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Lee County Jail Overview

The Lee County Jail is operated by the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 240 E. Progress Drive in Dixon. It is a county jail, which means it holds people before and during their cases, not sentenced state prisoners. The sheriff's office is responsible for the care and custody of people confined there, along with court security and dispatch for the county. Sheriff Clayton T. Whelan leads the office, and Ryan Pettenger is named as jail administrator in state records.

The building is new by jail standards. State inspection records list a 2020 construction date. The jail is rated for 94 beds, split into 85 male beds and 9 female beds, with 12 single rooms, 34 double rooms, and a 14-bed dorm. It is the facility covered by the county current inmate list, so it is the right page for a local booking. A sentenced person is a different matter and moves into state custody.

Lee County Jail Capacity and Population

The jail runs well under its rated size in every public reading. State inspectors counted 30 people on August 13, 2024. The sheriff's current list showed 39 housed on June 9, 2026. Both are single-day snapshots, not averages, since the county does not publish a running count. Against a 94-bed capacity, those readings sit between a third and a half full.

Inside the Lee County Jail

The 2024 state inspection gives a clear look at how the jail runs. Medical care comes from Advanced Correctional Healthcare, with a nurse on site 32 hours a week. Mental-health services run through Advanced Correctional Healthcare and Sinnissippi Centers. Consolidated Food Service handles meals, and Stellar Services runs the commissary. The building holds 12 single rooms, 34 double rooms, and a 14-bed dorm. Inspectors counted 14 male and 1 female full-time jail-duty officers and no part-time jail staff on the inspection day.

State standards shape the daily routine. The county jail rules require classification and separation, regular observation checks, careful property handling, and medical screening at intake. The 2024 review found the jail meeting its 30-minute observation checks about 93 percent of the time and asked for better training and supervision records. Those are documentation issues rather than crowding, since the jail sat near a third of capacity on the inspection day. Improvements that year included a new phone and video contract, a new transport van, remote court equipment, and new uniforms and blankets.

How to Look Up an Inmate at the Lee County Jail

The county uses the sheriff's current inmate list, a PDF linked from the Lee County Jail page. It carries names and booking numbers only, so you search it with your own reader rather than a search box. For recent bookings with more detail, the sheriff also posts an arrest summary report.

1. Open the Lee County Jail page and click the current jail list link.
2. Use the find tool in your browser or reader to search the last name.
3. Confirm the match by name and booking number.
4. For charges or a recent booking, open the arrest summary report instead.

If the person is not on the list, they may have been released, sent to court, or transferred. A sentenced person appears in the state locator, not here. Because the file lacks a birth date or charges, two people with the same name can be hard to separate, so the arrest summary or a call to the jail can settle it. The jail inmate records page explains how to chain these sources together.

Lee County Jail Address and Contact

The jail and the sheriff's office share one address in Dixon. Use the jail phone for custody questions and the sheriff's main line for office matters. The jail does not give out court dates and will point you to the court for those.

Visiting Someone at the Lee County Jail

Visits run through Combined Public Communications and the InmateSales portal, which also handles phone and video service. On-site public video visits happen on weekends, while remote video is available almost every day. Set up an account, schedule ahead, and bring valid photo ID. The schedule below follows the jail page.

One on-site video visit per weekend is allowed, booked at least 24 hours ahead. Arrive about 15 minutes early. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian present, and the person in custody may decline a visit.

Mail, Phone, and Money at the Lee County Jail

Mail goes to the person by name at the jail address and must carry a return name and address or it is discarded. All mail is inspected, and a person may receive up to seven photos by mail under the content rules. Phone service is through Combined Public Communications, and money runs through Stellar Commissary Services and JailATM.

A money order made out to the inmate can also be mailed. Online deposit support for friends and family is 870-627-5476.

Booking and Intake at the Lee County Jail

An arrest by the sheriff or a city police department leads to booking when custody is required. Staff record the name, birth date, booking number, and arrest details, then complete a search, a property inventory, and medical and mental-health screening. The 2024 inspection noted on-site nursing and mental-health coverage. After booking, the person appears on the next current list. Court handling moves to the Circuit Clerk, since the jail does not set or share court dates.

Illinois changed how pretrial custody works in 2023. Cash bail ended on September 18, 2023, so a person is no longer held only because they cannot pay. A prosecutor may file a petition to deny pretrial release, and if a judge grants it, the person stays in the Lee County Jail while the case proceeds. If release is ordered, the court sets conditions instead of a money amount. To check a case or a release, use the court record and the Circuit Clerk, and call the jail only to confirm custody.

Common Lee County Jail Terms

A few terms come up again and again when people deal with the Lee County Jail. The plain meanings below help when reading a record or speaking with staff.

Booking number

The local identifier assigned to a booking, shown in a format such as 26LJ-0180.

Pretrial release

Release while a case is pending, under conditions the court sets rather than a cash bond.

Petition to deny pretrial release

A prosecutor's filing that asks the judge to keep a person in custody during the case.

Detainer

A hold placed by another agency that can keep a person in custody even after the local matter is resolved.

Classification

The process that assigns a person to a housing unit based on security and needs.

VINELink

A notification service that can alert you to a change in custody or an upcoming release.

About the Lee County Jail

The jail is part of a sheriff's office with a long local history. The agency's history page records its fallen, including Correctional Officer Richard Bert Fordham, Sr., and shares older agency material such as a retired service dog and vintage patches and squad cars. The current jail itself reflects recent investment, with a new phone and video contract, a new transport van, and remote court equipment added by the 2024 inspection cycle.

The history page shown above adds local color without changing the practical points. State inspectors did flag paperwork gaps in training and supervision logs in 2024, which are conditions notes rather than crowding problems. Once a person here is convicted and sentenced, they transfer out of the county jail and into state custody at a prison such as Dixon Correctional Center.