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The right to communicate is not a privilege — it is a lifeline. Families of incarcerated individuals rely on consistent, real-time messaging to stay emotionally connected with their loved ones. The recent change in Illinois, stripping away the instant messaging feature and replacing it with delayed, unreliable communication, is not only unfair — it is inhumane.
This new system is causing unnecessary confusion, mental anguish, and emotional distance. Messages that once provided hope and stability now show up days later, if at all. This breakdown in communication disrupts relationships, heightens anxiety, and deepens the already painful separation that incarceration brings. It’s more than a technical issue — it’s a direct attack on the emotional well-being of thousands of families.
No other state using this app is subjected to these delays. Illinois stands alone in implementing this harmful policy. Why are our loved ones being treated differently? Why is Illinois choosing to cut off vital lifelines between inmates and their families?
This change is not rehabilitation — it’s isolation.
This is not justice — it’s punishment.
And we won’t stand for it.
We are calling on you to reverse this damaging decision immediately. Restore the instant messaging system that helped keep families together, minds at ease, and hearts supported. Every day this continues, more families suffer — and for what reason?
We demand answers.
We demand accountability.
And most of all — we demand action.
Bring back the instant messaging.
Respect the humanity of those incarcerated.
Stop disrupting the fragile threads that keep families connected.
We are loud, we are organized, and we are not going anywhere until this is made right.
Teya supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationIDOC staff are afraid of what the truth, shared in real time, might expose. Everywhere else—federal lockups and other states—emails fly through in minutes, but IDOC forces ours to sit for days, proving they’d rather keep families in the dark than let us see what really happens inside. Quick messages would calm the fight for phones, ease anxiety, and remind our loved ones they’re still human and still loved—but IDOC chooses silence instead, and that silence screams corruption.
Email:: DOC.Constituent.Services@illinois.gov and put this in the subject: ATTN: Director Hughes
Or call (217) 558-2200 (ask for the Director’s Office)
Catalina supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationTo the Decision-Makers Behind the Messaging Delay in Illinois Prisons,
This change is not just a technical adjustment — it is a human rights violation in real time.
The shift from instant messaging to delayed, inconsistent communication for incarcerated individuals in Illinois is creating emotional chaos. What once offered hope, reassurance, and timely connection is now replaced with silence, anxiety, and pain. Families are being left in the dark, not knowing if their loved ones are okay — sometimes for days.
This is more than an inconvenience. It is emotional warfare.
Our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, parents — they depend on that instant connection to stay grounded, to feel loved, and to keep hope alive. And so do we. Cutting off instant communication only deepens the trauma that incarceration already causes on both sides of the walls.
What’s most disturbing is that Illinois is the only state using this app that has enforced this delay. That means this was a choice. A cruel one. A calculated decision that hurts people who are already hurting.
Who benefits from this? Certainly not the families. Certainly not those inside. This policy doesn’t promote security. It doesn’t promote rehabilitation. It promotes disconnection, discouragement, and emotional isolation — all of which are the enemies of progress.
We are demanding the immediate restoration of instant messaging.
We are demanding a full explanation for this inhumane policy shift.
We are demanding that our loved ones be treated with the dignity they deserve.
You cannot preach rehabilitation while breaking the very bonds that rehabilitate. You cannot say you care about family reunification while actively destroying the ties that keep families together.
We will not be silenced.
We will not be ignored.
We will not stop speaking out until this damage is undone.
Every day you delay action is another day a child wonders why their father hasn’t written back. Another day a mother goes to sleep without knowing if her son is safe. Another day of heartbreak.
Fix it. Now.
Because families are not collateral damage. We are the foundation of healing — and we refuse to be pushed aside.
Teya supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationInstant messages and phone calls are the only way I'm able to have contact with my fiance who is incarcerated and not being able to message him instantly really messes with my depression and anxiety. I literally have to have contact with him in order to keep me from having a panic attack or going into a stress-induced seizure.
Amber supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationWith some of the institutions being 23-1 with little to no telephone time the tablets instant messaging system was a way of keep communicating with loved ones, taking that away for no apparent reason is diabolical the company that insures the emails are instant is very costly yet it’s being taken away but the message charge stays the same? That’s insane these men and women are already incapable of having real contact with the outside world when having a bad day or sinister thoughts about their lives an instant message from a loved one can be just enough to keep them from doing the unthinkable or brighten up their day with a simple good morning or an I love you. ILDOC is literally stripping them of being human beings and treating them like animals this has to stop! The United States has one of THE WORST prison systems in the world I’m speaking for my loved ones and everyone else’s when I stand and say this has to change
Donneah supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationI strongly oppose any further restrictions on communication for incarcerated individuals in Illinois. Limiting access to phone calls, mail, or digital contact only harms families, disrupts rehabilitation, and deepens the emotional and psychological toll of incarceration. Human connection is not a privilege—it is a basic right that supports mental health, reduces recidivism, and fosters successful reintegration into society. Instead of isolating people further, we should be promoting transparency, compassion, and the maintenance of vital family and community ties.
Geralyn supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationI strongly oppose any further restrictions on communication for incarcerated individuals in Illinois. Limiting access to phone calls, mail, or digital contact only harms families, disrupts rehabilitation, and deepens the emotional and psychological toll of incarceration. Human connection is not a privilege—it is a basic right that supports mental health, reduces recidivism, and fosters successful reintegration into society. Instead of isolating people further, we should be promoting transparency, compassion, and the maintenance of vital family and community ties.
Geralyn supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationI’m writing to express serious concern about the recent update to the CorrLinks Text Message system across the Illinois Department of Corrections.
For a few weeks, families experienced something extraordinary: real-time communication with our incarcerated loved ones. It was a rare glimpse of normalcy, emotional closeness, and human connection. But with the most recent system change, that progress has been abruptly taken away. Messages are now delayed by hours—or more—severing the immediacy and comfort we had only just begun to rely on.
Yes, the update was announced—but that doesn’t lessen the harm. It feels like emotional bait-and-switch. The system offered us a lifeline, only to yank it back without regard for the mental and emotional toll.
These delays don’t just inconvenience families. They generate anxiety, mimic abandonment, and disrupt the fragile trust we work so hard to nurture. For many of us, digital communication is the only thread holding us to the people we love. And that thread is now unraveling.
This isn’t about convenience—it’s about mental health, stability, and human dignity. If rehabilitation and family support are truly valued by the correctional system, removing access to timely communication is a step backward.
I’m asking you—whether as an advocate, lawmaker, or policy expert—to raise awareness, speak up, and help restore real-time messaging. For incarcerated people and those who love them, this isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.
C supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationI’m writing because I’m really disappointed and honestly upset about the recent changes to the CorrLinks messaging system. For a short time, we finally had something that gave us real connection—instant messages with our loved ones inside. That little bit of normal communication made a huge difference. I could send a message to my brother and actually hear back in real time. It felt like, for once, we weren’t completely cut off.
Now that’s gone. The messages are delayed again—sometimes for hours—and that might not sound like a big deal to people on the outside, but it is. When you're dealing with prison walls, every second counts. The delay turns something comforting into something stressful. You don’t know if your message went through. You don’t know if they’re okay. You’re just left waiting.
And yeah, I know the update was mentioned, but that doesn’t make it okay. It feels like we were given hope and then had it pulled out from under us. It’s not just inconvenient—it’s painful. This was more than just a tech feature. This was a way to stay connected, to check in, to say “I’m here” without a long wait.
Taking that away just feels wrong. If the system really cares about supporting families and helping people inside stay grounded, why remove one of the few things that was actually helping?
I’m asking whoever sees this to think about what it means to have someone you love behind bars and how fragile that connection already is. Then imagine finally feeling close again… only to have it taken away. It shouldn’t be like this. Real-time messaging should be brought back—not just for convenience, but for basic human decency.
Donrico supported: Stop Illinois Department of Corrections from stopping communicationYou’re not alone — a community of supporters is ready to back you.
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