Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Open Letter to Cook County on COVID-19, Cook County jail decarceration
2020-04-01

This article shared 4374 times since Wed Apr 1, 2020
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


UPDATE Correction: A previous version of this message was sent out in error without including the Chicago Community Bond Fund, a primary author of the letter.

Across the world, the impact of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic has increased with each passing day. The highly contagious respiratory illness has been deadly for many, especially the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. Across the United States, elected officials are taking unprecedented steps to protect the most vulnerable people in their communities and contain the spread of the virus.

People incarcerated in jail are one of the most vulnerable populations, and their protection warrants special emergency action. Jails and prisons are known to quickly spread contagious diseases: www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/correctional-facilities-are-the-perfect-incubators-for-the-coronavirus/ . Incarcerated people have an inherently limited ability to fight the spread of infectious disease since they are confined in close quarters and unable to avoid contact with people who may have been exposed. Responses such as lock downs wgntv.com/news/flu-outbreak-prompts-prison-lockdown-in-southwest-illinois/ , placing people in solitary confinement theappeal.org/san-quentin-prison-flu-solitary-confinement/ and limiting access to visits from loved ones www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/02/19/michigan-prisons-limit-visitors-because-flu-cases/4800392002/ are punitive and ineffective responses to outbreaks. Importantly, we know that isolation further endangers people and limiting visitation also has adverse effects.

The only acceptable response to the threat of COVID-19 is decarceration. Today there are more than 5,500 people incarcerated in Cook County Jail ( CCJ ). Almost all of them are still awaiting trial and thus presumed innocent under the law. Their ongoing incarceration is an unacceptable risk to every incarcerated individual as well as public health.

Jails have extremely high turnover rates. Many people are released and admitted every day, and thousands of employees travel in and out of Cook County Jail each week. It is not a matter of if coronavirus and COVID-19 infect CCJ but when. As few people as possible should be exposed to this dangerous inevitability. as The

The following steps should be taken to protect the health of all Cook County residents, including those incarcerated in Cook County Jail and in their homes on electronic monitoring:

Cook County should immediately release anyone incarcerated in Cook County Jail on an unaffordable money bond ( and not onto electronic monitoring unless already ordered by a judge ). If a judge has given someone a money bond, it means that they've determined the person is cleared for release pretrial. Their ongoing incarceration due solely to access to money is deeply unfair and unethical, especially during this pandemic.

No new people should be admitted to Cook County Jail on money bonds. As many admissions as possible should be avoided.

The courts should provide emergency bond reviews for all incarcerated people who request them with an increased mandate to use all options other than incarceration.

Cook County should immediately release individuals over the age of 50 or with compromised immune systems from Cook County Jail. Research has shown that these individuals are at the highest risk for contracting and experiencing the most serious effects of COVID-19.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office and Pretrial Services Division should immediately change their protocols around electronic monitoring ( EM ) and home confinement to permit liberal movement ( the ability to leave one's home ). Currently, people on Sheriff's EM are required to provide documentation of a scheduled doctor's visit to be granted the ability to leave their home. They are routinely denied permission to go to the grocery store or leave their homes to perform other essential tasks of life. The Sheriff's office typically requires 72 hours advance notice to review and approve these requests. Gaining this documentation for a medical visit can often be extremely difficult due to privacy protections placed on medical providers and the difficulty of obtaining a letter over the phone. We are calling on the Cook County Sheriff's Office to allow for automatically approved movement to allow people on EM to obtain groceries and other supplies, seek medical treatment, collect school meals, and provide elder and child care in other households. The 12 hours of movement per day policy, now guaranteed to all people on mandatory supervised release ( "parole" ) by the Illinois Department of Corrections, should be treated as the least possible movement allowed during the pandemic.

The ability to pay money bonds and secure pretrial release for people currently incarcerated in the jail or on EM should not be delayed or inhibited in any way.

People eligible for electronic monitoring must continue to be released into the community. If a person is ordered to EM but does not have access to approved housing, they should be immediately returned to court for a rehearing on their conditions of release.

If courts remain open, appearance at non-essential criminal court dates should be waived to avoid unnecessary travel and social contact. All in-person pretrial check-ins or other mandated appearances ( such as drug testing ) should also be waived.

Cancellation of court dates should not delay anyone's release from Cook County Jail. Given that 70% of people released from Cook County Jail return directly to the community, any failure to resolve court cases at the same pace will increase the number of people in jail and thus the threat to their individual health and public health.

A moratorium should be placed on "turnarounds," the process by which someone sentenced to time served travels from CCJ to an Illinois Department of Corrections facility to dress in and dress out on the same day. People sentenced to time served should be released directly from Cook County Jail.

Health care access for anyone remaining in Cook County Jail must be liberally provided and unfettered.

Access to phone calls and video "visitation" should be expanded for all incarcerated people right now and moving forward. This access should be provided free of charge.

The right to vote must be protected for anyone who remains incarcerated pretrial.

Personal hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation supplies should be made available free of charge to anyone that remains incarcerated. Hand sanitizer and other essential preventative products must be permitted and should not be considered "contraband."

Signed,

Please note: Signatories are rapidly being added. For the most up-to-date list, click here: chicagobond.org/2020/03/13/open-letter-to-cook-county-regarding-covid-19-and-cook-county-jail-protect-public-health-through-decarceration/ .

Chicago Community Bond Fund

A Just Harvest

American Friends Service Committee Chicago

AirGo

Assata's Daughters

Believers Bail Out

Black and Pink Chicago

Chicago Appleseed

Chicago Feminist Action Group

Chicago Freedom School

Chicago Torture Justice Center

Dissenters

First Defense Legal Aid

Free Write Arts & Literacy

Liberation Library

Lifted Voices

Loevy & Loevy

Lucy Parson's Labs

The People's Lobby

Rogers Park Solidarity Network

Shriver Center on Poverty Law

Trinity United Church of Christ

UIC John Marshall Law School Black Law Students Association

UIC John Marshall Law School Public Interest Law Council

UIC John Marshall Law School Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild

UIC John Marshall Law School South Asian Law Association

UIC John Marshall Law School United Immigration Defense Organization of Students

Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois

Uptown People's Law Center

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING MORE

About the Coronavirus and Jails: slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/coronavirus-civil-rights-jails-and-prisons.html .

The Coronavirus Could Spark a Humanitarian Disaster in Jails and Prisons: www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/correctional-facilities-are-the-perfect-incubators-for-the-coronavirus/ .

Correctional Facilities Are the Perfect Incubators for the Coronavirus

Prisons and jails are vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks; www.theverge.com/2020/3/7/21167807/coronavirus-prison-jail-health-outbreak-covid-19-flu-soap .

COVID-19 Response Guidance for Community Bail & Bond Funds from The National Bail Fund Network: static1.squarespace.com/static/5e1f966c45f53f254011b45a/t/5e6a7163013d6607f4829b92/1584034147254/NBFN+COVID-19+Response.pdf .

Humanity Not Cages: Demanding a Just & Humane Response to Outbreak from numerous signatories: humaneoutbreakresponse.org/ .

No need to wait for pandemics: The public health case for criminal justice reform from Prison Policy Initiative: www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/03/06/pandemic/ .

COVID-19 ( Coronavirus ) Response & Resources from The Justice Collaborative: thejusticecollaborative.com/covid19/ .

Current Demands Regarding Jails in Other Jurisdictions

San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak ( San Francisco, CA ): chicago.suntimes.com/2020/3/12/21177045/coronavirus-covid-19-prisons-illinois-pritzker-clemency-italy-iran .

Public defenders request the release of all non-violent offenders in jail due to coronavirus ( New Orleans, LA ): thelensnola.org/2020/03/12/public-defenders-request-the-release-of-all-non-violent-offenders-in-jail-due-to-coronavirus/ .

Nashville Public Defender: Release Vulnerable Defendants Without Bail( Nashville, TN ): www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/21121800/nashville-public-defender-release-vulnerable-defendants-without-bail .

Re: Illinois State Prison System

Pritzker should release elderly, ailing prisoners from state jails amid coronavirus outbreak, activists say ( Chicago Sun-Times ): chicago.suntimes.com/2020/3/12/21177045/coronavirus-covid-19-prisons-illinois-pritzker-clemency-italy-iran .

Illinois must show compassion when coronavirus hits our elderly prison population ( op-ed ): www.injusticewatch.org/commentary/2020/coronavirus-in-prisons/ .

IL-CHEP Letter to Governor J.B Pritzker on Coronavirus in Illinois Prisons( open letter ): docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczjYVa8LwBAbjz4R1ho-12zzWoZ_rIcqWAkjnhogof4adHqw/viewform .

—From a Chicago Appleseed & Chicago Council of Lawyers press release


This article shared 4374 times since Wed Apr 1, 2020
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
2024-03-14
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program
2024-03-14
One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards
2024-03-11
After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

Pro-choice activists protest crisis pregnancy center on International Women's Day
2024-03-11
The rainy weather on March 8 didn't deter a passionate group of pro-choice protesters from gathering in Old Town on International Women's Day. Following the opening of Women's Care Center—a crisis pregnancy center—directly next to Pl ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
2024-03-08
Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Pride 365 event emphasizes year-round support for LGBTQ+ employees
2024-03-07
Queer employees are queer all year-round. The need for employers to accordingly support and uplift them year-round was the core message at Howard Brown Health and Citywide Pride's Pride 365 "Out of Office to Out in ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.