Overcrowding at Cook County Jail has forced the county to look elsewhere to house some of its detainees. On Wednesday, Rock Island County became the 12th Illinois county to agree to house jail detainees that cannot be squeezed into Cook County Jail.
Cook County commissioners unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement under which Rock Island County will provide boarding and lodging to Cook County detainees at a cost of $50 a day. It costs Cook County $143 a day to house a prisoner in the Cook County Jail.