Lake County
Its jail, located in Waukegan, has a capacity of 660.
Lake County has a population of 718,604 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Metro - Counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more”.
Annual inspections
Between 2017 and 2025, the Lake County jail has failed three of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Compliant | — |
| 2024 | Compliant | — |
| 2023 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2022 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2021 | Compliant | — |
| 2020 | Compliant | — |
| 2019 | Compliant | — |
| 2018 | Compliant | — |
| 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
Lake County reported 2,644 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 36.8 per 10,000 residents, the 13th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 6th; 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
Lake CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- Hospitalization733
- OC spray used443
- Suicide attempt236
- Fight among detainees217
- Battery186
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 7 people died in custody of the Lake County sheriff. All of them appear in state oversight data.
Each death in the Lake County jail
Counted by the state
No deaths in custody were identified at the Lake County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.