News & Commentary

The Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial blasting the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for the lack of a response to the report released in an ACLU of Illinois case challenging IDOC for failing to provide adequate medical care for its prisoners. The report was a result of a court-appointed panel of medical experts' evaluation of medical facilities within IDOC. The study cites sweeping problems throughout a broad range a medical services, including unqualified and incompetent physicians and nurses, inadequate medical leadership and unsanitary conditions within the facilities. Most notably, the report found that 60% of non-violent deaths show "significant lapses in care."

Earlier today, the Illinois Senate approved House Bill 0218, sponsored by Senator Michael Noland, by a vote of 37 to 19. HB0218 creates a new civil law violation, non-criminal penalty (resulting in a fine) for a person found to be in possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less for personal use.

ACLU of Illinois legal director Harvey Grossman appeared on WBEZ's Morning Shift to discussed the recently released study examining health care in Illinois' prisons. The report, issued by a panel of court-appointed experts in the ACLU case Lippert v. Godinez, says that 60% of non-violent deaths in Illinois prisons show significant lapses in care. Listen to the segment below:

The Chicago Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois associate legal director Ben Wolf about the recently released study examining the state of health care for prisoners detained in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) facilities. The report, issued by a panel of court-appointed experts, highlights that the majority of inmates' deaths result from "significant lapses in care" on the part of IDOC medical staff. The report is a result of a lawsuit that the ACLU of Illinois joined in 2013 to challenge the dysfunctional, mismanaged system that fails to adequately serve the nearly 50,000 IDOC prisoners. Wolf told the Tribune:

The New York Times spoke with ACLU Senior Attorney Adam Schwartz on the recent federal court approval ending solitary confinement for juveniles detained in Illinois. The approval comes as part of ACLU litigation that seeks to improve conditions and services available to the young people confined at state-run juvenile justice facilities across Illinois.  Schwartz told the Times:

The Cook County State's Attorney's office announced that they will no longer prosecute low-level drug offenses, and will instead redirect those offenders to drug treatment, the Chicago Tribune reports. Citing the ACLU study "The War on Marijuana in Black and White," the Tribune noted Cook' County's high arrest rate for marijuana possession - one of the highest in the nation - and also acknowledged the racial bias in the rate of low-level drug arrests within the African-American community. The Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:

This article originally appeared in the Huff Post Chicago.

The release of the ACLU of Illinois report, "Stop and Frisk in Chicago," was met with an appropriate volume of media coverage, responding to the disturbing trends about the Chicago Police Department's use (and overuse) of stop-and-frisk tactics. The report found that:

Chicago often wears the title of “Second City.” Today we know that the City has become the nation’s leaders in one area – the use of “stop-and-frisk” by police. Yes, Chicago has replaced New York City for the greatest use of the tactic, after that City became notorious for the technique.