How to Become a Correctional Officer in Illinois: Steps and Pay

To become a correctional officer in Illinois, you need a high school diploma or GED, a valid driver’s license, U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, and you must be at least 18. From there, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) runs you through a multi-step screening — written exams, a physical agility test, an oral interview, a background check, and a drug test — and if you pass everything, you enter an eight-week training program as a Correctional Officer Trainee at a starting salary of $58,176 per year.¹

Who Qualifies to Apply

Confirm you meet every one of these before you spend time on the application. Missing any single item stops the process:

At least 18 years old.
High school diploma or GED. A college degree is not required, but 15 or more earned college credit hours exempts you from one part of the screening exam.
U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (with proof of a permanent resident card).
A valid driver’s license.

The license requirement is a valid driver’s license, not necessarily one issued by Illinois, though you will likely need an Illinois license once you report to a facility.¹

The Screening Steps in Order

IDOC does not use a simple “apply and interview” model. The screening is sequential, and failing any portion ends the process on the spot.

TABE and Physical Agility

Your first hurdle is the TABE, a vocabulary and reading comprehension test. If you have 15 or more earned college credit hours or a degree, you skip the TABE, but bring an unofficial transcript as proof. After the TABE comes a physical agility exam. Both are pass/fail prerequisites. Fail either one and no further testing happens.²

Scored Exams and Interview

Candidates who clear the first stage take an observation and comprehension examination and a written examination. Military experience is evaluated and scored at this stage. A structured oral interview rounds out the scored portion, and your final ranking is a composite of the observation/comprehension exam, written exam, military experience, and interview.²

Background Check, Drug Test, and Medical

Before any hiring decision, IDOC runs a full background investigation and a drug test. A failed drug test makes you permanently ineligible for employment or volunteer service with the department. After a conditional offer, you complete a physical and vision examination provided by the department, plus a PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) self-report form as part of your screening paperwork.²

How and Where to Apply

Applications go through an electronic Applicant Data Form on the IDOC website. Screening events are held periodically at various facilities across the state, so check the IDOC careers page for the next dates and locations.¹

The Eight-Week Training Program

Once hired as a Correctional Officer Trainee, you enter an eight-week program. The first two weeks are at your assigned facility: grounds tour, meetings with leadership, CPR and first aid certification, online coursework, and an introduction to the professionalism standards IDOC expects.³

Weeks three through eight take place at the Training Academy on the campus of the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center in Decatur. Coursework covers firearms, use of force, defensive control tactics, restraints and handcuffing, search techniques, report writing, communications, use of radios, mental health awareness, implicit bias, staff wellness, and PREA compliance. A simulator and mock cells give you scenario reps before you face real ones.³

What Academy Life Is Like

The academy runs closer to a military program than a college campus. Trainees follow a dress and grooming code, stand daily inspection, and stay in dormitories that lock between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Personal vehicles and visitors are generally prohibited without authorization from the training manager, and cell phones are banned during training hours.⁴ The material isn’t impossibly hard. Six weeks away from home under strict conditions is what tends to weed people out.

Pay, Overtime, and Retirement

Starting salary for a Correctional Officer Trainee is $58,176 per year, paid in full during the three-month trainee period including time at the academy. After successful completion of the trainee period, you are promoted to Correctional Officer at $62,520.¹

Overtime is paid at time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond your normal shift, up to 16 hours in a 24-hour period. Hours beyond 16 in a single 24-hour stretch pay at double time. You can also request compensatory time off in lieu of cash overtime pay. Expect mandatory overtime, especially early on: when voluntary lists run out, IDOC mandates the least-senior officer first.⁵

Illinois correctional officers participate in the State Employees’ Retirement System under the alternative formula for security employees. Tier 2 members coordinated with Social Security can retire at age 60 with 20 years of qualifying service. The benefit accrues at 2.5 percent of final average compensation per year of service, with the average calculated from your 96 highest consecutive months of earnings within your last 120 months.⁶

The Job Itself

Facilities operate around the clock, so plan on rotating eight-hour shifts including nights, weekends, and holidays. The core of the work is supervising the people housed in your facility: headcounts, managing movement between housing units, chow halls, and program areas, monitoring cells and common spaces, enforcing rules, searching for contraband, investigating incidents, and writing reports. Applying rules consistently is what keeps a housing unit stable; inconsistency is what triggers problems.

Communication takes more of the day than most new hires expect. You relay information to colleagues, supervisors, and other departments, and you are the first point of contact when someone in custody has a question or request. Balancing approachability with authority is the skill that separates officers who control a unit from those who occupy one.

The Real Hazards

This is not a desk job. The CDC identifies workplace violence from assaults as a primary hazard for correctional workers, and the job carries ongoing exposure to communicable diseases including HIV, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and MRSA. Needlestick injuries during searches, contaminated high-touch surfaces, and close-quarters contact with a large population all add to the risk.⁷ IDOC training covers disease-prevention protocols, but the exposure environment is worth understanding before you commit.

Moving Up from Officer

The promotional ladder is Correctional Officer Trainee to Correctional Officer, then Correctional Sergeant and Correctional Lieutenant. Specialized promotion-only tracks include Corrections Treatment Officer and Corrections Transportation Officer.⁸ Beyond that, officers have moved into shift supervisor, assistant warden, and warden roles.⁹ Promotions require a mix of seniority, demonstrated leadership, and performance on competitive promotional exams administered by the Department of Central Management Services. Additional education in criminal justice, psychology, or social work opens doors to specialized roles such as correctional counselor.

1
Illinois Department of Corrections. Careers at IDOC
2
Illinois Department of Corrections. Administrative Directive 03.02.105 – Qualifications and Screening for Correctional Officer Trainees
3
Illinois Department of Corrections. Training Academy
4
Illinois Department of Corrections. Administrative Directive 03.03.101 – Training Academy Attendance Guidelines
5
Illinois Department of Corrections. Administrative Directive 03.01.115 – Overtime Equalization
6
Illinois State Retirement Systems. Tier 2 Alternative Formula
7
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Correctional Workers Safety
8
Illinois Department of Central Management Services. Position Titles
9
Illinois Department of Corrections. Spring 2025 Newsletter