Overcrowding at Cook County Jail
February 1, 2008
Judge to Investigate Cook County Jail Conditions
Alarmed by persistent overcrowding at Cook County Jail, a federal judge decided today that she needed to see Cook County Jail conditions for herself and scheduled a visit for February 8. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall's decision came after she ordered County officials in November to submit a proposal for alleviating overcrowding, which violates a 25-year-old consent decree.
“I'm willing to roll up my sleeves to make sure the consent decree is a healthy animal,” said Judge Kendall. “But if we don't reach a point where overcrowding is addressed, I will be the judge and make the ruling that needs to be made.”
At today's hearing, County officials presented their proposed solutions, which ranged from inmates sharing beds, also known as “hot bunking,” to moving psychiatric ward inmates to a different location.
“Many of these solutions will not result in a safer, healthier jail,” said Locke Bowman of the MacArthur Justice Center, which represents jail inmates harmed by the overcrowding problem. “We can't put a band aid on this problem. County officials need to stop disobeying the 1982 consent decree and come up with long-term solutions to address overcrowding.”
Judge Kendall scheduled another hearing to discuss the ongoing issue for February 29, 2008, at 9:30 am.
Download the press release here
November 30, 2007
Judge Orders Cook County to Fix Jail Overcrowding
Alarmed by escalating overcrowding at Cook County Jail, a federal judge today gave County officials 45 days to submit a proposal for alleviating the conditions, which violate a 25-year-old consent decree.
"It is unacceptable," U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said about the chronic overcrowding problem. "This is no longer a budget problem. It is a constitutional violation."
Kendall ordered County officials to report to her by January 15 on how they plan to eliminate the overcrowding. The ruling came during a hearing on a motion brought by attorneys for jail inmates who are seeking to enforce a 1982 federal consent decree prohibiting overcrowding at the jail. Last month, more 580 men in the jail were forced to sleep on floors, promoting unsanitary conditions that create public health risks. The overcrowding has been linked to diseases, such as CA-MRSA, a rare and deadly staph infection strain that has spiked in Chicago in recent months.
"Three things are obvious, "said Locke Bowman of the MacArthur Justice Center, which represents jail inmates harmed by the overcrowding problem. "First, conditions at the jail are woefully overcrowded and unhealthy, which represents a wider threat to public health. Second, these conditions are blatantly illegal because they violate a 1982 consent decree. And third, county officials have flagrantly refused to obey this court order. Today's ruling indicates that that this defiance must stop."
Download the press release here
