Email to inmates and detainees

Do you know that you can send email to inmates and detainees at the McHenry County Corrections Center (jail), right here in Woodstock?

You'll need an account, which you can set up at http://www.icsletters.com/ It's easy and quick, and you can fund the account with a credit or debit card (but not a DISCOVER card). You can write up to three pages with 2,500* characters per page, and the cost to send the email is $0.50/page.

You can actually say a lot with 2,500 characters so, if you send one page for $0.50, that's only $0.06 more than a stamp would cost, and it gets there instantly (assuming it goes through).

You'll need the inmate or detainee's local MCSD ID number, such as his commissary account numer. Don't use the ICE number, if you are writing to a detainee.

If you know you have the right account number and correct spelling of the name, but you continue to get a message that there is no account or that the inmate cannot receive email, then call the Jail Administration and ask why. The phone number is 815-338-9396. Press 8, then 2.

* The ICSletters print-out (Release 6-2008) at the jail erroneously indicates that one page can contain up to 3,500 characters.