Iroquois County
Its jail, located in Watseka, has a capacity of 65.
Iroquois County has a population of 26,067 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Nonmetro - Urban population of fewer than 5,000, adjacent to a metro area”.
Annual inspections
Between 2017 and 2025, the Iroquois County jail has failed six of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
Inspectors cited violations to “Personnel” and “Supervision” regulations most often, bringing it up , each in three of those failed inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Compliant | — |
| 2024 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2023 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2022 | Compliant | — |
| 2021 | Compliant | — |
| 2020 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2019 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2018 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2017 | Noncompliant |
|
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
Iroquois County reported 20 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 7.7 per 10,000 residents, the 45th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 32 rural counties it is 10th; those counties report a median of 5. 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
Iroquois CountyRural counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- Restraints used10
- Taser used7
- Suicide attempt5
- Sex offense3
- Escape3
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 3 people died in custody of the Iroquois County sheriff. All of them appear in state oversight data.
Each death in the Iroquois County jail
Counted by the state Additional details
No deaths in custody were identified at the Iroquois County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.