Grace Hauck

Our reporting revealed hundreds of incidents of forced medication, fires, sex offenses, serious injuries and more — all occurring with little oversight from state officials.

Jails that routinely fail inspections can be referred to the attorney general — but the Department of Corrections hasn’t done so in over a decade.

County jails were restraining people in chairs for long periods and underreporting it. Now, three counties that used them the most report doing so less, and other jails started reporting such incidents for the first time.

An Illinois Answers Project analysis revealed that 63 people who died in jails were missing from state data on in-custody fatalities. Now the state is auditing its records.

Use of pepperball guns in Illinois jails is not the norm. Of the 90 jails, 11 reported using them in recent years, and 9 others have them on hand. But one, the state’s second-largest county jail, stands out for its repeated use.

Illinois county jails report thousands of “extraordinary or unusual” incidents every year, but the state doesn’t keep track. So we stepped in to shed light on what’s happening inside.

Travis Braden settled his civil rights case with Williamson County for $27,500 after he was restrained in a chair for days — a practice deemed “torture” by the United Nations

One man was restrained for 68 hours, another for 27 hours. Both were mentally ill. The jail’s own policies say restraint should never last more than 10 hours.

The Illinois Answers Project found jail staff are restraining people in chairs in ways that often violate policies and last longer than recommended by manufacturers.