Tazewell County
Its jail, located in Pekin, has a capacity of 236.
Tazewell County has a population of 129,821 and is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as “Metro - Counties in metro areas of 250,000 to 1 million population”.
Annual inspections
Between 2017 and 2025, the Tazewell County jail has failed two of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Compliant | — |
| 2024 | Compliant | — |
| 2023 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2022 | Compliant | — |
| 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
Tazewell County reported 285 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 22 per 10,000 residents, the 18th highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 11th; 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
Tazewell CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- Restraints used219
- Taser used24
- Suicide attempt24
- Assault on staff18
- Battery9
A single report can fall into more than one category.
Reported incidents by year
Deaths in custody
Between 2019 and 2025, 4 people died in custody of the Tazewell County sheriff. Of those, 1 was not counted in state oversight data.
Each death in the Tazewell County jail
Counted by the state Uncounted
No deaths in custody were identified at the Tazewell County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.