Illinois Code § 20

§ 20.

Cost and expense; commissary fund. (a) The cost and expense of keeping, maintaining and furnishing the jail of each county, and of keeping and maintaining the committed person thereof, except as otherwise provided by law, shall be paid from the county treasury, the account therefor being first settled and allowed by the county board. The county board may require convicted persons confined in its jail to reimburse the county for the expenses incurred by their incarceration to the extent of their ability to pay for such expenses. The warden of the jail shall establish by regulation criteria for a reasonable deduction from money credited to any account of an inmate to defray the costs to the county for an inmate's medical care. The State's Attorney of the county in which such jail is located may, if requested by the County Board, institute civil actions in the circuit court of the county in which the jail is located to recover from such convicted confined persons the expenses incurred by their confinement. The funds recovered shall be paid into the county treasury. (a-5) Upon notification from the Clerk of the Circuit Court of an outstanding fine, restitution, or costs imposed by the court on a jail inmate, the warden of the jail may, at any time prior to release of the inmate, deduct from money credited to any account of the inmate an amount to pay or reduce the outstanding balance. The warden of the jail shall establish by regulation criteria for deduction from money credited to any account of an inmate to pay or reduce the amount outstanding on a fine, restitution, or costs imposed by the court on the inmate. The regulation shall comply with any withholding restrictions otherwise provided by law. The inmate shall be provided with written notice of the amount of any deduction. There shall also be prominent notice by signage at any location where the warden of the jail or jail employees receive funds for deposit into an inmate's account, that funds in an inmate's account may be used to pay fines, restitution, or costs imposed on the inmate by a court. Any person providing funds for an inmate's account shall be notified in writing when the funds are provided, that funds in an inmate's account may be used to pay fines, restitution, or costs imposed on the inmate by a court. (b) When a committed person is released from the county jail after the completion of his or her sentence and has money credited to his or her account in the commissary fund, the sheriff or a person acting on the authority of the sheriff must mail a check in the amount credited to the committed person's account to the committed person's last known address. If after 30 days from the date of mailing of the check, the check is returned undelivered, the sheriff must transmit the amount of the check to the county treasurer for deposit into the commissary fund. Nothing in this subsection (b) constitutes a forfeiture of the committed person's right to claim the money accredited to his or her account after the 30-day period. (Source: P.A. 103-745, eff. 1-1-25.)