Look Up Centralia Correctional Center Inmates

Centralia Correctional Center Overview

Centralia Correctional Center is an Illinois Department of Corrections prison at 9330 Shattuc Road in Centralia, inside Marion County. It is a medium-security facility for adult men, and it opened in October 1980. The people held here are sentenced state prisoners, not local pretrial detainees, so the right search tool is the state locator rather than the Marion County Jail inquiry. Jeffrey Wehking serves as warden.

The prison is a large operation compared with the county jail. It spans 46 buildings and about 335,689 square feet, on a 100-acre site with 50 acres inside the fence. Housing includes three clusters with 14 housing units, a receiving unit, a segregation unit, and a 15-bed health-care unit. Average annual cost per person was reported at $36,406 in one recent fiscal year.

Centralia Correctional Center Capacity and Population

The state reports a clear capacity and population for the prison. Operational capacity is 1,520, and the population was 1,122 as of June 30, 2024. These numbers count sentenced state prisoners and are separate from the Marion County Jail figures, which should never be combined with the prison count unless you mean every person held inside the county.

The IDOC facility page is the source for these figures and for the visitation and mail details below. The screenshot shows that Centralia page as captured for this resource.

People sentenced in Marion County may or may not land at Centralia, since IDOC classification decides the final institution.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Centralia Correctional Center

Use the statewide IDOC locator, not the county roster, to find someone held at Centralia. The locator searches all Illinois prisons by name, by IDOC number, or by birthdate. Open the IDOC Individual in Custody Search and follow these steps.

1. Open the IDOC Individual in Custody Search.
2. Search by last name, by IDOC number, or by date of birth.
3. Confirm the person's current location shows Centralia Correctional Center.
4. Open the profile for status, admission and release dates, and sentencing detail.

An IDOC profile shows name, IDOC number, parent institution, status, vital statistics, admission and release dates, and sentencing information. Other detail stays confidential unless released under a subpoena or court order. A newly arrested person who has not been sentenced will not be here at all; that search belongs on the jail inmate records page.

Centralia Correctional Center Address and Contact

Reach the prison at its main line for general questions. Custody confirmation comes through the state locator, while staff can help with facility-specific questions.

Individuals in custody cannot receive phone calls, so families place themselves on an approved calling list and the person calls out. Written contact should include the person's IDOC number near the name.

Visiting Someone at Centralia Correctional Center

State prison visits work differently from a county jail. Visitors must sign up in advance through the IDOC-linked scheduling page, and they should review the IDOC visitation rules and video guidelines first. Video visitation runs every day in set windows, and visitors should log on 15 minutes before the start time. The schedule below reflects the IDOC facility page.

Note: Sign up in advance through the IDOC-linked scheduler and review the visitation rules before a visit, since unscheduled visitors may be turned away.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Centralia Correctional Center

Mail and money follow IDOC rules statewide. Mail goes to the Shattuc Road address with the person's name and IDOC number. Money reaches a person in custody through JPAY, Western Union, or a money order sent to a lockbox, not to the facility itself. Phone service runs through ICSolutions. Non-privileged mail may be scanned or photocopied, while privileged legal mail is opened in front of the person.

Do not send a money order directly to the prison, since IDOC routes deposits through the lockbox instead.

Programs at Centralia Correctional Center

The prison runs a broad slate of programs for the men held there, grouped by purpose. Education and job training make up a large part of the offering, alongside prison industries and recovery groups.

• Academic: Adult Basic Education, Advanced Adult Basic Education, and GED through Adult Secondary Education.
• Career and technical: Career Technologies, Culinary Arts, Construction Occupations, HVAC, and Warehousing and Distribution.
• Industries: a recycling program and a sewing shop.
• Recovery and support: Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Substance Abuse, and Anger Management groups.
• Other services: a library, Life Skills, chaplaincy, volunteer literacy, the Lifestyles Redirection Program, and reentry summits.

These are state prison services tied to IDOC, and they do not apply to the county jail. They reflect the prison's focus on education and reentry for a sentenced population.

Reception and Classification at Centralia Correctional Center

People do not arrive at Centralia straight from a street arrest. After a sentence in a county like Marion, a person is transferred into IDOC and goes through reception and classification. IDOC reviews each person for security level, program needs, and institution assignment, and there is no set timeframe for that step. Only after classification does a person reach a permanent institution, which may or may not be Centralia.

That path is why the county jail and the prison hold different groups. Inmates transfer from the Marion County Jail to a state prison only after sentencing, and the county roster stops tracking them once they enter state custody.

Release works through the state, too. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board sets the conditions for parole and mandatory supervised release for state prisoners, and it can be reached at (217) 782-7273. The IDOC locator shows a person's admission date and projected release dates, so families can track where a sentence stands. None of that runs through the county, which is why the state locator is the right tool for anyone held at Centralia.

Centralia and the Marion County Inmate Population

Centralia is the largest custody population physically inside Marion County, far bigger than the county jail. Its 1,122 sentenced state prisoners as of June 30, 2024 are counted apart from the jail's local detainees. The two should be combined only when the point is every incarcerated person held inside the county's borders.

The distinction matters for searches. Centralia holds sentenced adult men from across Illinois, while the county jail holds local pretrial detainees and reported federal detainees. A person tried in Marion County does not automatically land here, since IDOC classification decides the institution. To see how the jail and the prison fit together in the county, the Marion County inmate population overview lays out both sides.

About Centralia Correctional Center

Centralia has operated as a medium-security state prison since October 1980. It is one of many institutions in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and it follows statewide IDOC rules for custody, mail, visitation, and deposits rather than any county policy. The prison reported an average annual cost of about $36,406 per person in one recent fiscal year. Its emphasis on education, job training, and reentry shapes daily life for the sentenced men it holds, and it is the reason a person sentenced in Illinois may spend years here before release.