Sangamon County

Its jail, located in Springfield, has a capacity of 314.

Sangamon County has a population of 194,345 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Metro - Counties in metro areas of fewer than 250,000 population”.

9inspections failed since 2017

1,441incidents reported 2019–2025

4deaths in custody

2deaths never counted by the state

Annual inspections

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

Inspectors cited violations to “Admission Procedures” and “Housing” regulations most often, bringing it up , each in six of those failed inspections.

Year	Result	Violations cited
2025	Noncompliant	Supervision701.130
2024	Noncompliant	Supervision701.130
2023	Noncompliant	Supervision701.130
2022	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80
2021	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80 Commissary701.250
2020	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80
2019	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80
2018	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80
2017	Noncompliant	Admission Procedures701.40 Housing701.80

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

Sangamon County reported 1,441 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 74.1 per 10,000 residents, the 2nd highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.

Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 2nd; 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

Sangamon CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail

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

Most frequent categories

Restraints used373
Hospitalization264
Fight among detainees221
Taser used145
Suicide attempt82

A single report can fall into more than one category.

Reported incidents by year

2019229
2020230
2021182
2022187
2023197
2024172
2025244

Deaths in custody

Between 2019 and 2025, 4 people died in custody of the Sangamon County sheriff. Of those, 2 were not counted in state oversight data.

Each death in the Sangamon County jail

Counted by the state Uncounted Additional details

Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.