspended visitation on March 14, 2020.

“Maintaining family connection is a vital component of an incarcerated person’s mental and emotional well-being,” IDOC acting Director Rob Jeffreys said in a news release. “Because of the aggressive measures the department has taken to mitigate COVID-19 within our facilities, IDOC is one of the few correctional systems in the nation now reopening to visitors.”

Everyone who enters an IDOC correctional facility is screened for symptoms, gets their temperature checked and receives a surgical face mask. Plexiglass barriers have been installed on visiting tables, which are spaced apart to allow for proper social distancing. Visiting rooms and restrooms are deep-cleaned between visits. IDOC is using an online system to schedule visits and limit the number of visitors permitted at one time. Information on the resumption of in-person visitation is available on the department’s website at www2.illinois.gov/idoc/facilities/Pages/VisitationRules.aspx.