The rally came after Stateville Correction Center inmate Michael Broadway died last month at the prison in Crest Hill.
"These places need to close down," exoneree Stanley Howard said. "How many more people need to die?"
The protestors said the conditions at Stateville Correction Center are unhealthy and contributed to the death of Broadway.
Some who gathered Wednesday had served time for wrongful convictions at Stateville, like Jimmy Soto, who said he also lived on an upper floor.
"Warm stagnant air circulates in the cell Michael suffocated to death, and it shouldn't have happened," Soto said.
READ MORE | Correcting Stateville Correction Center's critical problems: 'Decrepit, unsafe, and inhumane'
"As we gather here today, we must not only mourn the lives that have been lost, but we must also commit ourselves to seeking justice and change," said Javier Reyes with Challenge II Change.
Broadway had served 18 years on a murder conviction, but he had filed a claim of innocence. He got an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University while incarcerated.
His family told ABC7 he was asthmatic and was housed on the ninth floor of Stateville with a broken fan and a sealed window. On June 19, a 90 degree day, they said he collapsed and was later pronounced dead. The Will County coroner's office said Broadway's autopsy report is still pending.
"You all need to shut that place down," Michael Broadway's brother, Leonard Broadway, said. "All of them need to be shut down."
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told ABC7 they are actively investigating the matter and that Stateville is scheduled to close, but there are not yet any details about when it will close.
Governor JB Pritzker has previously acknowledged the need to make changes at Stateville, proposing a $900 million plan to demolish it and another state facility and build a new prison. ABC7 has reached out to the governor's office Wednesday for an update those plans and has not yet heard back.