Inside Illinois Jails

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Saline County

Its jail, located in Harrisburg, has a capacity of 108.

Saline County has a population of 22,826 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Nonmetro - Urban population of 5,000 to 20,000, not adjacent to a metro area”.

8inspections failed since 2017
8incidents reported 2019–2025
2deaths in custody
1death never counted by the state

Annual inspections

Between 2017 and 2025, the Saline County jail has failed eight of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.

Inspectors cited violations to “Supervision” regulations most often, bringing it up in six of those failed inspections.

YearResultViolations cited
2025Noncompliant
2024Noncompliant
2023Noncompliant
2022Noncompliant
2021Noncompliant
2020Compliant—
2019Noncompliant
2018Noncompliant
2017Noncompliant

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

Saline County reported 8 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 3.5 per 10,000 residents, the 63rd highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.

Among the 32 rural counties it is 20th; 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

Saline CountyRural counties Every other county with a jail

Saline 3.5020406080100
Each dot is one of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail, placed by its rate.

Most frequent categories

A single report can fall into more than one category.

Reported incidents by year

  • 20232
  • 20246

Deaths in custody

Between 2019 and 2025, 2 people died in custody of the Saline County sheriff. Of those, 1 was not counted in state oversight data.

Each death in the Saline County jail

Counted by the state Uncounted Additional details

Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.