this is Chicago's notorious Cook County Jail 96 Acres filled with thousands of
America's most dangerous criminals with a daily population of around 9
000 inmates Cook County is at times the most crowded jail in the entire country most people
don't even realize that the land it stands upon has served as a home to the accused since just
after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 processing Infamous degenerates such as John Wayne Gacy or
playing its part in controversial cases like the Chicago seven but what's inside of this
complex and why is it one of the state's first and only facilities to use the electric chair
and with well over a century of History what are its Secrets today we discover Chicago's
Cook County Jail I'm your host Ryan so cash and you're watching it's history
for decades we have heard about Chicago's struggle with crime from the prohibition days when Al
Capone was rumored to smuggle his illicit products and hidden tunnels to the Daily drama that unfolds
in the city's South Side the ruins it's crumbling post-industrial architecture the tale of Cook
County Jail was implicated all throughout but it started much earlier than you might expect
a time when the ambers of the Great Chicago Fire were still glowing the year was 1871.
according to historical records the population was approximately 334 thousand people in Chicago
at that time this was a significant increase from just a few decades earlier when the city
had been a small Trading Post on the shores of Lake Michigan the growth in Chicago during
the mid-1800s was partly driven by its strategic location as a Transportation Hub and its expanding
Industrial and Commercial sectors however the city's rapid growth also led to several social
and economic challenges including overcrowding pollution and political corruption issues that
eventually came to head around the time of the Great Chicago Fire which destroyed much of the
city and forced its residents to rebuild from scratch this tragic fire also allowed for the
city to have a hard reset of sorts a notion that also applied to crime and Corrections you see
in the mid 19th century Chicago's jail system was relatively primitive and often inadequate
to meet the needs of its growing population the city's first jail was hardly more than a
small Log Cabin structure built in 18 35 it was quickly outgrown as the population expanded by
the 1850s the jail was housed in a larger brick building on the corner of Dearborn and Illinois
Street despite its larger size the jail was often overcrowded and inhumane inmates were
housed in cramped cells with little ventilation and were often forced to share bedding and other
necessities the earlier jail lacked adequate sanitation facilities which led to the spread
of disease and illness among inmates there were also frequent complaints of mistreatment and abuse
by jail officials including physical violence neglect as the city continued to grow and its
Criminal Justice System became more complex calls for reform of the jail system grew louder so in
the late 1800s the city began investing in new modern jail facilities designed to be more Humane
and efficient this included the construction of the new Cook County Jail which was a significant
step forward in developing the city's correctional system in 1871 offenders of serious crimes were
held at the court and jail on Hubbard Street before being sent to the state prison surprisingly
by this time Illinois already had several massive State penitentiaries including the
Joliet Correctional Center which you may recall from The Blues Brothers movie or hit show Prison
Break this might be a topic for an upcoming video if you agree hit that subscribe and like button
anyhow once the accused became the convicted they removed from jail to a state prison with
Transportation via a special train for inmates offenders of less serious crimes were held at
the city's so-called Bridewell at Polk and Wells as they awaited trial however after
the great fire that location was moved to the corner of 26th and California and renamed the
Chicago House of Corrections perhaps marking the beginning of what we now call Cook County Jail
the courts were initially skeptical about moving their jail so far away from downtown Chicago so
the very first inmates to be held at the location of today's Cook County were children as young as
seven and female offenders who were housed in isolation this original inmate population of
419 in 1871 grew to 3200 by The Roaring Twenties according to Cook County sheriff.org making this
jail the largest concentration of individuals in custody in the Free World at the time for
a Time the county balanced its inmate population by operating multiple jails and promptly sending
sentenced inmates off to Penitentiary but in the mid-1950s courts began County sentencing
which was typically a five-year sentence meaning that at times the inmate population could double
additionally Death Row Housing was shifted from state to County which shifted responsibility and
some rather complex jail management Necessities the entire complex was overcrowded unorganized
and dangerous with deteriorating conditions that called for Criminal Justice Reform hence the state
legislator answered by voting to merge the county and city jails into one disciplinary Authority
after 40 Years of functioning independently the Department of Corrections combined staff and
individuals in custody into one streamlined entity and this was the birth of the Cook County Jail as
we know it today so let's say that hypothetically you get involved in some Shenanigans during your
visit to Chicago the cops catch you and you get locked up in Cook County what might you expect
once inside well let's have a look after getting picked up by Chicago PD the intake process at
Cook County Jail in Chicago can vary depending on the individual circumstances of the inmate being
processed however generally speaking the intake process involves the following steps first there's
identification and registration when inmates arrive at Cook County Jail they're required to
provide their personal information including their full name date of birth and other identifying
information they're also photographed and fingerprinted and then there are the medical and
mental health screenings the inmate will undergo a medical and mental health screening to assess
any medical conditions or mental health issues that need immediate attention the inmate will
receive any necessary medical treatment medication or referrals to Specialists as warranted this is
followed up by a property and Contraband search as all inmates personal property is inventoried
and any prohibited items are confiscated this includes items such as drugs weapons and cell
phones finally there is housing assignment the inmate will be assigned to a housing unit based
on their gender age and security level a little bit later they'll have orientation where inmates
receive an exposure that outlines the Jail's rules and regulations including visitation mail and
phone policies overall the intake process at Cook County Jail can take several hours to complete
this process ensures inmates and staff Safety and Security while providing necessary medical
and Mental Health Care however once an inmate is all checked in the reality they face might
be very different from the theory according to a dated yet interesting report from 2008 conducted
by the Civil Rights division of the United States Department of Justice the Eighth Amendment right
of inmates has been systematically violated although as a non-criminal you might not care
however if you ever found yourself in jail an amendment protecting you against excessive bail
excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments suddenly seem essential especially since when
you're in jail you haven't even been proven guilty yet and it's perfectly possible that
innocent men occasionally find their way into the system with that in mind the report recalls
systematic beatings by Corrections Officers poor food quality inmates sleeping on overcrowded cell
floors rodent infestation and injury by rat bites on sleeping inmates there was
also a violation of privacy during multiple invasive strip searches failure to provide
adequate Medical Care painful mandatory tests for male STDs unnecessarily long waiting times
for discharge upon payment of bond completion of sentence or charges being dropped according to
human toll of jail.org 35 percent of the jail population is mentally ill with State asylums
widely being closed treatment unfolds in the jail itself making Cook County Jail one of the largest
if not the largest mental health care provider in the United States this fact comes at a severe
expense to taxpayers as a general population inmate costs the county 143 dollars daily and
housing of an inmate with special needs can be triple that so even if the county intended to
run a Humane operation the odds are unbelievably stacked against them as I mentioned at the top
of this video the compound is huge and now we're going to have a look at what's beyond the gates
the jail is broken up into divisions common areas and administrative buildings let's start with
division number one which opened in 1929 and is the oldest building in the complex as such it's
been recognized as a Historic Landmark the unit is currently inactive but in its time it housed 1 250
male inmates a cited is the historical Courthouse administration building and Division 18. which is
home to males and females transitioning to their housing unit around 992 inmates can be held here
at any given time in 2013 the massive 979 bed residential treatment unit and Diagnostic Center
opened to both men and women division number two opened in 1955 and accommodates a capacity of 870
male inmates with medical or psychological issues just beyond division number two is the Central
Kitchen division number eight with a capacity of 1 000 beds accommodates inmates of both genders
requiring special mental surgical or psychological Care Division 10 opened in 1992 for males with
medical and acute mental care needs up to 768 inmates can be incarcerated here at any given
time not far from that is the sheriff's office which is also a historic building division four is
the Jail's General female population and opened in 1975 with a capacity of 704 this division stands
in front of the famous Pond an area located near the Jail's entrance which includes an ample open
space where inmates are processed and assessed when they arrive the nickname Pond likely comes
from the fact that the area is sometimes flooded during heavy rainstorms the nickname has been used
for many years and is well known among staff and inmates at the jail the powerhouse on the Jail's
campus provides electricity Heating and Cooling of one of the largest jails in the United States
it was built in the early 20th century and has undergone several Renovations and upgrades to
keep it functioning effectively and efficiently in recent years the Cook County Sheriff's office has
also implemented several energy saving measures to reduce the Jail's carbon footprint and operating
costs this includes the installation of of energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems division 6 is
a male disciplinary wing for young detainees the building includes four living units known as West
care for drug treatment additionally there is a school here the division opened in 1972 and has
a capacity of 992. Division 9 opened in 1992 and is the facility's maximum security area where up
to 1000 56 male inmates are allowed out of their cells only one hour per day division 12 is one
of the newer buildings in the jail complex having opened in 1995 this area has space for 1536 male
inmates and is surrounded by its own Independent Fence not far from there are the mental health
transition Center and supportive Release Center curiously I also came across what appeared to be
some kind of decrepit horse training Arena between the various fenced off complexes there's also a
fascinating abandoned rail bridge near the river even the landscape here suggests a rich history
and with so many years having passed the Cook County Jail has seen some very famous cases
starting with the Chicago 7 a group of anti-vietnam War activists arrested and
charged with inciting a riot in 1968 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago after
their arrest the Chicago seven were held at Cook County Jail recalling that conditions at the jail
were notoriously bad with overcrowding inadequate food Medical Care and a general lack of Sanitation
the jail was also known for its harsh treatment of political prisoners in the Chicago seven were no
exception despite their conditions they remained defined and determined to continue with their
activism even while locked up they used their time in jail to organize protests and demonstrations
managing to communicate with their supporters on the outside and ultimately becoming a symbol of
resistance perhaps the most notable event occurred when Bobby seale was gagged in the courtroom
during the trial with the judge ruling that the inmate was disturbing the proceedings this
incident sparked outrage with their supporters called for justice for the Chicago seven after
a lengthy trial they were eventually acquitted of most charges against them political inmates
aside it's also important to remember that many of the people locked up in Cook County deserve to
be there especially the monsters like John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer
who was convicted of the murder of 33 young men and boys in the 1970s he spent time in Chicago's
Cook County while awaiting trial for his heinous crimes Gacy was arrested in December of 1978 and
spent 14 months in the facility before his trial began during his time in jail he was held in a
special unit for high-profile prisoners and was given the nickname Pogo by other inmates which
was a reference to his clown costume and job as a children's entertainer Gacy's time in Cook County
Jail Trail was marked by several controversies including his attempt to bribe a guard to smuggle
in drugs and his complaints about the food and living conditions in jail he also attempted to
manipulate his fellow inmates by offering them money and Gifts in exchange for their support
despite his efforts Gacy was eventually found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to death he
was executed by lethal injection in 1994 at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest
Hill Illinois while Gacy's time in Cook County Jail was relatively brief it remains a notable
chapter in the history of the criminal justice system that eventually brought him to Justice
Cook County Jail is widely known even from the former location on Hubbard Street which was used
in popular media for shows such as the Musical Chicago with the present site being shown in
Chicago Fire Better Call Saul BB King's Live Cook County Jail album featured recordings of
a concert for inmates back in 1970. the jail was referenced in countless films including the Blues
Brothers the thing that freaks me out about this story is knowing that you can be sent to a place
like this without conviction meaning in addition to the people who deserve to get locked up others
do find their way inside now supposing some of you watching this have actually been inside the
jail as an inmate or an employee I'd love to hear your story please consider sharing them in the
comment section below otherwise I'd like to show you one more thing before we wrap up for today
this is the Joliet Correctional Center fictionally known as Fox River from the show
Prison Break this prison dates back to 1858 and its actual history including its famous
steam tunnels is beyond Disturbed so if you'd like to see an episode about that let me know
by subscribing and liking this video otherwise until next time this is Ryan so cash signing off