More Than 25% Of Inmates At The Cook County, Illinois Jail Have Mental Health Disorders

On March 13, 2014, 29% of arrestees detained at the Cook County, Illinois jail self-identified as having a mental illness, and on March 7, 2014, 49% of arrestees said they had a mental illness. According to records kept by the Cook County Sheriff, on any given day, more than a quarter of inmates at the Cook County Jail have a diagnosable mental illness, representing at least 3,500 of the more than 9,000 detainees at the jail. The majority of inmates with mental illness have committed a non-violent offense associated with their mental health problem. The percentage . . .