Crowding and Conditions of Confinement at the Cook County Department of Corrections

This is the twenty-sixth in a series of reports by the John Howard Association of Illinois on inmate population, crowding and conditions at the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) as these factors relate to the provisions of the Consent Decree in this litigation.

The format of this Court Monitor’s Report is similar to that of previous reports. In Section I we describe the jail population and capacity including admissions and length of stay, release mechanisms or alternatives to incarceration, and facilities status and planning issues. In Section II, we describe conditions of confinement at the jail. Subsections in this section include Environmental Health, Personal Hygiene, Food Service, Staffing, Overcrowding, Access to Law Libraries and Other Programs and Services, Visiting, Health Issues and Services, Grievance Procedures, and Disciplinary Procedures. These subsections address the principal provisions of the Consent Decree in this case. (2010)