Cook County has one of the largest jail systems in the U.S. The Illinois prison system struggles with overcrowding.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a Democrat, says diversion programs that keep people out of jail are not getting money because of the state budget impasse.
"I would love to have the governor explain to us, how it is, what study did you have, the empirical data- you're a venture capitalist or whatever it is you made all your money in, you're a data guy- what was the data that you had that you used to cut these programs. I'd love to see them."
Governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican, says his goal is to reduce the state's prison population by 12 thousand inmates in the next decade.
He blames Democrats in the legislature for not passing a balanced budget. Democrats say Rauner's focused on a political campaign platform when he should focus on the budget.