Secure .gov websites use HTTPS (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune). Under current law, terminally ill or mentally incapacitated prisoners who wish to be released to the care of family in their final days must rely on a commutation from the governor. McDonald questions whether her son received prompt medical attention. Arkee Chaney shows a painting he made about a childhood memory of his father, at his home in Westchester on Dec. 4, 2020. The settlement also calls for the department to apply good behavior credits to inmates who are eligible for those credits and have at least nine months left on their sentence. 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. They say that earned time credits, which allow for early release for low-level offenders, need to be utilized more in light of the ongoing pandemic and high numbers of UPLC is tracking COVID-19 cases in IDOC. 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. A federal judge Friday blocked a bid by state prisoners for an accelerated release or transfer amid the coronavirus, finding state officials current processes dont violate their constitutional rights. At UPLC, we are doing our best to stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 developments at IDOC facilities around the state. If you are a member of the press, please contact our Director of Communications, Megan Groves, at megan@uplcchicago.org. WebThe Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. UPLC is tracking COVID-19 cases in IDOC. People in Prison in Winter 2021-22 Vera Institute of Justice, February, 2022 All states and the federal prison system reduced their prison populations in 2020, but 19 states and the federal government increased the number of people incarcerated in prisons in 2021. COVID looks like it may stay. Like other Chicagoans, we have ideas about what the next mayor should do. Through public records and interviews, the Tribune identified the first 50 inmates who died in the pandemic. Similar to what happened in the outside world, the pandemic seemed under control in Illinois prisons most of the summer. He had three disciplinary tickets in four decades for minor infractions, said his lawyer, Soble. As efforts continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 at Cook County Jail by reducing the inmate population, Gov. Amanda Antholt, one of the attorneys representing the prisoners, said the settlement will likely affect up to 1,200 inmates across Illinois prisons. 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. 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. 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 An early release law is a state criminal law that allows a prisoner to be released before the end of their prison term. ", [{"code":"en","title":"Illinois' Virtual Agent","message":"Hello"},{"code":"es","title":"Agente virtual de Illinois","message":"Hola"}]. To stay up-to-date on our work,subscribe to our newsletter. 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. A spokeswoman for Gov. That means prison medical copays must go. The Pandemic Had Prisoners' Nerves On Edge. The issue of early releases is a Catch-22 for Gov. Officials also said they are doing more to hold staff accountable if they go unmasked at work. To donate to our work fighting the spread of coronavirus in Illinois' prisons, click here. Illinois has granted the early release of about 3,000 incarcerated people since March, according to IDOC data. 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. 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. COVID-19 hospitalizations at Illinois corrections department leave incarcerated peoples loved ones with questions. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 10,800 Illinois prisoners and 4,200 staff members tested positive for COVID-19, according to the department of corrections. Groups that track national virus data for state and federal prisons, such as the COVID Prison Project and The Marshall Project, place Illinois about average on lists comparing infections based on inmate populations, but Illinois has one of the higher death tolls. He kept reaching out, Mom, help me. The lawsuit argued that keeping medically vulnerable prisoners who are at risk of contracting COVID-19 confined in close proximity to one another violated their constitutional rights, including the right protecting individuals from cruel and unusual punishment. 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. 1. Their complaints echo a survey conducted in April and early May by the John Howard Association, a prison watchdog group. May 12, 2020: Arkansas state officials announced that 300 inmates had been released from state prisons, and the states Board of Corrections have made over 1,200 inmates eligible for parole since April. She described a frantic several days just calling everybody at the prison, back and forth, in circles, basically. Relatives also called a nearby hospital, she said, but inmates at the hospital are listed as John Does, which added to the initial confusion. There have been 87 Illinois prisoner deaths due to COVID, according to the Marshall Project's database. And I'm proud to turn it into law today.". 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To see charts broken down by prison. The most recent numbers provided by IDOC show that 87 prisoners and one staff member have died of COVID-19-related causes since the beginning of the pandemic. stream SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Corrections and a number of elderly and medically vulnerable prisoners seeking early release from state prisons due to COVID-19 reached a settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by the inmates against the department. Northwestern University law professor Sheila Bedi, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, said about 1,000 prisoners could soon be released due to the settlement. More than 4,000 jail detainees have entered state prisons since then. As for what caused the resurgence, thats in dispute. One staff member a 64-year-old nurse near retirement also died. The Illinois Department of Corrections will identify medically vulnerable and elderly prisoners eligible for early release or electronic home monitoring. All three cases demand the swift release of those prisoners most vulnerable to the epidemic before they fall victim to it. J.B. Pritzker and Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, as defendants. ", "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. The first prison inmates to go home under Illinois new early release program could be out within a month, the director of the state Corrections Department said Monday. But a coalition of advocacy groups that sued the state over the issue said the IDOC should free thousands more who are either old, infirm, nonviolent or near the end of their sentences. Denice Bronis gets emotional while discussing her fears about her son's health at her home in East Dundee, Dec. 4, 2020. 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. The releases are set to resume soon. The state crime rate actually declined while early release was operating. (The Exoneration Project photo) Gray is one of at PNx SgXBN_]W*o!'13! ". Already approved by the state Senate, it will go before voters, appearing on Illinois ballot in 2022. Once you enshrine this at the constitutional level, any change is going to be very difficult to reverse, Mazzochi said. 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. 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.". 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. 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. The Illinois Department of Corrections and Gov. The board also makes recommendations for clemency petitions to the Governor. "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. The man was imprisoned at Stateville Correctional Center, where officials say there are now 12 men who are hospitalized, "including several requiring ventilators.". As millions of Illinoisans are still waiting for their chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and even those who are eligible are scrambling for appointments, at least one group is largely giving up its place at the front of the vaccine line: people who work in Illinois prisons. 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. But until now, they have not used these tools, Mills said in a statement. Members of End Illinois Prison Lockdown Coalition rally as they call out Gov. People are dying and theres no urgency assigned to anything, Ryan said. The Illinois Department of Corrections and a number of elderly and medically vulnerable prisoners seeking early release from state prisons due to COVID Building Blocks of Success IDOT announces March dates for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program workshops. She said her retired parents were struggling financially when they committed the crime. Chicago Tribunes Annie Sweeney contributed. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune), Lester Mason was released from Pontiac Correctional Center on Nov. 25 after spending 39 years in prison for armed robbery, his third such offense. Lester Mason, 76, at the home of his nephew in East Peoria on Dec. 14, 2020. 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