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.
298Documented
4In custody
274Released
Eras of repression in Illinois
Where Illinois’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
1910s 66
1960s 37
1970s 30
1980s 25
1930s 22
2020s 21
Documented cases
298 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
L
Lashawn L. Wilks
Released
Lashawn L. Wilks, 31, of Centralia, IL was charged by federal complaint with unlawful possession of a firearm...
M
Mary Wilson
Released
Mary Wilson was a Communist Party election-petition solicitor who was jailed at Lewistown (Fulton County), Ill...
B
Bob Wirtz
Released
Bob Wirtz was the local secretary of the International Labor Defense in Chicago, prosecuted on criminal-contem...
J
Jan Wittenber
Released
Jan Wittenber was a coal-field ILD organizer, one of fourteen Progressive Miners of America defendants charged...
G
George L. Wittrock
Released
George L. Wittrock was a conscientious objector from Illinois imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed f...
A
Amanda R. Wolf
Released
Amanda R. Wolf, age 23, of Lombard IL, was arrested June 1, 2020 and charged with attempted terrorism and poss...
J
John B.C. Woods
Released
John B.C. Woods was a conscientious objector from Illinois imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for...
A
Andrew Yiannopolis
Released
Andrew Yiannopolis was a Greek-born Chicagoan, director of the Greek Theater and a 42-year U.S. resident, orde...
C
Christopher K. Zelle
Released
Christopher K. Zelle, 37, indicted May 16, 2024 with two counts of Mob Action and felony aggravated battery fo...
H
Herbert Zimmerman
Released
Herbert Zimmerman was listed among the class-war prisoners on the International Labor Defense's 1930 Winter Re...
Institutions in Illinois
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Illinois that appear in the census’s case files.
Cook County JailChicago, Illinois
34 cases
MCC ChicagoChicago , Illinois
12 cases
Southern Illinois Penitentiary, ChesterChester, Illinois
7 cases
FCI Pekin Satellite CampPekin, Illinois
5 cases
USP MarionMarion, Illinois
5 cases
Woodstock Jail (McHenry County)
5 cases
FCI PekinPekin, Illinois
4 cases
Stateville Correctional CenterCrest Hill, Illinois
4 cases