The Cook County Jail, located on 96 acres (390,000 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 2800 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.
On average, the inmate population is 53% Black, 36% Hispanic, and 11% White and other. Most inmates are African Americans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, or Whites. Most inmates in the facility are members of either the People Nation or the Folk Nation.
Read more about Cook County Jail: U.S. Department of Justice Report, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words cook, county and/or jail:
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—Peter Cook (b. 1937)
“But I would say to my fellows, once for all, As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Opiate. An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)