Madison County
Its jail, located in Edwardsville, has a capacity of 328.
Madison County has a population of 263,017 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 Madison County jail has failed three of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2024 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2023 | Compliant | — |
| 2022 | Compliant | — |
| 2021 | Compliant | — |
| 2020 | Compliant | — |
| 2019 | Compliant | — |
| 2018 | Noncompliant |
|
| 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
Madison County reported 1,356 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 51.6 per 10,000 residents, the 6th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 3rd; 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
Madison CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- Fight among detainees402
- OC spray used273
- Restraints used259
- Battery183
- Hospitalization124
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 8 people died in custody of the Madison County sheriff. Of those, 5 were not counted in state oversight data.
Each death in the Madison County jail
Counted by the state Uncounted
No deaths in custody were identified at the Madison County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.