A legislative oversight panel formally objected Tuesday to a new administrative rule that temporarily allows the Illinois Department of Corrections to withhold mail from incarcerated people and instead deliver electronically scanned copies of correspondence they receive from the outside.

That objection does not block the rule from remaining in effect through January. But it sent a clear message to the department that it will need to make significant changes — and listen to feedback from incarcerated people’s families, attorneys and other interested stakeholders — if it wants to make the rule permanent.

“I think what you’re hearing from this committee on a bicameral and bipartisan basis is that there is a belief you are doing this wrong,” state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, told IDOC staff during a committee meeting in Chicago. “We respect that you have a very difficult job, and we want to give you leeway to do it in securing facilities on behalf of staff and the inmates. But the process is really important.”

IDOC filed what are known as “emergency rules” on Aug. 14, saying they were necessary “to provide for the safety and security of committed persons, staff, and the public.” Specifically, the department said the rules were intended to prevent contraband such as drugs, weapons and cellphones from being smuggled into prisons through the mail.

Read more: Under emergency rule, Illinois prisons can begin withholding physical mail

Since January 2024, according to IDOC, there have been 669 suspected overdoses among incarcerated people in the prison system and 409 staff exposures to drugs. Officials say one of the main sources of drugs getting into facilities is through letters or magazines that are sprayed or soaked with intoxicating or hazardous substances.

Emergency use questioned

But several members of the committee questioned why the department was using its emergency rulemaking authority now if it has known for a long time about drugs being smuggled into facilities through the mail.

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To prevent that from happening, IDOC said it has begun providing incarcerated people with tablet computers that can be used to read scanned images of their mail. The tablets also come loaded with entertainment packages and communications systems that incarcerated people can access by paying fees.

But while incarcerated people have access to the entertainment and communications features of those tablets, IDOC officials confirmed Tuesday that they have not yet started using them to deliver mail, and that they have not yet implemented the system for scanning mail.

Officials told the committee that the tablets were purchased on a “zero-cost contract,” meaning the vendor does not charge the state for the devices but instead makes its profit selling their entertainment and communication services.

“The most important thing that you guys do is to make sure your guards are safe and make sure the inmates are safe,” said Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford. “So if people are bringing contraband through the mail, you need to stop that from happening first. First and foremost.”

One official responded that the process of introducing the tablet system into the prisons has taken time, including staff training, but that IDOC is now ready to begin scanning mail.

That did not satisfy Rep. Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, who argued that IDOC did not need to enact administrative rules to halt mail delivery if it believed mail was being used to smuggle drugs into the prison system. He also questioned why incarcerated people were being given access to entertainment and communication features of the tablet first, if the primary purpose of those devices was to prevent drug smuggling.

“This is all very concerning to me,” he said. “We need to really, really keep our arms around what you all are trying to do. I don’t trust you, to be very frank. I don’t trust the fact that you all have had the opportunity to implement this and you haven’t.”

State law gives agencies authority to enact administrative rules on an emergency basis and put them into effect immediately. But those rules can only stay in force for 150 days, after which they must either expire or be replaced by permanent rules. Enacting permanent rules, however, is a lengthier process that involves holding public hearings and taking public comment.

IDOC submitted proposed permanent rules on Sept. 9. Those are expected to be the subject of further discussion at the oversight committee’s next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 14 in Springfield.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.