Search Adult Corrections Facility Inmates

Adult Corrections Facility Overview

The Adult Corrections Facility is operated by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division. It is the county jail for people held before trial, people serving county jail sentences, and inmates brought in for court. Illinois law caps a county jail sentence at no more than 364 days, so anyone sentenced to a longer prison term is transferred out to the state system. The jail dashboard also reflects some inmates held under federal Bureau of Prisons contract categories.

The current facility opened on March 10, 1989, replacing a 20-year-old jail. It is rated for 740 inmates and uses a direct-supervision model, with pods and dormitory-style housing for lower-risk inmates. Classification separates housing by gender, security level, and health needs, and the facility includes medical housing, low-security dormitories, higher-security pods, and administrative segregation. The jail states that it complies with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, and its health services have carried National Commission on Correctional Health Care accreditation, with Wellpath providing onsite medical, dental, and behavioral-health care.

The Sheriff's About the Jail page describes the facility's accreditation and inspection record.

The About the Jail page documents the capacity, the American Correctional Association accreditation, and the annual state inspection that the facility passes.

Adult Corrections Facility Capacity and Population

The facility is rated for 740 beds, and recent population has run below that line. The Sheriff's inspection releases reported a 2025 average daily population of 597 over the first eleven months of the year, close to the 2019 figure of 593. At that level the jail ran near 81% of rated capacity, and no official source describes it as currently over capacity. About a fifth of the population is serving a sentence at any given time, with the rest pre-trial. The county also publishes a jail dashboard, built with Loyola University Chicago, that breaks the daily and monthly population down by race, gender, age, and charge level, so the makeup of the facility is far more visible than a single headcount.

Note: The 597 figure is a partial-year average from an official inspection release, not a live count, so the number in the jail on any single day will differ.

Look Up Adult Corrections Facility Inmates

Because this is a county jail, the right tool is the Lake County jail roster, not the state prison locator. The roster is free and lists current inmates. The fuller walkthrough lives on the Lake County jail inmate records page, and the core steps are below.

1. Open the Lake County Sheriff inmate records search from the official county page.
2. Search by last name and review the current-inmate list.
3. Confirm the person is held at the Adult Corrections Facility and open the record.
4. Read the booking number, charges, arresting agency, and any bond or hold details.

If the person is not listed, call the Corrections Division at 847-377-4150. During the 2024 staffing shortage some inmates were housed at the McHenry County Jail, so call 847-377-4107 to confirm a location when that may apply.

Adult Corrections Facility Address and Contact

The Corrections Division sits in the downtown Waukegan government campus. Bond reception is a separate counter nearby and accepts bond around the clock. Use the contact details below to reach the jail's information line.

Visiting Someone at the Adult Corrections Facility

Visitation runs through ViaPath GettingOut, and the county notes that visits are currently conducted remotely. Each inmate can receive one free visit per week after classification, and visitors must be on the approved list and schedule at least 24 hours ahead. The table summarizes the core rules, since the county sets visits by appointment rather than fixed daily hours.

The Sheriff's Visitation Rules page lists the ID, scheduling, and conduct requirements behind this summary.

Adult Corrections Facility Mail and Money

Mail rules changed in 2025, and the new address is a common stumbling block. Effective May 27, 2025, personal mail goes to a mail-processing address in Maryland, not the Waukegan jail. Only personal letters, photos, and drawings are allowed, and the inmate's full name and identifier must be on the envelope. Phone, video, and deposits run through their own vendors, shown below.

The county's tablet services page describes the ViaPath GettingOut tablets used for messaging, photos, education, and deposits.

Adult Corrections Facility Booking and Intake

After an arrest, a person is taken to the Adult Corrections Facility for booking. Staff create the booking record, take identifying information, search and secure property, photograph and fingerprint the person, and screen for medical, behavioral health, substance use, and gang-related factors. Illinois County Jail Standards require a booking and personal record for every detainee. Classification then assigns housing based on gender, age, health, offense, and prior history. Wellpath has provided medical, dental, and behavioral health care since late 2020, including intake assessments and a history and physical within 14 days. A new booking appears on the public roster after the next data update.

Programs and Reentry at the Facility

The Adult Corrections Facility runs a broad slate of programs, and the county highlights them in its inspection releases. Reentry specialists assess a person's needs on arrival, build a release plan, and coordinate with outside social-service organizations for addiction, mental-health, and other support. The aim is to use the jail stay, which is capped at 364 days for a county sentence, to prepare people for release rather than simply hold them.

The programming falls into a few clear groups, drawn from the county's program and inspection pages.

• Education - GED levels 1 and 2, GED tutoring and testing, ESL, and computer classes.
• Behavioral and cognitive - anger and aggression control, cognitive behavior work, and Wellpath anger management.
• Substance use - substance-abuse education, AA and NA, Nicasa support, and addiction treatment through a local provider.
• Reentry and life skills - work readiness, money management, financial literacy, the College of Lake County Bridges Program, and a Driving 160 CDL release pathway.
• Faith and volunteer - weekly services in English and Spanish, supported by more than 200 PREA-certified volunteers from 22 organizations.

A jail worker program also lets county-sentenced inmates work in areas like the kitchen, laundry, and maintenance, earning commissary compensation while keeping the facility running.

About the Adult Corrections Facility

The facility carries American Correctional Association accreditation, which official releases describe as continuing through 2026, along with a long health-services accreditation history. The state's Jail and Detention Standards Unit inspects the jail every year, and the county reported passing its 2024 and 2025 inspections. Programs are a notable part of the operation, including GED levels, workforce development, the College of Lake County Bridges Program, substance-abuse support, financial literacy, and a CDL release pathway. A worker program puts roughly 45 inmates to work on a typical day, helping serve about 2,200 meals. The Sheriff's Office also reported a death in custody in early 2025 and requested an independent investigation and autopsy, which it handled as a reviewed incident rather than a routine event. The 2025 inspection release noted further steps, including mail scanning to keep drugs and contraband out, continued accreditation, and full compliance on the jail's on-time security checks. These details paint the facility as an actively inspected jail rather than a static building, which is worth keeping in mind when judging conditions or planning a visit.