COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on one of Chicagos most vulnerable congregate populations: jail and prison detainees. The Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. "We cannot forget that people who might be incarcerated are still human beings and they are still people deserving basic human dignity and respect," said State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago). The effort includes a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court, naming Gov. The Senate passed a bill that could allow terminally ill prisoners He said he continues to bathe using the sink in his cell rather than risk infection by sharing a shower room with others. Prisons in Illinois, nationally face staff shortages as correction officers quit amid COVID. Roger and Susan Hertzberg before being convicted of marijuana trafficking for hauling nearly 50 pounds of pot through Illinois in 2012. xWn6+f"E^,"zhzXYE6I~T8B=BSg73tOG##LXEO}n 1mRaIm2%.yM 7{j ! 8zvv|i(8 F+A17qnR=!ZupvWTu]=$n#noOzN"D,?DoW8}'^\ He just wanted to die with dignity outside of prison, at home with his family.. Chicago Tribunes Christy Gutowski contributed. We must act quickly. by Wendy Sawyer , January 11, 2022 The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has released a lot of new data over the past few weeks that help us finally see both W&lP-1C/(JISe?jp}2 =U*#Ochs#U, MI6rje{ J.B. Pritzker through executive clemency. Click the videos below to hear messages from Dr. John Raba and Dr. Pablo Stewart, two of ourindependent court monitors in Lippert v. Baldwin, about COVID-19 vaccines. And I'm proud to turn it into law today.". The Illinois Department of Corrections and Gov. Every day I thought my son was going to die, said Bronis, of East Dundee. Jeffreys said the outbreak mitigation program is in place at nine prisons, with several more planned. Pritzker's executive order gives the Illinois Department of Corrections permission to allow "medically vulnerable" inmates out of prison temporarily. The surge has continued, leading to sickness and death that advocates say was avoidable. Speaking to the Senate panel on Friday, Jeffreys said strategies developed for the Stateville outbreak, such as deep cleaning, temperature checks, contact tracing and masking staff and inmates, have been duplicated systemwide. WebThe First Step Act made important changes to how federal compassionate release works. In response, the states lawyers said pilot programs were underway, but broadening testing at dozens of facilities was no easy charge and more time was needed to evaluate effectiveness. Echevarria was a Chicago high school student when police arrested him in a 1999 fatal shooting he insists he did not commit. But in denying emergency relief last year, U.S. District Judge Robert Dow said there was no convincing reason for a federal court to intrude on the effort by other stakeholders to contain the problem. Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, on March 30, 2020. Even if they matter to no one but us., Stateville Correctional Center personnel pull carts of hand sanitizer and bars of soap on April 24, 2020. It remains to be seen if the law does anything. J.B. Pritker for failure to protect the health and safety of those in prison from COVID-19, outside the Thompson Center in Chicago on Dec. 15, 2020. In addition to providing personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, the department long ago halted in-person visits, imposed a staff mask mandate and restricted prisoners to their cells with few exceptions, such as showering. "Thanks to the many advocates and General Assembly sponsors Senator John Connor and Representative Will Guzzardi, more families will get to say goodbye to their loved ones the way we all hope to get to when the time comes: together. The Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. The IDOC denied a Tribune open-records request for information about Bourbons death, citing confidentiality exemptions. Civil rights lawyers filed a federal suit in April 2020 arguing the risk of spreading COVID-19 in prisons poses catastrophic consequences for prisoners, staff and the communities and hospitals that serve them. More than 1,000 Illinois prisoners to be released under COVID-19 lawsuit settlement, Civil rights attorneys launch legal challenge to free prisoners at risk of coronavirus, Aiming to predict COVID, future pandemics better, CDC opens infectious diseases forecasting center, Unmasked transit: Pritzker ends mask mandates in public transportation, airports, US mask mandate for planes, other travel voided by federal judge in Florida, Rising COVID-19 cases prompt warnings for Illinoisans to remain vigilant and remain up to date on vaccine shots, Dr. Ngozi Ezike to become CEO of Sinai Chicago hospital system, With COVID-19 cases rising, Pritzker still searching for public health chief to succeed Ezike, a hero during this pandemic, Lightfoot is out, Vallas and Johnson are in the April runoff, Chicago police officer dies after exchanging gunfire at close range with suspect in Gage Park, Analysis: How Lightfoot went from political rock star to rock bottom, Patrick Kane leaves Chicago with clear legacy: Blackhawks greatest player of all time, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was in a fight she couldnt have won, Northwestern falls to Penn State in OT for third consecutive loss, Bulls nearly blow 21-point lead but survive against Pistons, Defensive whiz Richard Zoller, high-flying Angelo Ciaravino help Mount Carmel take down Hyde Park. ", [{"code":"en","title":"Illinois' Virtual Agent","message":"Hello"},{"code":"es","title":"Agente virtual de Illinois","message":"Hola"}]. Rosario Ibarra, Mexicos champion of the disappeared, has died at 95, Cook County judge refused to speak with police investigating another judge, Lightfoot is out, Vallas and Johnson are in the April runoff, Chicago police officer dies after exchanging gunfire at close range with suspect in Gage Park, Analysis: How Lightfoot went from political rock star to rock bottom, Patrick Kane leaves Chicago with clear legacy: Blackhawks greatest player of all time, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was in a fight she couldnt have won, Northwestern falls to Penn State in OT for third consecutive loss, Bulls nearly blow 21-point lead but survive against Pistons, Defensive whiz Richard Zoller, high-flying Angelo Ciaravino help Mount Carmel take down Hyde Park. Mason was freed from Pontiac Correctional Center on Nov. 25 by Gov. He said, Ill be with you. . Heres some of whats on our to-do list. CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A day after the state announced one Illinois prison inmate had died of COVID-19 and that more inmates and staff had tested positive for the coronavirus, a legal services group is renewing its call for thousands of inmates to be released. Members of End Illinois Prison Lockdown Coalition rally as they call out Gov. She said prison officials did not notify her or Wilsons wife that he was hospitalized until the family made repeated phone calls. The House took up a constitutional amendment to the states Bill of Rights that says Illinois workers shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions.. He had three disciplinary tickets in four decades for minor infractions, said his lawyer, Soble. On March 17th, civil rights groups signed an open letter to Governor Pritzker with demands related to prisoners in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Illinois. HB 3665 not only provides better, more compassionate care to Illinois' seriously ill population, but helps improve the overall prison healthcare system. Five days later, a 65-year-old sex offender from Rockford, Larry Bourbon, succumbed to the virus in his prison bunk. Mason was freed from Pontiac Correctional Center on Nov. 25 by Gov. ", "Joe Coleman, a decorated Vietnam veteran, died of cancer awaiting clemency on a 1981 case where no one was hurt, without the opportunity to say goodbye to his family from his deathbed," said State Senator John Connor (D-Crest Hill). On April 2, 2020, in response to the swiftly spreading coronavirus epidemic in Illinois' prisons, a consortium of the area's leading civil rights attorneys and community advocates filed three cases seeking release of prisoners. It took a prisoners death just for them to pass out a single extra bar of soap, one incarcerated man said. WebGovernors in at least 11 states have issued executive orders that block new transfers into state prisons, allow early release for some prisoners, or both. Alan has been fighting for the rights of imprisoned people for decades and has played a key role in recent efforts to free prisoners who are locked in facilities where the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire. Press Release - Tuesday, February 21, 2023 The union instead proposed that it will continue to educate staff, in the hope that more staff will agree to vaccinate voluntarily. Then the Power Started Going Out. Vaccinating prisoners is good public policy. New questions were being raised Tuesday night about how many inmates have actually been released from state prisons because of the COVID-19 crisis, and Staffers are expected to be prioritized with those in the health care field and other first responders. Illinois will soon begin vaccinating prisoners against COVID-19. Governor Juliana Stratton. An Illinois federal judge on Friday refused to order the temporary release of nearly a third of the states prison population in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying the inmates arent entitled to such extraordinary relief even in these extraordinary times., A federal judge on Friday denied a request for the state to immediately release potentially thousands of at-risk detainees from Illinois prisons, saying that while the coronavirus pandemic is clearly a serious threat there was no convincing reason for a federal court to intrude here and now.". PNx SgXBN_]W*o!'13! ". Ryan is among those trying to help free more prisoners during the pandemic, especially the older people or those with terminal diseases.. March 23, 2021. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois officials on Monday reported the death of a state prison inmate from COVID-19 and acknowledged the difficulty they face in stopping the spread of the virus in a crowded correctional system. Sheila Bedi, of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, said that releasing some prisoners back to their communities is the best way to protect the health and well-being of people in prison. Infections have increased about 23% in Chicago over the past week, mostly among people age 18 to 40, according to city Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Jan. 13, 2022 WASHINGTON Thousands of federal inmates will become eligible for release this week under a rule the Justice Department published on Thursday Currently, 57 inmates and 90 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, the records show. As COVID-19 vaccination distribution has expanded across the country, incarcerated people remain one of the populations that is both most vulnerable to COVID-19 and most distrustful of medical care, according to several legal advocacy organizations. (Family photo). This legislation gives the PRB the authority to grant or deny a prisoner early release based on their medical incapacity or terminal illness. Todays guest is Alan Mills, the Executive Director of the Uptown Peoples Law Center in Chicago. McDonald questions whether her son received prompt medical attention. The issue of early releases is a Catch-22 for Gov. People are dying and theres no urgency assigned to anything, Ryan said. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. The rate of deaths slowed tremendously after IDOC started universal testing and voluntary vaccinations of staff and inmates. Through public records and interviews, the Tribune identified the first 50 inmates who died in the pandemic. The testing is expected to be in place systemwide by late January. People incarcerated in Illinois will be among those vaccinated against coronavirus during the next phase, according to a newly released state plan. J.B. Pritzker. J.B. Pritzker last week claims that the states prison system has failed to protect medically vulnerable prisoners from COVID-19. A lock ( WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. Last April, a federal judge denied their emergency request, finding the state was not violating prisoners' constitutional rights. She cared about people a whole lot, said her husband. They work tremendously hard under really difficult circumstances, Caumiant said. Op-ed: The vaccine showdown no one is talking about: An Illinois mandate vs. the state's prison staffs. Gov. Suburban Crime AT FINAL DISCHARGE, THE ADULT PAROLE SERVICES FILES ARE SENT BACK TO THE INSTITUTION WHERE THEY ARE STORED AND EVENTUALLY MICROFILMED. The Senate passed a bill that could allow terminally ill prisoners to be freed more quickly by the Prisoner Review Board. In cases of medical The latest department data shows 82 prison staff members and 45 prisoners are currently positive for COVID-19, and a total of 4,177 staff and 10,768 prisoners have tested positive since the pandemic began. Gray had lived behind bars for more than 40 years, serving a life sentence for hiring a relative to kill his business partner in 1978. UPLCcollaborated on a policy paperwith the Chicago Community Bond Fund, Equip for Equality, First Defense Legal Aid, Teamwork Englewood, Warehouse Workers for Justice, and Westside Justice Centerto advocate for Illinois prisoners to receive COVID-19 vaccines. INSTEAD, THERE IS A FIXED RELEASE DATE, ASSUMING GOOD TIME IS SERVED, SET BY LAW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRISON TERM. J.B. Pritker for failure to protect the health and safety of those in prison from COVID-19, outside the Thompson Center in Chicago on Dec. 15, 2020. A new point of contention is where prisoners will be on the vaccine distribution list. At a Georgia state House of Representatives hearing on prison conditions in September, a corrections officer called in to testify, interrupting his shift to tell lawmakers how dire conditions had become. Andrew Sullender reported from Springfield, Rachel Hinton from Chicago. Under the settlement, the Department of Corrections agreed to "identify and evaluate medically vulnerable prisoners for release through legally available mechanisms." State Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, and then future state Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, on the Senate floor last year. ICJIAs Research Hub is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. ), Gov. This report has been corrected to indicate that the state Senate had already passed the amendment. %PDF-1.3 APPENDIXES, TABULAR INFORMATION, AND FIGURES ARE INCLUDED. Inmates with at least nine months of their sentence remaining who are considered low-risk will receive 60 days of good behavior credit, while those considered medium-risk will be awarded 30 days credit. "Governor Pritzker's signature on legislation authored by Senator Connor and Representative Guzzardi demonstrates compassion for those with greatest medical need and lowest risk of reoffense. On April 2, 2020, in response to the swiftly spreading coronavirus epidemic in Illinois' prisons, a consortium of the area's leading civil rights attorneys and community advocates filed three cases seeking release of prisoners. More than 4,000 jail detainees have entered state prisons since then. He tested positive for COVID-19 around Labor Day. Pritzker Joins Reproductive Freedom Alliance. A state budget with firm fiscal foundation that shows tremendous progress? Or a cynical election-year ploy to buy votes? Im tending to believe they did nothing but left him on the floor, she said, because he went straight from his cell to a hospital.. J.B. Pritzker in late June after serving 31 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, is an artist whose work focuses on his experience as an African American. State Rep. Marcus Evans, the sponsor of the amendment, said it would not change existing Illinois law but make permanent the rights workers already have. Their complaints echo a survey conducted in April and early May by the John Howard Association, a prison watchdog group. The amendment would also ensure the right to bargain will not be diminished by any future law, proponents said. Roger Hertzberg, 76, died Sept. 24, 2020, at Robinson Correctional Center of COVID-19 complications while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. It was dropped near the main entrance of the prison near Joliet by Jennifer Lackey of Northwestern Universitys Prison Education Program. Legislators designed the Lindsey Hess, spokeswoman for Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys, said it was too early to determine how many prisoners would be released under the agreement. The settlement arises out of the lawsuit filed last April on behalf of medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners, by a group of public interest lawyers, including attorneys from Equip for Equality, Loevy & Loevy law firm, the Uptown People's Law Center, and the Illinois Prison Project. Also, some prison staff will also undergo training on the Americans with Disabilities Act to help implement COVID-19 protections. It is still very much a real issue., Jennifer Soble, executive director of the Illinois Prison Project, which also represented the plaintiffs in the suit, said IDOC also is working on new policies regarding electronic detention, discretionary sentencing credits and others that will help thousands of other inmates as well.. Health officials announced Monday the death of a Stateville Correctional Center inmate from COVID-19, the first confirmed death from the disease at an Illinois state prison. The night after the first man at Stateville Correctional Center died from COVID-19, a prisoner were referring to as Harold, said he was watching the nightly news in his cell. Photos: Northwestern loses to Penn State 68-65 in overtime, Nick Niego is back as Brother Rice stuns St. Rita. Over four months, only one inmate died of COVID-19 systemwide. IDOC officials said that when the virus is spreading in communities, staff may contract it at home and bring it into prisons. The advocates accuse the governor of dragging his feet in the face of a pandemic, putting prisoners and staff at greater risk. Already approved by the state Senate, it will go before voters, appearing on Illinois ballot in 2022. About 1,000 Illinois prison inmates nearing the end of their sentences could soon be released under a settlement announced Tuesday in a federal lawsuit filed as the COVID-19 pandemic was creating a health crisis in state lockups. Terminally ill incarcerated people would only be eligible if they have family able to care for them and are expected to die within 18 months, OConnor said, adding the new measure would be used when being imprisoned doesnt make a difference anymore., But state Sen. Terri Bryant pointed to cases in the states Department of Corrections where physicians said someone would imminently die over and over and over again.. Gray is one of at least 60 incarcerated people who have died since March after becoming infected with the new coronavirus in Illinois custody a death toll that has doubled since November, state data through Dec. 22 shows. To donate to our work fighting the spread of coronavirus in Illinois' prisons, click here. Pritzker could slow the spread of COVID-19 at Cook County Jail, Prisons worldwide risk becoming incubators of covid-19, Pritzker criticized over quiet commutations, not releasing medically vulnerable, Request for broad prisoner release untenable on class-wide basis, Ill. Judge Won't Expedite Prisoners' Release Amid COVID-19, Federal judge declines to step in and order Illinois to release more inmates in the face of COVID-19 threat, PRISONERS IN ILLINOIS DESCRIBE DIRE CONDITIONS AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, Pritzker Signs Executive Order Allowing Prisoner Furloughs, Pritzker Signs Executive Order Allowing Medical Furlough for IDOC Inmates, Activists Fight to Prevent Virus Spread in Prison Petri Dishes, As COVID-19 Spreads, Advocates Sound Alarm For People In Prisons And The Communities Around Them, As COVID-19 Spreads, Advocates Sound Alarm For People in Prisons And The Communities Around Them, Stateville prison outbreak signals COVID-19 threat to inmates, surrounding hospital systems, Illinois prisons and rural healthcare systems facing crisis due to slow COVID-19 response, Pritzker named in suit to free prisoners at risk of COVID-19, Civil Rights Attorneys Launch Legal Challenge to Free Prisoners At Risk of Coronavirus, 1st Illinois prison inmate dies of COVID-19, health officials say, Group Calls On State To Release Inmates After COVID-19 Death At Stateville Prison, Stateville inmates with Coronavirus taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center, Alarm grows as Cook County, state struggle with what to do with the incarcerated in the face of COVID-19, Illinois inmate dies from COVID-19; dozens more sickened, Jails and prisons could become coronavirus disaster. So Why Have Only 27% Of Workers Taken The Vaccine? People incarcerated in jails and prisons will be prioritized for vaccines along with people who are 65 and older, certain essential workers and people experiencing homelessness or residing in shelters, according to the plan released Dec. 31 by the state health department. A 13th Stateville inmate died in August. Press Release - Tuesday, February 21, 2023 ChicagoGovernor JB Pritzker today announced he will join the Reproductive Freedom Alliance (RFA), a non-partisan group of state Governors focused on working alongside one another to identify best practices for legislative and executive Roger Hertzberg, 76, died of COVID-19 complications Sept. 24 at Robinson Correctional Center. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune). WebActions to Reduce Population and Maximize Space. 3 0 obj Many of these men were convicted of horrific acts of violence, often in their youth. 120 S Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606, United States, Box 6000, Dept F, Rockville, MD 20849, United States. Mason, 76, said a feeling of lightness overtook him when a correctional officer stopped by his cell to tell him he was going home. More than 1,000 medically vulnerable or elderly inmates in Illinois prisons are set to be released following a settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought last spring against the head of the Illinois Department of Corrections and Gov. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. An Illinois lawmaker and a county sheriff are raising fresh concerns about Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, as defendants. But state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, called the language of the amendment problematic, saying that the actual meaning of the provision might be left up to the Illinois Supreme Court. Similar to what happened in the outside world, the pandemic seemed under control in Illinois prisons most of the summer. She urged her colleagues to find a compromise that gets to what our children in the classroom need.. At the county level, judges, prosecutors, and public defenders are working together to release low-risk pretrial detainees and inmates serving sentences for nonviolent offenses. COVID-19 hospitalizations at Illinois corrections department leave incarcerated peoples loved ones with questions. At last count, more than 3,200 staff and 6,900 inmates have been infected since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Dec. 22 state data. There were physicians that would tell us that a particular incarcerated individual was going to pass very soon and then, two, three years later the person is still living, said the Murphysboro Republican. I could hear it in his voice, that he was close, said Susan Hertzberg, as quoted in a petition her lawyer filed with the state seeking early release. Of the 16,000 inmates who responded, 13% alleged they sought health care related to COVID-19 in the prior week but had not received a response. The IDOC publishes daily updates about positive cases and testing on its website. Up to 60 days will be given in the next month to prisoners deemed low and medium risk, the settlement states. Additionally, the Corrections Department will give credit for good behavior to prisoners within nine months of their release date. Has failed to protect medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release electronic. On March 30, 2020, at Robinson Correctional Center, a federal denied... 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