Bronis' son, Matthew Echevarria, is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center. J.B. Pritzker and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, as defendants. There was so much information that was coming and we had to figure it out for ourselves because there was just no guidance for correctional settings as it relates to this outbreak, he said. Indiana To try to hinder the pandemics spread, IDOC brought in about 30 members of the Illinois National Guard to assist with routine health screenings and other duties at Stateville. It was dropped near the main entrance of the prison near Joliet by Jennifer Lackey of Northwestern Universitys Prison Education Program. J.B. Pritzker arent doing enough to protect elderly and medically vulnerable inmates from COVID-19 inside state prison facilities, according to a lawsuit that claims inadequate testing and sanitation supplies have created conditions where the virus can spread like wildfire.. Press Release - Tuesday, February 21, 2023 Herman Townsell, who spent 71/2 years in prison for a 1994 home invasion, kidnapping and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl and has been in and out of prison WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. 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. J.B. Pritzker through executive clemency. Bedi, though, said there are reports that a significant number of correctional officers are refusing vaccines, which continues to pose a risk to those in congregate settings. The IDOC administration, he said, has tried to be responsive. J.B. Pritzker could help the effort with the stroke of a pen. 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. In nearly two dozen of the cases, Pritzker granted freedom to men serving natural life sentences for armed robbery under the states habitual criminal law, which after a third offense triggers the mandatory sentence even if no one was physically harmed. But theres no mechanism in Illinois to permit us to do that, said the bills sponsor, state Sen. John Connor, D-Lockport. On January 13th, state legislators approved a colossal 764-page police and criminal justice reform bill that includes major changes, such as ending the practice of cash bail and money bonds, requiring all officers across Illinois to wear body cameras, and easing restrictions placed on those convicted of lesser charges. "I am proud that Illinois is leading with compassion and bringing a restorative justice lens to criminal justice policy making. J.B. Pritzker is deploying medics from the Illinois National Guard to the Illinois Department of Corrections facility, where advocates have declared a disaster.. Citing his age and poor health, Grays lawyer made a final plea for mercy dated Nov. 5. Lets walk through 4 main ways to get early release from prison, under the First Step Act, for an inmate to obtain early release or additional community custody The grievance alleges that he languished without meaningful medical intervention and that, after he died, his body was left in the cell for hours. Governor Juliana Stratton. He kept reaching out, Mom, help me. A 13th Stateville inmate died in August. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune). Since then, the total number of infections has risen by more than 9,000 cases, state data shows. Watson Gray, 73, died of complications related to COVID-19 on Nov. 6, 2020, at Dixon Correctional Center. In total, more than 10,000 inmates and staff have tested positive from the start of the pandemic. The screening process for staff includes temperature checks and, as of October, systemwide contact tracing. ,0(|GfVMJx'#Kf8Z%jZNtFc+ZT\;SUF-}T&v`)B?>7|'e=6/;_u$dNJ.U*n+Nykp$^+ It remains a public health crisis, she said. Recently, Governor Pritzker announced that all staff working in Illinois prisons will have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by mid-October. More than 4,000 jail detainees have entered state prisons since then. But, between mid-August and mid-October, the cumulative number of inmate infections more than tripled and total staff cases more than doubled. 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. The Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. Before the committee voted, state Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford said the House bill as well as the one shes sponsoring on behalf of Mayor Lori Lightfoot still needs work. Fatalities have been reported in nearly 20 IDOC facilities, with Dixon one of the latest hot spots. Dr. Stewart's video is addressed specifically to members of the Rasho class-action suit and their loved ones. Whilst staff at veterans' homes, nursing homes, hospitals and sundry health care facilities balk at getting vaccinated let-me-think-about-it rates for doctors, nurses and other frontline health care workers are as high as 40 percent nationwide the state of Illinois has decided that while doses remain scarce, prisoners and the homeless who reside in shelters or frequent day centers are on par with the elderly (75 or older) and "frontline essential workers" who will be second in line after health care workers. IDOC should view this agreement as a first step towards maximizing its power to release people from prison and reunite families. "I watched helplessly as my father died a lonely death behind bars," said Joe Coleman, Jr. "I thank the Governor and the General Assembly for ensuring no other family has to experience that despair, and for doing so in the honor of my father. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. LockA locked padlock INSTEAD, THERE IS A FIXED RELEASE DATE, ASSUMING GOOD TIME IS SERVED, SET BY LAW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRISON TERM. 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. Last April, a federal judge denied their emergency request, finding the state was not violating prisoners' constitutional rights. This commitment is at the forefront of our operations, hiring, policies and procedures, and training. Photos: Northwestern loses to Penn State 68-65 in overtime, Nick Niego is back as Brother Rice stuns St. Rita. So far, three incarcerated men in Illinois two who had been housed at Stateville prison in Crest Hill and a detainee at the Cook County Jail have died from complications related to the coronavirus. Once you enshrine this at the constitutional level, any change is going to be very difficult to reverse, Mazzochi said. I want it [to be] clear that while I will continue to negotiate in good faith till the 11th hour of this General Assembly, I will not go quietly without passing something for an elected school board this year, said the Northwest Side Democrat, who is a sponsor of another elected school board measure. It was tough., Down to Business: Helping children learn to communicate empowers whole family, speech-language pathologist says, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Jeffreys said the IDOC follows federal and state public health pandemic guidelines. But more than 30% of those still locked up have a projected mandatory supervised release date before Jan. 1, 2022, meaning they are due to be set free in a year or less anyway, state data shows. That means prison medical copays must go. Worldwide there are 11m behind bars, according to Penal Reform International, a pressure group. 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. 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. March 2022 2 0Act%20v1.29.2022.pdf. 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.. Many inmates, relatives and recently freed men interviewed by the Tribune agreed that access to masks and cleaning supplies has improved since earlier this year, when there was a national shortage. Zach LaVine finished with a game-high 41 points, DeMar DeRozan added 21 and Patrick Beverley had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Staffers are expected to be prioritized with those in the health care field and other first responders. 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 IDOC officials in early December began rolling out the testing program in which each worker is tested at least once a month, with the frequency based on the positivity rate of the prisons county. Dozens of legal and community advocacy groups signed an open letter Monday urging the Illinois Department of Public Health to prioritize incarcerated individuals and staff working in jails and prisons in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. It does not, however, include details about hospitalizations, contact tracing or fatalities. Mason, 76, said a feeling of lightness overtook him when a correctional officer stopped by his cell to tell him he was going home. The release of inmates requires a process that gives close attention to detail, for the safety of each inmate, his or her family, and the community at large demands a sensible and individualized release plan especially during a pandemic, Dow wrote. 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. At least 153 inmates and 147 staffers in Illinois state prisons are currently diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. A spokesperson for Pritzker was not immediately available for comment. Releasing inmates "requires a process that gives close attention to detail, for the safety of each inmate, his or her family, and the community at large demands a sensible and individualized release plan -- especially during a pandemic," the opinion continued. Read more here! Alan Mills, executive director of Uptown Peoples Law Center, said prison officials have had the tools to identify and release prisoners who are eligible for years. "Too many seriously ill people in prisons are getting substandard medical care at exorbitant cost to the state," said State Representative Will Guzzardi (D- Chicago). 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. Alan Mills, executive director of the Uptown Peoples Law Center, said that if IDOC strictly followed its protocols requiring quarantine periods and negative test results, the jail transfers should not be an issue. If you are a member of the press, please contact our Director of Communications, Megan Groves, at megan@uplcchicago.org. The IDOC inmate population has dropped 19% since March to about 30,000, in part because of the nearly 3,000 early releases. ICJIAs Research Hub is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The state crime rate actually declined while early release was operating. She cared about people a whole lot, said her husband. On April 22, 2020, Chicago area civil rights groups came together to write a letter of support for the actions of Illinois Governor Pritzker. Alan, welcome to the show. Built in the early 1920s and dubbed the roundhouse, the unit was used to quarantine infected inmates. "(The prisoners) have provided no convincing reason for a federal court to intrude here and now -- either to issue a blanket order for the release of thousands of inmates or to superimpose a court-mandated and court-superintended process on the mechanisms currently in place to determine which IDOC inmates can and should be safely removed from prison facilities at this time," the judge wrote in his 48-page opinion. Stateville Correctional Center personnel pull carts of hand sanitizer and bars of soap on April 24, 2020. Vaccinating prisoners is good public policy. Eddie Caumiant, regional director of the union that includes state corrections employees, said the pandemic has exacerbated staffing shortages and some staff work multiple 16-hour double shifts a week., Linda Savage, 64, a nurse at Vienna Correctional Center in downstate Vienna, died Nov. 6, 2020, of complications related to COVID-19. He argues the primary cause of the surge is staff infections and said IDOC should have responded with more urgency to Rabas testing recommendations. 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. This can include circumstances where an individual may be non-ambulatory due to a spinal injury. It was dropped near the main entrance of the prison near Joliet by Jennifer Lackey of Northwestern Universitys Prison Education Program. Camren Wynter hit a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give Penn State a 68-65 victory against Northwestern. ", "Joe spent his life in service of others from his time in the military to his time in prison," said Jennifer Soble, Executive Director, Illinois Prison Project. Mason was freed from Pontiac Correctional Center on Nov. 25 by Gov. The IDOC denied a Tribune open-records request for information about Bourbons death, citing confidentiality exemptions. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune). Angelo Ciaravino and Richard Zoller both have a way of getting their Mount Carmel teammates and the crowd fired up. In letters and interviews, men inside the facility describe conditions they say are continuing to drive infections at the Illinois prison hardest hit by coronavirus. 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. The effort includes a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court, naming Gov. 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