GALESBURG – A federal district court in Springfield has blocked officials at the Mary Davis Detention Home (“MDH”) in Galesburg, Illinois from continuing to subject the young people confined at the facility from being held in abusive, extended solitary confinement, and to quickly develop a plan for emergency mental health intervention for youth after they are identified as being at risk for suicide or self-harm. The ruling gives the state and county officials who operate the Mary Davis Home 30 days to develop a specific plan for providing these mental health services.
The ruling is the latest development in J.B.H. v. Knox County, a lawsuit filed in May of 2024 to challenge conditions at the Mary Davis Detention Home on behalf of two young people confined there, J.B.H. and A.M., as well as J.L.S., who joined as a plaintiff in 2025. The facility in Galesburg, Illinois detains youth as young as 11 years old as they await sentencing. The lawsuit, as well as several public audits and independent reviews of the facility, show that abusive, extended solitary confinement was commonly used as a punishment for the young people detained at MDH.
“The youth we represented at MDH spent days, weeks, and even months at a time in solitary confinement,” said Kevin Fee, Legal Director at the ACLU of Illinois. “We are grateful that the Court has stepped in to block the cruel practice of locking a young person up for up to 24 hours a day without any break. It is a great day for our clients.”
The Court noted that the practice of extended solitary confinement is known to cause lasting harm, especially to children who are still developing mentally and physically. As a result, the court specifically ordered that youth should not be detained in a cell or room (except during normal sleeping hours) other than as a temporary restriction to prevent imminent physical harm, with the confinement to cease once that threat is passed. The lawsuit also charged that MDH does not provide adequate mental health services to support the youth, many of whom have substantial mental health issues caused and compounded by their detention and isolation. As a result, the court ordered that once a youth is identified as being at risk of suicide and self-harm they cannot be placed in solitary confinement and must be adequately supervised and receive appropriate and prompt emergency mental healthcare.
“Juvenile facilities across the state should take notice of this ruling,” added Fee. “Like the Mary Davis Home, other facilities should take care to ensure that young people are not forced to spend long periods of time in a concrete box. The consensus is clear: this practice causes immense and lasting harm to young people and has no place in Illinois.