Macon County
Its jail, located in Decatur, has a capacity of 402.
Macon County has a population of 100,737 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Metro - Counties in metro areas of fewer than 250,000 population”.
Annual inspections
Between 2017 and 2025, the Macon County jail has failed one of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Noncompliant | |
| 2024 | Compliant | — |
| 2023 | Compliant | — |
| 2022 | Compliant | — |
| 2021 | Compliant | — |
| 2020 | Compliant | — |
| 2019 | Compliant | — |
| 2018 | Compliant | — |
| 2017 | Compliant | — |
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
Macon County reported 468 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 46.5 per 10,000 residents, the 8th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 4th; 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
Macon CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- Restraints used193
- Taser used124
- OC spray used83
- Suicide attempt47
- Fight among detainees44
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 2 people died in custody of the Macon County sheriff. Of those, 1 was not counted in state oversight data.
Each death in the Macon County jail
Counted by the state Uncounted
No deaths in custody were identified at the Macon County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.