The Cook County Sheriff's Boot Camp is located in an urban setting adjacent to the Cook County Department of Corrections complex. All offenders chosen for the Boot Camp must plead guilty to their charges and agree to placement in the program.
Participants undergo a health and psychological assessment before they are admitted.
The Boot Camp program is aimed at reaching and impacting younger offenders at an early stage of criminality before they develop a pattern of recidivism leading to repeat incarceration and more serious crimes against society. A number of major obstacles had to be overcome, the first being a change in state legislation that would allow the county to begin an impact incarceration program for persons who would otherwise be sentenced to prison. Since Cook County's enabling legislation was passed, a number of other counties have moved to pass such legislation including DuPage and Kane counties. Cook is the first county in the state to begin a Boot Camp within a jail setting. All Rights Reserved.