Rare access behind the walls of Old Joliet Prison reveals hidden history

Just days away from Halloween and we are going behind the walls of one of our state's most notorious landmarks. Long considered among Illinois' spookiest sites, it holds a very dark past but a key place in history. Our Casey Cronus takes us inside the Old Joliet Prison. The Old Joliet Prison and the City of Joliet really kind of grew up with each other. For nearly 150 years, this imposing limestone landmark confined some of Illinois' most dangerous criminals helping define the city around it. For better or worse, Joliet has certainly had this reputation as being not only a prison city but perhaps the prison city. Construction on what we now know as the old Joliet prison began in 1858. It would replace the state's first penitentiary in Alton which closed two years later. It's defined by its iconic architecture. If that architecture looks and feels familiar to you. W.W. Boyington was the prison's architect. He also did the Chicago Water Tower. But the men who built the fortress were the very prisoners it would contain. You know, as we say here, the walls were not only designed to keep people inside, they were designed to keep people's eyes outside from looking in. The jail locked its doors to inmates in 2002. Today, the state-owned prison is operated as a historic site by the Joliet Area Historical Museum, welcoming visitors seasonally. History really starts to speak to you here. The nonprofit's CEO, Greg Pierbolt, oversees the site's preservation efforts among the areas open to the public, the cell block. So Greg, tell us where we're standing. So we're standing in the east cell house of the old Joliet prison. On the row behind me, there's 40, and on the gallery on top, there's 80. Across the entire prison, He says there were more than 600 cells, typically housing between 1,000 and 1,500 inmates. Those who passed through its gates include Nathan Leopold and Richard Lope, Babyface Nelson, James Earl Ray, and just briefly, John Wayne Gacy. The cells you see are 5 by 8 by 10 feet and at times held as many as four prisoners. They were considered an upgrade made during the only remodel in the prison's history. But the original cells were entirely stone. There was no running water until the mid-1900s, and those cells were four-by-seven-by-seven, and they regularly contained two people. But during the tenure of Edmund Allen, who followed in his father's footsteps as warden, some prisoners earned special privileges as trustees. They accessed the warden's quarters frequently. They served as kind of personal valets. This took them into spaces once reserved for prison officials, including the administration building, where wardens and their families lived for more than a century. As you can see, it was designed to impress people, as one former warden actually told me, the prison was a castle and the warden was the king. But this part of the prison, now off-limits to the public, also holds one of its most haunting stories. Warden Allen's honor system came to a sad and screeching halt in June of 1915 when his wife Odette was found dead in this room. While the warden was out of town on business, a fire broke out in their bedroom. Suspicion fell on one of the prison's trustees, Joseph Campbell. He was convicted of Odette's murder, but maintained his innocence. Ida B. Wells was among those who intervened, and Campbell's death sentence was eventually commuted. What Campbell claimed happened was a bizarre accident in which Odette, as kind of this New Orleans mystic, would apply grain alcohol to her arms to help with her rheumatism and kind of quickly light it on fire after she applied it. One theory is that Odette accidentally ignited a large jug of alcohol, sparking the fire that claimed her life. What really happened remains a mystery, but Odette's loss was felt throughout the prison. It was said that she would walk through the stone cell houses and she would sing to the prisoners and her voice would reverberate off of the stone. She was actually known as the Angel of Joliet by the prisoners, all of whom universally loved her. The tragedy cast a shadow over Allen's honor system, and the warden, too distraught by the ordeal, ultimately resigned. The privileges he introduced were revoked and conditions deteriorated. And by 1918, there was a full-scale riot here at the penitentiary by the prisoners who were protesting the conditions that they had returned to. National Guard troops preparing to go overseas for World War I were instead deployed here to quell tensions. For some inmates, the prison would become their final stop. Beginning in 1927, at least 13 executions were carried out before the electric chair was moved to Stateville. But there were lighter moments in the prison's history, too, from baseball to a starring role in the Blues Brothers. Not only were prisoners not removed during the filming of the Blues Brothers, the prisoners participated as not only extras, but paid extras. Beyond its Hollywood fame, the old Joliet prison continues to draw visitors from around the globe. some come for the history others for the mystery and while the work to restore this landmark is far from over its place in Joliet is secure the jury is no longer out with the amount of people that are visiting from around the world that find this fascinating it is something that is worthy of preservation and we will continue to fight for this place it availability through Halloween for flashlight tours which take place after sunset self-guided daytime tours will continue five days a week through November, weather permitting. You can learn more about the old Joliet prison and find ticketing information on our website. In the studio, Casey Cronin, Fox Chicago. Casey, how did it feel to be inside of there? Tell us everything. You know, Lauren, call it spirits, call it emotional residue, as Greg explained to me, but there really was kind of a heavy feeling in your chest when you were walking through that cell block. I would encourage anyone at home, though, if you have time to go see it for yourself. You even said that you would go back. So that was a lot for sure. Absolutely. Take a little more time there. Explore the grounds. It really is just beautiful architecture that is on display right here in our own backyard. Great job with that story. Thank you. Thank you.