Cook County Jail
Encyclopedia
The Cook County Jail, located on 96 acres (388,498.6 m²) in Cook County
, Illinois
, is the largest jail
in the United States of America housing approximately 9,800 men and women. The facility is located at 3015 S California Ave in the city of Chicago
. It employs 3,800 law enforcement officials and 7,000 civilian employees.
The jail has held several infamous criminals including Al Capone
, Tony Accardo
, Frank Nitti
, Larry Hoover
, Jeff Fort
, Richard Speck
and John Wayne Gacy
.
It was one of three sites in which executions were carried out by electrocution in Illinois. Between 1928 and 1962, the electric chair
was used 67 times at the jail, including the state's last electrocution on August 24, 1962. The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Stateville Correctional Center
in Crest Hill
and at the Menard Correctional Center
in Chester
.
of the United States Department of Justice
released a report finding that the Eighth Amendment
civil rights
of the inmates has been systematically violated. The report found that the CCJ failed to adequately protect inmates from harm or risk of harm from other inmates or staff; failed to provide adequate suicide prevention; failed to provide adequate sanitary environmental conditions; failed to provide adequate fire safety precautions; and failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care.
Specific alleged violations that have resulted in Federal sanctions and/or class action lawsuits include:
, as well as its 2002 film adaptation
.
B.B. King's Live in Cook County Jail
album features a live recording of a concert that he performed for the jail's inmates on September 10, 1970.
The song "My Long Walk to Jail" on Filter
's 2002 album The Amalgamut
with a sample of an incoming call from Cook County Jail.
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, is the largest jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
in the United States of America housing approximately 9,800 men and women. The facility is located at 3015 S California Ave in the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. It employs 3,800 law enforcement officials and 7,000 civilian employees.
The jail has held several infamous criminals including Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
, Tony Accardo
Tony Accardo
Antonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
, Frank Nitti
Frank Nitti
Francesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations...
, Larry Hoover
Larry Hoover
Larry Hoover was the leader of the Chicago street gang called Gangster Disciples.-Early life:...
, Jeff Fort
Jeff Fort
Jeff Fort is a former Chicago gang leader, co-founder of the Black P. Stones gang, and founder of its El Rukn faction. He was convicted in 1987 of conspiring with Libya to perform acts of domestic terrorism.- Biography :...
, Richard Speck
Richard Speck
Richard Franklin Speck was a mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on July 14, 1966.- Monmouth, 1941–1950 :...
and John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was an American serial killer, rapist and clown who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawlspace of his home, buried three others elsewhere on his property, and discarded the...
.
It was one of three sites in which executions were carried out by electrocution in Illinois. Between 1928 and 1962, the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
was used 67 times at the jail, including the state's last electrocution on August 24, 1962. The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Stateville Correctional Center
Stateville Correctional Center
Stateville Correctional Center is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois, USA.-History:Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to accommodate 1,506 inmates. Parts of the prison were designed according to the panopticon concept proposed by the British philosopher and prison...
in Crest Hill
Crest Hill, Illinois
Crest Hill is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,329 at the 2000 census and the 2010 census population estimate was 20,867.-Geography:Crest Hill is located at...
and at the Menard Correctional Center
Menard Correctional Center
Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It is a state prison housing maximum-security and high medium-security adult males.The average daily population as of 2007 is 3,410. Menard Correctional...
in Chester
Chester, Illinois
Chester is a city located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County and is located south of St. Louis, Missouri.-History:...
.
U.S. Department of Justice report
In July 2008, the civil rights divisionUnited States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is the institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin. The Division was established on December 9, 1957, by...
of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
released a report finding that the Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
of the inmates has been systematically violated. The report found that the CCJ failed to adequately protect inmates from harm or risk of harm from other inmates or staff; failed to provide adequate suicide prevention; failed to provide adequate sanitary environmental conditions; failed to provide adequate fire safety precautions; and failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care.
Specific alleged violations that have resulted in Federal sanctions and/or class action lawsuits include:
- Systematic beatings and rapings by corrections officers.
- Poor food quality.
- Inmates forced to sleep on cell floors due to overcrowding and mismanagement (resulting in a $1,000 per inmate class action settlement).
- Rodent infestation and injury caused to sleeping inmates by rat and mouse bites.
- Violations of privacy during multiple invasive strip searches.
- Failure to provide adequate medical care, including failure to dispense medications.
- Invasive and painful mandatory tests for male STD's (resulting in a $200 per inmate class action settlement).
- Unnecessarily long waiting time for discharge upon payment of bond, completion of sentence, or charges being dropped. Wait times are currently routinely in excess of 8 hours, nearly all of which is spent with many inmates packed into tiny cells.
In Popular Culture
The Cook County jail was the setting used for the musical ChicagoChicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
, as well as its 2002 film adaptation
Chicago (2002 film)
Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
.
B.B. King's Live in Cook County Jail
Live in Cook County Jail
Live in Cook County Jail is a 1971 live album by B.B. King recorded in Cook County Jail, Chicago, Illinois. It was ranked as number 499 in the book version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time...
album features a live recording of a concert that he performed for the jail's inmates on September 10, 1970.
The song "My Long Walk to Jail" on Filter
Filter
- Chemistry, engineering and materials :In chemistry, engineering, or household usage, a device to separate mixtures. See:* Filter , critical components of both freshwater and marine aquaria...
's 2002 album The Amalgamut
The Amalgamut
The Amalgamut is the third album of industrial rock band Filter released in 2002 by Reprise Records. It includes the hit single "Where Do We Go from Here"...
with a sample of an incoming call from Cook County Jail.