FCI Oxford
Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford (FCI Oxford) is a low-security federal prison for male inmates in Oxford, Wisconsin. The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs it. The prison sits in rural Adams County, about 60 miles north of Madison and roughly 180 miles northwest of Chicago.[1] It opened in 1973. For most of its history it ran as a medium-security institution. In 2023 the Bureau reclassified it to low security.[2]
A minimum-security satellite camp once stood next to the main prison. It closed in 2023, and the Bureau formalized that closure in late 2024.[3] Over the years Oxford held several well-known prisoners from Illinois politics, including former Governor George Ryan and former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski.
Overview
FCI Oxford houses adult male offenders. As of December 2025 the population stood near 1,050.[1] Housing is split across separate units of one- and two-person cells. The Bureau classifies it as a low-security facility, the tier below medium and above the minimum-security camps.[1]
The prison belongs to the Bureau's North Central Region. It falls within the federal Western District of Wisconsin.[1] Its location matters to how it has been used. Oxford sits within driving range of Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and the Twin Cities. That proximity made it a frequent designation for white-collar defendants and political figures from the upper Midwest, several of whom served time here.[4]
The institution offers the standard slate of Bureau programs. Among them is the Residential Drug Abuse Program, a roughly nine-month treatment course that can shorten a qualifying inmate's sentence by up to a year.[1]
History
Oxford opened in 1973. The Bureau built it to absorb capacity across the Midwest, and it ran as a medium-security men's prison for decades.[4]
A minimum-security satellite camp opened beside the main institution in 1985. The camp held roughly 85 men. Inmates there provided labor for the main prison and worked off-site detail assignments.[3]
On June 21, 2023, the Bureau announced that FCI Oxford would shift from medium security to low security.[2] Director Colette Peters tied the change to the agency's shortage of low-security beds and to the First Step Act, which pushes the Bureau to hold people closer to the communities they will return to.[2] Oxford was the fourth facility to make the switch, after FCI Memphis, FCI Estill, and the Estill camp.[2]
The satellite camp did not survive the transition. The Bureau emptied it in 2023, transferring its inmates to other institutions and moving its staff to the main prison.[3] In December 2024 the agency formally listed the Oxford camp among federal facilities marked for closure, citing a critical staffing shortage, aging infrastructure, and budget pressure.[3][5] The main institution kept operating throughout.
Notable Inmates
George Ryan served the start of his federal sentence at Oxford. The former Illinois Governor was convicted in 2006 on racketeering, fraud, and related corruption counts and drew a sentence of six and a half years.[6] He reported to Oxford on November 7, 2007. The Bureau transferred him to FCI Terre Haute in Indiana on February 29, 2008, after Oxford stopped housing inmates over 70 and changed its level of medical care. Ryan was released in July 2013.[6]
Dan Rostenkowski spent about 17 months at Oxford in the late 1990s. The longtime Illinois congressman and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1996. President Bill Clinton pardoned him in 2000.[4]
George Papadopoulos served a two-week sentence here in 2018. The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser had pleaded guilty to making a false statement to FBI investigators during the Russia inquiry. He surrendered to the minimum-security camp at Oxford on November 26, 2018, and was released on December 7. President Trump pardoned him in December 2020.[7]
Carlos Almonte is among the longer-term inmates tied to the facility. He was convicted of conspiracy to murder people abroad and of attempting to join the militant group Al-Shabaab, and he is serving a 20-year sentence.[4]
Location and Visitation
The prison stands at County Road G and Elk Avenue in Oxford, Wisconsin. Mail to inmates goes to a post office box at the same town.[1]
- Physical address: FCI Oxford, County Road G & Elk Avenue, Oxford, WI 53952
- Inmate mail: Inmate Name, Register Number, FCI Oxford, P.O. Box 1000, Oxford, WI 53952
- Phone: 608-584-5511
Oxford lies in central Wisconsin, about 60 miles north of Madison and 180 miles northwest of Chicago. Interstate 39 runs nearby; the County Road G exit leads to the institution.[1]
The Bureau approves visitors in advance. Visiting runs on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and on Fridays from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visit length can be capped depending on arrival time and how crowded the visiting room is.[1] Money for inmates does not go to the prison. It goes through the Bureau's processing center: Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Name and Register Number, P.O. Box 474701, Des Moines, IA 50947-0001.[1] Current visiting rules sit on the institution's official Bureau page.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "FCI Oxford". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "FCI Oxford Mission Change". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Satellite camp at Oxford prison on list of federal facilities marked for closure".Wisconsin Public Radio.2024-12-06.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "Bureau of Prisons suspends operations at a minimum-security camp in Wisconsin".Wisconsin Examiner.2024-12-07.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "George Ryan Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
- ↑ "George Papadopoulos surrenders to federal prison camp at FCI Oxford".Wikipedia.Retrieved 2026-06-03.