Cook County Jail Archives - Chicago Reader

On house arrest with Mohawk Johnson

by Leor Galil March 31, 2021August 18, 2021

CPD has tried to turn rapper and comedian Mohawk Johnson into a cautionary example to social justice protesters. He has other plans.

News & Politics

Coronavirus in jail: The life and loss of Nickolas Lee

by Sarah Conway and City Bureau June 30, 2020August 18, 2021

A widow tried to save her late husband’s life during his stay at 26th and Cal. Instead she witnessed the explosive spread of COVID-19 inside.

News & Politics

‘More people will die’

by Max Blumenthal April 14, 2020August 18, 2021

As the rate of COVID-19 infections accelerates at Cook County Jail, a federal judge has rejected a lawsuit calling for a mass detainee release.

Music

Rising drill star King Von refines his storytelling and stunting on Levon James

by Jack Riedy April 10, 2020August 18, 2021

Sharp songwriting and bombastic delivery have made King Von one of fastest-rising stars in drill, the pummeling hip-hop subgenre born in Chicago. Born Dayvon Bennett, the 25-year-old rapper grew up in Englewood, and he’s been filling his verses with crime-fiction narratives at least since his breakout single, 2018’s “Crazy Story.” As he told Genius in […]

Columns & Opinion

‘I wasn’t sentenced to die’

by Max Blumenthal April 7, 2020August 18, 2021

As COVID-19 spreads through Illinois prisons, inmates and advocates seek clemencies and medical furloughs to save lives.

News & Politics

Celia Colón uses her story to inspire incarcerated women

by Andrea Michelson September 12, 2019August 18, 2021

The founder of Giving Others Dreams aims to transform the lives of prisoners through mental health workshops at the Cook County Jail.

Blogs

Now you, too, can experience Stuart V. Goldberg’s The Snake Charmer

by Maya Dukmasova January 31, 2018August 18, 2021

Chicago’s flashiest criminal defense attorney drops his novel with an Instagram invitation: “Is it fact or fiction?”

Blogs

Chicago Data Collaborative launches criminal justice data portal

by Maya Dukmasova January 25, 2018August 18, 2021

The cooperative connects the dots between data sets about the same person or case buried among various city and county agencies.

News & Politics

The trials of Stuart V. Goldberg, Chicago’s flashiest defense attorney

by Maya Dukmasova January 23, 2018August 18, 2021

He wears $5,000 suits and is chauffeured to court in a Rolls-Royce. He’s made a fortune off the war on drugs. He claims Oprah once wanted to have his baby. He is the most interesting lawyer in Chicago. But who’s the man behind the megawatt smile?