Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
c/o Executive Director Kim Schultz
700 Stratton Office Building
Springfield, Illinois 62706
September 8, 2025
Re: Opposition and Concerns Regarding IDOC Emergency Amendments – 20 Ill. Adm.
Code 525 (Mail & Publications)
Dear Members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Executive Director
Schultz:
As lawyers and legal advocates, we write to you in strong opposition to the Illinois
Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) recent emergency amendments to Part 525 of Title
20 of the Illinois Administrative Code, adopted August 14, 2025 (49 Ill. Reg. 10945).
This policy presents serious risks to the privileged and confidential legal mail that we
send to our clients. We represent individuals incarcerated in the IDOC in highly sensitive
lawsuits, corresponding with individuals about sexual assaults, medical and mental
health issues, retaliation by correctional officers, legal proceedings against IDOC staff,
criminal appeals, and many other topics. Before the emergency rule went into place,
legal mail was to be opened only by the individual in custody and not by correctional
officers outside of the view of the recipient. This ensured that discussion of these
confidential and privileged topics would not be disclosed to any IDOC staff.
Under the emergency amendments, IDOC will scan all incoming mail, presenting
photocopies or digital copies to the individual in custody instead of the original
document. There appears to be an exception for legal or privileged mail, but the policy
indicates that IDOC may require “verification and security procedures” including a
sender ID number and control number obtained from IDOC’s “Multi-Factor
Authentication Mail System” website. This website is not yet active, and there is no
publicly available information as to how law offices could authenticate legal mail. It is
unclear whether legal mail has been or will be scanned and copied with other incoming,
non-confidential and privileged mail if law offices fail to authenticate it through these
new procedures.
As legal advocates, we are deeply concerned about the potential risk of exposing
confidential information to IDOC staff and the administrative burdens and delays that
may arise from this new authentication system. Much legal mail is time-sensitive,
requiring prompt responses for tight court deadlines. Requiring authentication and
additional procedures before our recipients may receive their legal mail may result in
harmful delays that could prejudice their ability to seek redress in court. Furthermore,
we are deeply concerned by the risk to our clients and potential clients of IDOC copying
and scanning privileged and confidential mail which contains legal allegations against
them. The emergency rule fails to consider the serious risk of retaliation caused when
IDOC employees gain access to information accusing them of violating a person’s legal
rights.
There is no emergency here. According to the emergency rule announcement, IDOC
purports that the policy is intended to “prevent smuggling of contraband, hazardous
substances, and other prohibited substances or materials into correctional facilities.”
However, IDOC has failed to present any evidence that contraband and drugs are
entering their facilities through mail, much less legal mail. Indeed, through Public Act
104-0412, the IDOC has just recently been subject to a new legal requirement to provide
transparency on contraband in their facilities, including how it is being transmitted, and
no reports have yet been published. The General Assembly felt it was important to first
collect this information and build a response tailored to the findings. This rushed
emergency rule is an end run around that effort.
We know how important physical mail is to our client population. Mail is often the
primary means of communication between individuals in custody and their families,
friends and loved ones. It provides a tangible connection to the outside world and a
sense of normalcy and support. Such a drastic policy change will lead to longer delays in
the delivery of mail - when timely communication is crucial for maintaining family bonds
and supporting the reintegration process upon release. This emergency policy will have
detrimental effects on the emotional and mental health of individuals in custody, which
may potentially exacerbate feelings of isolation and disconnection among a population
that is suffering deeply from widespread self-harm and suicides.
We urge JCAR to consider the profound harms of these emergency amendments,
particularly to our clients’ rights to access confidential legal services and the court
system. Please ensure that IDOC justifies its use of the emergency rulemaking process,
or rescind this rule to allow for the speedy, confidential processing of legal mail.
Sincerely,
Uptown People’s Law Center
Black Trans Legal Professionals Network
Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago
Equip for Equality
John Howard Association
Kaplan & Grady
Law Office of Joe Dusek, LLC
Law Office of Karen Ranos, LLC
Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
Office of the State Appellate Defender
People's Law Office
Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Sentencing Advocacy Group of Evanston
The Winkler Law Group, LLC
Adam Smith
Alan Goldberg
Alan Mills
Alexa Van Brunt
Alison Flaum
Aviva Futorian
Brad Thomson
Carly Gustaveson
Elizabeth Mazur
Jennifer Blagg
Jessica Wang
Jo Ann Dominguez
Josh Goldstein
Maggie Bourke
Marc Kadish
Mark Weinberg
Monica Saavedra
Olivia Fritz
Sam Harton
Shireen Jalali-Yazdi
Valentine McLemore
Madeline Townsend
Robert Sobczak
Terah Tollner
Carolyn Klarquist
Diane O’Connell
Hallie Bezner
Jan Susler
Shobha Mahadev
Betsy Wilson
Sheila Genson
Steven W. Becker
