2023 was the deadliest year at the Cook County Jail in decades
More people died last year than in any year since 2013, when the jail population was twice as high. As a percentage of the jail’s average daily population, 2023 had the highest jail mortality rate on record — more than twice the most recent national average — at 3.4 deaths per 1,000 detainees.
Column chart showing the number of deaths and mortality rate at the Cook County Jail from 1995 to 2023. Headline reads: 2023 was the deadliest year at the Cook County Jail in decades. Text: More people died last year than in any year since 2013, when the jail population was twice as high. As a percentage of the average daily population, 2023 had the highest jail mortality rate on record — even higher than 2020, when Covid-19 killed 10 people incarcerated at the jail.
