What happened after a dangerous year inside Cook County Jail

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Investigation, Chicago, Radio, Arts, Society & Culture, Public, Education, Curious, City

4.6 • 661 Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The year 2023 was a deadly one at the Cook County Jail. Eighteen people died in custody, “for many reasons,” said reporter Carlos Ballesteros, who reported on the record year for Injustice Watch. His reporting cited drug overdoses, lapses from jail staff and failed oversight. In our last episode, we learned about a group of volunteers who set up outside Cook County Jail to hand out free supplies to people after they get released. Today, we’ll hear about a few people who never were released, the conditions and circumstances that led to some of their deaths, what changes have been made and what changes may still be needed at the Cook County Jail. “Ultimately, it's jail, right?” Ballesteros said. “But the things we hear from people inside and their families is really disturbing.” The number of deaths at the jail has decreased since the 2023 report. We get an update from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, which oversees the jail.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Listen to more news from WBEZ anytime on the WBEZ app.
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0:15.3	America is changing.
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0:19.7	But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval.
0:23.9	It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
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0:45.9	What's up, Chicago? I'm Erin Allen, and this is Curie City.
0:50.8	Cook County Jail is one of the biggest jail sites in the country.
1:02.0	Several thousand people are inside there right now, most of them either at a point of transition or serving short sentences.
1:07.4	In our last episode, we learned about a group of activists that set up outside the jail,
1:10.6	giving out free basic supplies to people when they get released.
1:15.4	Today, we're going to talk about a handful of people who never were released.
1:21.6	2023 was a very deadly year at Cook County Jail.
1:29.7	This is Carlos Bayaceros. He's a reporter at Injustice Watch, which is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the Cook County court system.
1:36.5	Carlos reported that a total of 18 people died in the Cook County Jail in 2023.
1:40.1	That was the most deaths in the jail in 10 years.
	...

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