Chicago 50 - No. 9 - Cook County Jail

Exterior of the Cook County Jail. Photo found in Bob Fosse's collection at the Library of Congress

"Cook County was established by the Illinois State Legislature in 1831. Chicago, an unincorporated settlement with fewer than 60 residents, held the county seat. The first county jail and courthouse was a small wooden stockade built in 1835, outgrown 15 years later.

"The county built a larger court and jail on Hubbard Street for offenders awaiting trial for serious crimes [this is where Buelah, Belva, Kitty, and Sabella were held]; once sentenced, convicts were transported to the state prison.

"Overwhelmed with a continually overcrowding population, the Hubbard Street court and jail was renovated and expanded on a small scale. In the roaring ‘20s, the jail was housing almost twice its capacity at 1200 individuals in custody, and a courtroom shortage caused a back-log in cases.

Although reluctant to move the county court and jail away from downtown Chicago, the county began developing next to the Chicago House of Corrections. The facilities had a combined daily population of approximately 3,200 individuals in custody, which was then believed to be the largest concentration of individuals in custody in the free world."

--Cook County Sheriff

(left) the courtroom of the Cook County Jail

(right) the cell block of the Cook County Jail