A jury panel in Whiteside County, Illinois, contains at least 60 dead people, including one who died 35 years ago, raising allegations of a systemic flaw in how Illinois compiles statewide jury lists. The discovery has led to a constitutional challenge, alleging that the April 2026 jury panel for defendant Michael C. Cover's May trial lacks a fair cross section of the community and that it discriminates against younger citizens. The issue arose when James W. Mertes discovered that the county had been systematically excluding qualified jurors for over three decades based on age, economic status, pending civil cases, money owed in court cases, and criminal history. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) provided a list of over 48,000 names, which immediately raised red flags. The list contained about 4,500 more names than the entire county's adult population.