Learn More → State by State
Illinois
Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Illinois.
718Documented
6In custody
382Released
Eras of repression in Illinois
Where Illinois’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
1920s 169
1930s 134
1960s 70
1910s 69
2020s 64
1970s 61
Recent dashboard entries from Illinois
The newest published events and reporting located in Illinois, updated automatically from the live dashboard.
Other
Marimar Martinez sues federal government over Border Patrol shooting
Prosecution
Immigration judge finds Salah Sarsour deportable; his lawyers plan an appeal
Prosecution
Broadview Six prosecutor resigns, alleging U.S. attorney directed the failed felony prosecution
Protest
Federal agents mace 10 protesters outside the Broadview ICE facility; two are hospitalized
Prosecution
Broadview 6 grand jury transcripts released, showing alleged prosecutorial misconduct
Prosecution
Now-cleared ‘Broadview 6’ immigration protesters seek evidence of White House pressure to indict
Protest
Hundreds rally in Morris against a proposed hyperscale data center
Prosecution
Charges dropped against four Broadview ICE protesters over misconduct
Documented cases
718 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
B
Bob Williams (Cairo United Front defendant)
Bob Williams is named as arrested on October 15, 1970, over a fight at a Black-owned business on October 13. T...
J
James M. Williams
Marshall identifies Williams as a resident of Spring Garden, Jefferson County, Illinois. He says Williams was...
J
James Wilson (Cairo United Front defendant)
The Cairo chronology identifies James Wilson in a June 1970 prosecution over a broken downtown window: an init...
M
Mary Wilson
Released
Mary Wilson was a Communist Party election-petition solicitor who was jailed at Lewistown (Fulton County), Ill...
R
Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson was a Chicago De Mau Mau prisoner. A statement published by Prison Scenes in July–August 1976 in...
B
Benny Wimpar
Benny Wimpar was an Amalgamated Clothing Workers strike picket employed by the International Tailoring Company...
B
Bob Wirtz
Released
Bob Wirtz was the Midwest secretary of the International Labor Defense. In March 1940 he, editor Louis Budenz,...
G
George L. Wittrock
Released
George L. Wittrock was a conscientious objector from Illinois imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed f...
H
Harris Wofford
The March 21, 1969 Statesman interview with SUNY Old Westbury president Dr. Harris Wofford says he spent a nig...
D
Diane Wolman
Diane Wolman was a member of the Young People's Socialist League in Chicago. A statement by expelled YPSL memb...
L
Lila Wolman
Lila Wolman was a member of the Young People's Socialist League in Chicago. A statement by expelled YPSL membe...
J
John B.C. Woods
Released
John B.C. Woods was a conscientious objector from Illinois imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for...
R
Rose Yankcovitz
Rose Yankcovitz was individually named among eleven Chicago garment pickets arrested Wednesday, March 19, 1924...
C
C. Yenks
C. Yenks chaired the unemployed delegates’ committee presenting demands to Governor Horner during the Springfi...
A
Andrew Peter Yiannopoulos
Released
Andrew Peter Yiannopoulos was a Greek-born Chicago resident and director of the Greek Theater. Immigration aut...
S
Sarah Zelinsky
Sarah Zelinsky was individually named among eleven Chicago garment pickets arrested Wednesday, March 19, 1924....
C
Christopher K. Zelle
Released
Christopher K. Zelle, 37, indicted May 16, 2024 with two counts of Mob Action and felony aggravated battery fo...
S
Sam Zimmer
Sam Zimmer was an Amalgamated Clothing Workers strike picket employed by the International Tailoring Company i...
H
Herbert Zimmerman
Released
Herbert Zimmerman was listed among the class-war prisoners on the International Labor Defense's 1930 Winter Re...
Z
Zipp (Illinois syndicalism defendant, 1931)
Zipp is named in the November 25 Chicago dispatch among seven indicted by the Franklin County grand jury for c...
L
Louis Zirtsky
Louis Zirtsky was an Amalgamated Clothing Workers strike picket employed by the International Tailoring Compan...
V
Victor Zokaitis
Victor Zokaitis was a reporter arrested during the Chicago garment-strike policing campaign described March 21...
Institutions in Illinois
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Illinois that appear in the census’s case files.
Cook County JailChicago, Illinois
58 cases
Chicago police lockupChicago, Illinois
9 cases
MCC ChicagoChicago , Illinois
8 cases
Woodstock Jail (McHenry County)
7 cases
Southern Illinois Penitentiary, ChesterChester, Illinois
6 cases
FCI Pekin Satellite CampPekin, Illinois
5 cases
USP MarionMarion, Illinois
5 cases
FCI PekinPekin, Illinois
4 cases