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Phone Calls After an Arrest

725 ILCS 5/103-3.5 — 3 free calls to a lawyer and family, within 3 hours of arriving

  • A person in police custody may make 3 telephone calls, free of charge, to a lawyer of their choice and to family members.
  • Access to a landline or cell phone comes as soon as possible and no later than 3 hours after arriving at the first place of detention.
  • 725 ILCS 5/103-3.5
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Who handles this in Illinois: Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Lawyer Finder; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Illinois directory.Holding a paper like this? Read my paper can read one for you, free with an account.

Every police facility where people are held posts a sign in bold block type telling them of the right to a phone within 3 hours.

  • 725 ILCS 5/103-3.5
Sources for this section (1)
  1. 725 ILCS 5/103-3.5 — Right to communicate with attorney and family; transfers; presumption of inadmissibility

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Illinois attorney.

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