On April 22, 2020, Chicago area civil rights groups came together to write a letter of support for the actions of Illinois Governor Pritzker. Mayor poses question to casino opponents: Do you want your taxes raised? J.B. Pritzker through executive clemency. She said that while the number of prisoners who will be released was significant, there are thousands more who have a legal mechanism to seek release and should get it. 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. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. HB 3665 not only provides better, more compassionate care to Illinois' seriously ill population, but helps improve the overall prison healthcare system. But, between mid-August and mid-October, the cumulative number of inmate infections more than tripled and total staff cases more than doubled. At Stateville, all but three who died were serving life sentences for murder. Lawmakers pass bill on early release of terminally ill prisoners, advance effort to put collective bargaining rights into constitution, State lawmakers address cannabis licensing, Asian American history, free menstrual hygiene products, Fact-check: State senator makes the grade with remark about public support for elected Chicago school board, Sexual assault in schools, life-sustaining medical treatment, marriage license language all addressed in state bills, Aiming to predict COVID, future pandemics better, CDC opens infectious diseases forecasting center, Unmasked transit: Pritzker ends mask mandates in public transportation, airports. As a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic spread rapidly through Illinois prisons this fall, 73-year-old Watson Gray made another plea to be released from Dixon Correctional Center, where new infections were rising. 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. 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. He tested positive for COVID-19 around Labor Day. The application of credits is expected to begin within the next 30 days, the court document states. 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. 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. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections is a multicultural agency deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). This commitment is at the forefront of our Andrew Sullender reported from Springfield, Rachel Hinton from Chicago. 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. If you are a member of the press, please contact our Director of Communications, Megan Groves, at megan@uplcchicago.org. At UPLC, we are doing our best to stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 developments at IDOC facilities around the state. A broken ankle. He had three disciplinary tickets in four decades for minor infractions, said his lawyer, Soble. March 2022 2 0Act%20v1.29.2022.pdf. This landmark legislation requires that PRB both verify eligibility for release and consider victim statements in making its determinations.". "Illinois continues to lead the Nation in sensible criminal justice reform with Governor Pritzker's approval today of the Joel Coleman Act," said Craig Findley, Chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB). The issue of early releases is a Catch-22 for Gov. 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 releases are set to resume soon. "By signing the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act into law, it's my intention to honor Joe Coleman's legacy as a father, as a veteran, as a man who spent his days raising funds for charity from behind bars," said Governor JB Pritzker. AT FINAL DISCHARGE, THE ADULT PAROLE SERVICES FILES ARE SENT BACK TO THE INSTITUTION WHERE THEY ARE STORED AND EVENTUALLY MICROFILMED. For weeks, two houses in Illinois Vienna Correctional Center ran on generator power and had intermittent failures. Earlier this month, the state began regularly testing all prison employees whether or not they have symptoms. The lawsuit was one of two filed in the early days of the pandemic alleging that Gov. ICJIAs Research Hub is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. 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. J.B. Pritzker and IDOC had dragged their feet on identifying vulnerable prisoners eligible for early release, putting detainees, prison staff and the public at greater risk of severe illness and death. The Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. About one-third of Dixons staff was out recently due to sickness, union officials said, and at least 10 inmates, including Watson Gray, have died there since November. People incarcerated in Illinois will be among those vaccinated against coronavirus during the next phase, according to a newly released state plan. In cases of medical incapacity, individuals may not be terminally ill, but in a state that renders them no longer a threat to the community. (April 17) In Illinois, the governor signed an executive order that eases the One staff member a 64-year-old nurse near retirement also died. I'm sorry we couldn't afford this mercy to Joe Coleman, but I'm proud that we'll be able to do so for hundreds of other Illinoisans now that this bill is signed into law. Currently, the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) determines conditions of parole and notifies victims and families when an inmate will be released from custody. 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 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.. Staffers are expected to be prioritized with those in the health care field and other first responders. In an effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic inside the states prisons, CDCR implemented emergency measures to protect all those who live and work in our state prisons, and the community at-large. Stateville Correctional Center personnel pull carts of hand sanitizer and bars of soap on April 24, 2020. 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. But legislators agreed to hold the measure as they work on a compromise. His wife, Susan Hertzberg, 78, still in prison, is trying to get a compassionate early release due to her age, health problems and the virus. The couple, who had not seen each other since being imprisoned, were allowed a final phone call before he died. As of Monday, more than 10,800 state inmates and 4,200 staff members had tested positive for the virus, according to IDOC statistics posted online. People are dying and theres no urgency assigned to anything, Ryan said. Newsletter, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. Roger Hertzberg, 76, died Sept. 24, 2020, at Robinson Correctional Center of COVID-19 complications while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. 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.. Months later, Stateville continues to see a steady flow of new cases but has not reported a COVID-19 fatality since mid-August, according to state data through Dec. 21. Mason was freed from Pontiac Correctional Center on Nov. 25 by Gov. Illinois has granted the early release of about 3,000 incarcerated people since March, according to IDOC data. On April 17th, he commuted the sentences of 7 people in Ohio state prisons. "(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. 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