Its jail, located in Chicago, has a capacity of 9,075.
Cook County has a population of 5,182,617 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Metro - Counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more”.
6inspections failed since 2017
13,192incidents reported 2019–2025
85deaths in custody
8deaths never counted by the state
Annual inspections
Between 2017 and 2025, the Cook County jail has failed six of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
Inspectors cited violations to “Supervision” regulations most often, bringing it up in four of those failed inspections.
Each violation links to the standard it cites in the Illinois County Jail Standards. Years link to the full inspection report for that year on the IDOC website.
Extraordinary or unusual incidents
Cook County reported 13,192 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 25.5 per 10,000 residents, the 16th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 9th; those counties report a median of 8.3. The median for every county with a jail is 7.
A county reporting less could indicate lower incident rates or lower reporting rates.
Incidents per 10,000 residents
Cook CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Each dot is one of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail, placed by its rate.
Most frequent categories
Battery6,036
Fight among detainees5,118
OC spray used1,914
Serious injury548
Suicide attempt373
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
20211,270
20222,987
20233,722
20243,183
20252,030
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 85 people died in custody of the Cook County sheriff. Of those, 8 were not counted in state oversight data.
Each death in the Cook County jail
Counted by the state UncountedAdditional details
No deaths in custody were identified at the Cook County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.