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Illinois Justice Project News Summary

May 5 - 11, 2020


COVID-19 - BAIL REFORM
May 6 - Chicago Tribune commentary by Sharone Mitchell Jr.: "The money bond system is the problem, not the charities paying bail" . . . "The safety of our communities and the fairness of our justice system depend on elimination of money bond, an unfair and cruel practice. It is no wonder that Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton and many in the General Assembly have committed to end the money bond system. COVID-19 derailed that legislative debate, but it should remain a priority when the crisis has eased."

May 7 - Chicago Reporter column by Curtis Black: "Bail reform and bond funds do not undermine public safety" . . . "A recent Chicago Tribune investigation relies on incomplete data and cherry-picked anecdotes to attack the work of the Chicago Community Bond Fund and The Bail Project."



COVID-19 - COOK COUNTY JAIL
May 5 - Chicago Sun-Times: "Dart touts improvements, warns of security issues as Cook County Jail battles COVID-19"

May 5 - WBEZ: "COVID-19 Sweeps Through Cook County Jail" . . . "More than 800 inmates, guards and medical staff have contracted COVID-19 at Cook County Jail. Experts say it’s nearly impossible to practice social distancing behind bars."

May 6 - Chicago Sun-Times: "Attorneys for Cook County Jail detainees ask for records on COVID-19 testing" . . . "Citing the most recent COVID-19-related detainee death, advocates are questioning whether the sheriff’s office’s has the ability to meet federal court orders on social distancing and testing."

May 6 - WTTW, Chicago Tonight: "Summer Months Could Put Added Strain on Conditions in Cook County Jail"

May 7 - Chicago Sun-Times: "Cook County sheriff’s office runs out of electronic monitoring bracelets"

May 7 - WTTW, Chicago Tonight: "‘We Reached That Limit’: Cook County Sheriff Out of Electronic Monitoring Equipment"

May 11 - Chicago Sun-Times: "Cook County correctional officer dies of COVID-19 complications: officials" . . . "Antoine Jones, 51, worked for the Cook County sheriff’s office since July 2002, authorities said. He lived on the South Side and is survived by his wife and five adult children."



COVID-19 - ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE 
May 5 - Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice: "Memo Regarding Positive Youth COVID-19 Case at IYC Chicago"


COVID-19 - ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
May 5 - Associated Press: "COVID-19 crisis delays probe of former priest’s prison death" . . . "The investigation into the prison death of a southern Illinois priest shortly after he began serving a nine-year sentence for child pornography and drug possession has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, a county coroner said. Perry County Coroner Paul Searby has been investigating the death of 56-year-old Gerald Hechenberger, who was pronounced dead on March 6 at a hospital, shortly after he was taken there from Pinckeyville Correctional Center."

May 5 - Belleville News-Democrat: "Coronavirus delays death investigation of Mascoutah priest serving prison sentence" . . . "Last week, Perry County Coroner Paul Searby said he couldn’t release information on Hechenberger’s cause of death because he hasn’t received investigative reports from the Illinois Department of Corrections."

Injustice Watch by Emily Hoerner: "Hundreds of Illinois prisoners released as COVID-19 spreads, but few elderly see reprieve" . . . "The vast majority of the prisoners released in March and April left custody after their sentences concluded. But about a quarter of those individuals, or 1,056 people, exited prison facilities as a result of the Illinois Department of Corrections optional use of medical and family furloughs, electronic detention, and a law that gives the department power to award up to six months of earned sentencing credit to lessen a prisoner’s time in custody. Only 49 inmates who are in their 60s, 70s and 80s were granted release as a result of these measures."

May 9 - Southern Illinoisan by Molly Parker: "Illinois has tested fewer than 2% of inmates for COVID-19" . . . "This low level of testing has raised alarm among advocates and lawmakers. They say it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to understand the true picture of the outbreak in Illinois prisons and respond to it appropriately. That includes taking steps to contain the outbreak and limit its spread into the communities where prisons are located, which are oftentimes rural and may have limited hospital capacity."

May 11 - Illinois Newsroom by Lee V. Gaines: "Illinois College-In-Prison Program Creates Guide For People Released From Incarceration During COVID-19"



COVID-19 - ILLINOIS PRISONER REVIEW BOARD
May 6 - The Marshall Project: "A Dangerous Limbo: Probation and Parole in the Time of COVID-19" . . . "The (Illinois Prisoner Review Board) has since cleared more than 600 people to go home, but almost 200 of them are still there, because they don’t have a parole-approved home to return to, because the local county is still holding them on a new charge, or because the corrections department is delayed in processing their exit paperwork, according to Jason Sweat, a spokesman for the agency."


COVID-19 - GOVERNOR PRITZKER
May 7 - Chicago Sun-Times commentary by Ina R. Silvergleid: "Gov. Pritzker is commuting sentences because of pandemic. Compassionate pardons should follow"

May 7 - WGLT, ISU Public Radio: "Jamie Snow Among Inmates Seeking Clemency During Virus"



COVID-19 - AROUND THE STATE
May 6 - Naperville Sun: "DuPage sheriff criticized for holding parade that drew large crowd: ‘It shocked me when I saw it’"

May 7 - Lake County News-Sun: "Positive COVID-19 test for Lake County judge leads to at least 13 additional county employees self-quarantining"



COVID-19 - CHICAGO POLICE
May 5 - Chicago Sun-Times: "5 more Chicago Police Department employees test positive for COVID-19" . . . "Of the 468 total confirmed cases, 447 are officers and 21 are civilian employees, police said."

May 6 - Chicago Sun-Times: "7 more COVID-19 cases in Chicago Police Department" . . . "Of the 475 total confirmed cases, 453 are officers and 22 are civilian employees, police said."



COVID-19 - COURTS
May 6 - Injustice Watch by John Seasly: "Top juvenile court judge still blocking motions despite new emergency order" . . . "Presiding Judge Michael Toomin is still blocking detention review motions from juvenile defendants, despite an order from Chief Judge Timothy Evans on Friday requiring that all such motions be heard. Toomin’s chief legal officer said Evans’ order scaling back the courts during the COVID-19 pandemic gives Toomin the authority to vet motions before they are filed to determine if they are emergencies. But public defenders and other judges say Toomin, who presides over the juvenile justice division, is misinterpreting the chief judge’s order."

May 8 - Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette: "Champaign County Courthouse giving its new normal a trial run"

May 11 - ABA Journal: "Could Zoom jury trials become the norm during the coronavirus pandemic?" . . . "Defendants have been shown to fare more poorly in remote proceedings. A 2010 study found that judges in Cook County set bail higher for defendants using closed-circuit television than those who appeared in person. After Locke Bowman, executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center in Chicago, filed a 2006 lawsuit over the closed-circuit bond hearings, the county responded by going back to in-person proceedings only. Bowman says trials by video would likely compromise rights of defendants under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause, which allows them to confront witnesses."



CHICAGO POLICE
WBEZ: "Chicago Police Are Investigating Officers Who Allegedly Advised A Man On How To Legally Shoot His Neighbor"

Daily Beast: "He Got 80 Years for Murder Because of a ‘Hero’ Cop. Then Witnesses Recanted." . . . "A yearlong investigation strongly points to then-teenager Robert Johnson’s innocence—and Chicago police misconduct as a major contributing factor to his conviction.
"


CHICAGO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
Chicago Tribune: "CPD union’s new leader is a cop facing discipline related to police report he once filed against Eddie Johnson" . . . "Rank-and-file Chicago police officers have chosen a new leader for their union, a veteran street cop known for being outspoken against Police Department brass who also faces an internal investigation into a pending disciplinary matter. Officer John Catanzara, a 25-year Chicago Police Department veteran, won a runoff election on Friday to become the next president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 by defeating the incumbent, Kevin Graham."

WTTW, Chicago Tonight: "New Police Union President Catanzara Praised by Trump After Appearing on ‘Fox & Friends’"



COOK COUNTY JAIL
Associated Press: "Search on for detainee who escaped Cook County Jail"

WBBM-TV: "Authorities: Cook County Jail Inmate Switched Identities With Another Inmate, Was Released From Jail While Wearing Mask"

Chicago Tribune: "Parolee who allegedly pulled identity switch to walk out of Cook County Jail joins roll of creative escapes"

WTTW, Chicago Tonight: "FBI: Reward for Information on Detainee Who Escaped Cook County Jail"

Chicago Sun-Times: "Escaped Cook County Jail detainee cut at integrity of judicial system, judge says at end of week-long manhunt"

Chicago Tribune: "Cook County Jail escapee held without bond Monday after more than a week on the run"



ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Northwestern Magazine: "Prison Education Unlocks Potential"


ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
DJJ Digest: "Special Edition Newsletter"

Pew Charitable Trust: "Lessons From Juvenile Justice Reforms Could Help Reduce Pandemic's Impact on Confined Youth"



COURTS 
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin: "Failure to fire lawyer dooms request to represent self" . . . "An Illinois inmate who tried to hedge his bets in pursuing a lawsuit lost his gamble. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court last week declined to revive a suit accusing three dentists of being deliberately indifferent to Tom Tuduj’s serious dental needs and prison officials of following a policy of denying inmates adequate dental care."


AROUND THE STATE
Illinois Times: "City council approves ShotSpotter" . . . "The Springfield City Council on Tuesday approved a $643,000 deal with a California firm that promises to detect gunshots in part of the city for three years. ShotSpotter, which has contracts with about 100 cities across the nation to detect gunfire, lowered the three-year cost by nearly $200,000 after aldermen last week raised concerns about costs amid a pandemic that threatens to crater city finances."

Rockford Register Star by Kevin Haas: "State’s attorney, task force release findings in two Winnebago County Jail inmate deaths"

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