At least 85 people died while detained in Cook County Jail between 2019 and 2025. That’s more than a third of all jail-related deaths statewide during that time.
Andrew Adams
Andrew Adams joined the Illinois Answers team in 2025 as a data and interactives journalist. Andrew previously worked for Capitol News Illinois, covering the energy industry, economic incentive programs and legislative issues affecting Chicagoland. Previously, he built a data beat for a national magazine covering the tech industry, conducted academic research into gun violence in downstate Illinois, and worked on an award-winning series analyzing the effects of stimulus programs during the pandemic. He holds degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois Springfield.
Posted inInvestigations
Unsanitary, Unsupervised, Understaffed: Most Illinois Jails Aren’t Meeting Minimum State Standards
Jails that routinely fail inspections can be referred to the attorney general — but the Department of Corrections hasn’t done so in over a decade.
Posted inInvestigations
Dozens of Deaths in Illinois Jails Missing from State Records
An Illinois Answers Project analysis revealed that 63 people who died in jails were missing from state data on in-custody fatalities. Now the state is auditing its records.
Posted inInvestigations
Escapes. Fires. Rebellions. Trove of Records Reveals Chaos Inside Illinois County Jails.
Illinois county jails report thousands of “extraordinary or unusual” incidents every year, but the state doesn’t keep track. So we stepped in to shed light on what’s happening inside.
Posted inInvestigations
Firms Linked to 2 Men Convicted of Public Corruption Have Gotten Campaign Business from JB Pritzker and the CTU
The firms tied to former Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers and former Blagojevich administration official Bamani Obadele have gotten campaign business from Gov. JB Pritzker and in the hotly contested race for Chicago School Board president.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
City Leaders Tout Tree-Planting Bonanza, But Neighborhood Disparities Persist
Departments have turned to community groups to help break through cultural barriers that have contributed to wide gaps in tree coverage, a critical public health measure
