US Attorney, DOJ Blast Conditions at Cook County Jail in Chicago

Criminal Justice

US Attorney, DOJ Blast Conditions at Cook County Jail in Chicago

Posted Jul 18, 2008, 11:21 am CDT
By Martha Neil

Conditions at a Chicago jail run by Cook County are so substandard that prisoners are at risk of physical abuse and even death, a federal prosecutor and the Department of Justice say in a report released yesterday.

Long criticized as overcrowded and understaffed, the huge facility is also characterized by the use of excessive force against inmates by jail staff, including beatings that have caused serious injuries and, in at least one case, left the inmate on a respirator, according to the report. Substandard medical care, in violation of inmates' constitutional rights, is also a serious problem, the report says, and some inmates have died needlessly as a result, writes the Chicago Tribune.

Sheriff Tom Dart, who is in charge of the jail's operations, under the authority of the Cook County Board, said he cooperated completely with the report, hoping for helpful suggestions, and now feels betrayed. He says significant reforms have been achieved that are not mentioned, citing a 22 percent reduction in the use of force this year and his appointment of panel of prosecutors to revamp the internal affairs review process. Thus, he characterizes as "completely inaccurate and horribly unprofessional" what he terms the report's implication that jail staff doesn't care or doesn't know about problems there.

At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called upon Dart and the board to fix the "woefully inadequate" jail, and the DOJ has threatened legal action if steps aren't taken to meet constitutional requirements.

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Posted by Isaac Laquedem - 1 month, 3 weeks, 8 hours, 53 minutes ago

Shocking! Why, the conditions in the Cook County jail sound as bad as those in the federal prison in Guantanamo Bay.
Posted by associate - 1 month, 3 weeks, 7 hours, 2 minutes ago

I have a solution to all of these “problems”. Don’t be dumb enough to get thown in jail.
Posted by Barb B. - 1 month, 2 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours, 51 minutes ago

If the jails are that bad, you would think that would be a deterrent for people to STAY OUT OF JAIL, not just complain about the jails conditions. Why should they get better treatment than people on medicaid or social security who actually earned that money to be taken care of later in life?
Posted by kay sieveding - 1 month, 1 week, 5 days, 8 hours, 47 minutes ago

Dear # 3, the legitimate way to stay out of jail is not to commit crimes. However, now citizens can be jailed without being convicted of a crime or of disrupting a hearing. I was, for 5 months. The last time I was picked up on a warrant issued without the request of a government prosecutor. This was by Judge Edward Nottingham and was in response to a request by Feagre & Benson that I should be jailed for filing an appeal. The standard form was blank where the charge and statute number is supposed to be. I was not expecting to be arrested. The assistant U.S. attorney Robert Anderson appeared and said “the government isn’t a party to this”. A public defender showed up and said Judge Nottingham has not charged her with contempt or anything else. None the less, the W WI court clerk, Theresa Owens, ordered that I should be denied bail, jailed without charges, and taken 1200 miles in chains.

That was very stressful. That night in the middle of the night I got the worst headache I have had in my entire life. I was dry heaving for hours. I am over 50. The guard came and I told him I had the worst headache I have ever had in my entire life but he did not come back with a doctor or nurse.

I don’t have a criminal record at all. If I had died in jail and those who put me there were convicted of Conspiracy to Deprive Rights under Color of Law (U.S.C. Title 18 section 241) by statute they could have got the death penalty.

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