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. The Illinois Department of Corrections and a number of elderly and medically vulnerable prisoners seeking early release from state prisons due to COVID In the grievance, Tommy Ryburn, 61, said Bourbon had constant vomiting and diarrhea and was often too weak to get out of bed to take his medication or insulin shots. Legislators designed the Roger Hertzberg, 76, died Sept. 24, 2020, at Robinson Correctional Center of COVID-19 complications while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. WebThe First Step Act made important changes to how federal compassionate release works. "Governor Pritzker's prioritization of legislative reforms of the criminal justice system reinforces the importance of collaboration among Illinois agencies to cultivate positive change.". J.B. Pritzker. Newsletter, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. Prisons and their surrounding communities would be safer. A day later, Gray died of complications related to COVID-19. Op-ed: The vaccine showdown no one is talking about: An Illinois mandate vs. the state's prison staffs. 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. The tragedy is the number of people who have become sick and died. Additionally, Photos: Northwestern loses to Penn State 68-65 in overtime, Nick Niego is back as Brother Rice stuns St. Rita. Governor Juliana Stratton. A representative of the Illinois Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment about the settlement. Roger and Susan Hertzberg before being convicted of marijuana trafficking for hauling nearly 50 pounds of pot through Illinois in 2012. Members of End Illinois Prison Lockdown Coalition rally as they call out Gov. UPLC is tracking COVID-19 cases in IDOC. Isolated in solitary confinement as the pandemic swept through Illinois prisons, inmates diagnosed with mental illness are beyond the breaking point, setting fire to their cells and harming themselves after more than a year without adequate mental health care. INSTEAD, THERE IS A FIXED RELEASE DATE, ASSUMING GOOD TIME IS SERVED, SET BY LAW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRISON TERM. Todays guest is Alan Mills, the Executive Director of the Uptown Peoples Law Center in Chicago. ", "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 union instead proposed that it will continue to educate staff, in the hope that more staff will agree to vaccinate voluntarily. A 58-year-old cancer survivor who had been in custody since he was a teenager, Scott died in April. Editors Note: The print copy and a previous online version of this report contained incorrect information about the status of the constitutional amendment. We do believe things are moving in the right direction.. "It's only fitting that his death in prison, though tragic and unnecessary given the many who loved him, will help to restore dignity and humanity to incarcerated people and their families. Roger Hertzberg, 76, died of COVID-19 complications Sept. 24 at Robinson Correctional Center. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune). Five days later, a 65-year-old sex offender from Rockford, Larry Bourbon, succumbed to the virus in his prison bunk. A spokesperson for Pritzker was not immediately available for comment. Up to 60 days will be given in the next month to prisoners deemed low and medium risk, the settlement states. 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.". The advocates accuse the governor of dragging his feet in the face of a pandemic, putting prisoners and staff at greater risk. 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. At Stateville, all but three who died were serving life sentences for murder. It changes and expands the compassionate release eligibility criteria; ensures the prisoners have the right to appeal the BOPs denial or neglect of the prisoners request for a compassionate release directly to court; and provides other important features, such as % He mentored younger men and ran an inmates chapter of the Jaycees charity, as well as other prison programs. In emailed responses to Tribune questions, Ryburn said he was not tested after Bourbon died but he did not get sick. 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. Watson Gray, 73, died of complications related to COVID-19 on Nov. 6, 2020, at Dixon Correctional Center. An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. 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 Chaney, who was granted a sentence commutation by Gov. The releases are set to resume soon. Already approved by the state Senate, it will go before voters, appearing on Illinois ballot in 2022. Then the Power Started Going Out. 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.. 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. Lindsey Hess, spokeswoman for Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys, said it was too early to determine how many prisoners would be released under the agreement. 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.. 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 (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. If you are a member of the press, please contact our Director of Communications, Megan Groves, at megan@uplcchicago.org. That means prison medical copays must go. This commitment is at the forefront of our operations, hiring, policies and procedures, and training. 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 Gov. Early release from prison is sometimes We urge officials to promptly release detainees who can be released safely. 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. 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. 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. Recently, Governor Pritzker announced that all staff working in Illinois prisons will have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by mid-October. J.B. Pritzker through executive clemency. "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. To put the numbers in perspective, there were fewer than 700 known infections of inmates and staff across IDOC from March to early August, when the latest surge began. After a deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Illinois prisons sickened thousands of workers and inmates, the state will begin vaccinating both groups in the coming week a plan that drew praise from advocates but provoked the ire of some lawmakers who argue criminals should not be prioritized. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune), Arkee Chaney, 76, is an artist whose life sentence was commuted to time served in June after 31 years imprisonment for armed robbery. A new point of contention is where prisoners will be on the vaccine distribution list. CHICAGO Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation today that creates a path for the compassionate release of medically incapacitated individuals by the Prison Review Board (PRB). 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. Andrew Sullender reported from Springfield, Rachel Hinton from Chicago. J.B. Pritzker through executive clemency. 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. 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. And I'm proud to turn it into law today.". At about 100 pounds and in poor health, 78-year-old Susan Hertzberg hardly poses a threat to public safety, her lawyer said. Pritzker Joins Reproductive Freedom Alliance. The first, Russell Sedelmaier, was convicted of a 2005 double homicide in Buffalo Grove. Jeffreys said the IDOC follows federal and state public health pandemic guidelines. That tragedy was preventable.. 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. INFORMATION ON WHERE TO OBTAIN DATA ON ILLINOIS INMATES PAROLED FROM THE FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM IS PROVIDED. The latest IDOC data shows 82 prison staff and 45 prisoners are currently positive for COVID-19, and a total of 4,177 staff and 10,768 prisoners have tested (Family photo). 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. 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 "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. That will result in the immediate release of over 1,000 prisoners, according to the Uptown Peoples Law Center. A man incarcerated at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill is among eight new deaths from the Coronavirus in Illinois, and 18 other inmates were taken to AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, officials said. As efforts continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 at Cook County Jail by reducing the inmate population, Gov. Echevarria is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center. 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. The surge has continued, leading to sickness and death that advocates say was avoidable. In his 48-page opinion last year, Dow acknowledged the seriousness of the situation but said that Pritzker and other stakeholders had taken steps at that point to contain the spread of the virus that plainly pass constitutional muster, even if it was not exactly what the plaintiffs were seeking. 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. 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. "The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act will make sure that doesn't happen to an inmate in Illinois anymore.". Mayor poses question to casino opponents: Do you want your taxes raised? 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. A stress fracture in his shin. 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. She said prison officials did not notify her or Wilsons wife that he was hospitalized until the family made repeated phone calls. Antholt said the settlement also ensures the Department of Corrections is providing training to all the relevant facilities' staff about how to accommodate the needs of vulnerable prisoners. According to the settlement, the Corrections Department will continue to identify and evaluate medically vulnerable prisoners for release even after the pandemic. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS ,0(|GfVMJx'#Kf8Z%jZNtFc+ZT\;SUF-}T&v`)B?>7|'e=6/;_u$dNJ.U*n+Nykp$^+ Arkee Chaney shows a painting he made about a childhood memory of his father, at his home in Westchester on Dec. 4, 2020. 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. Roger Hertzberg, 76, died Sept. 24, 2020, at Robinson Correctional Center of COVID-19 complications while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Angelo Ciaravino and Richard Zoller both have a way of getting their Mount Carmel teammates and the crowd fired up. 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. Ryan is among those trying to help free more prisoners during the pandemic, especially the older people or those with terminal diseases.. Some say they should be vaccinated with the same urgency as others in congregate settings, such as nursing homes. J.B. Pritzker said the Corrections Department has consistently, reviewed its population foreligibilityto be grantedup to 180 daysof credit and claimed they have stepped up these efforts during the pandemic. Dr. Stewart's video is addressed specifically to members of the Rasho class-action suit and their loved ones. Illinois will soon begin vaccinating prisoners against COVID-19. The bill passed 34 to 17 and now heads to the governors desk. But some Illinois House Republicans have criticized his administration for releasing prisoners who committed violent crimes and for not being more transparent. J.B. Pritzker is deploying medics from the Illinois National Guard to the Illinois Department of Corrections facility, where advocates have declared a disaster.. (The Exoneration Project photo) Gray is one of at 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. 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