Winnebago County
Its jail, located in Rockford, has a capacity of 1,324.
Winnebago County has a population of 283,790 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 Winnebago County jail has failed three of nine Illinois Department of Corrections inspections.
Inspectors cited violations to “Supervision” regulations most often, bringing it up in three of those failed inspections.
| Year | Result | Violations cited |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Compliant | — |
| 2024 | Noncompliant |
|
| 2023 | Compliant | — |
| 2022 | Compliant | — |
| 2021 | Compliant | — |
| 2020 | Compliant | — |
| 2019 | Compliant | — |
| 2018 | Noncompliant |
|
| 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
Winnebago County reported 488 extraordinary or unusual incidents at its jail between 2019 and 2025 — 17.2 per 10,000 residents, the 23rd highest rate of the 92 Illinois counties with a jail.
Among the 36 metropolitan counties it is 13th; 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
Winnebago CountyMetropolitan counties Every other county with a jail
Most frequent categories
- OC spray used271
- Fight among detainees144
- Restraints used129
- Battery70
- Assault on staff37
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 Winnebago County sheriff. Of those, 5 were not counted in state oversight data.
Each death in the Winnebago County jail
Counted by the state Uncounted Additional details
No deaths in custody were identified at the Winnebago County jail.
Illinois Answers withheld the names of some of the deceased at the request of their families.
Data compiled 2026-09-15. Methodology.