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    Prisons and Jails

    Stories about correctional officers and conditions in prisons and jails.

    Lockdowns and transfers have disrupted college classes for students at this Illinois prison

    By Adriana Martinez-Smiley | November 17, 2022

    Stateville prison in Joliet has the most postsecondary programming of any Illinois prison. But the recent transfer of dozens of students, and persistent lockdowns due to staffing shortages are disrupting educational opportunities for people inside.

    ‘Like being in hell’: Detainees offer window into Cook County Jail’s Covid-19 surge

    Gerald Berry, 16 in this photo, holding his baby brother Kendrick. Berry is serving life in prison on a felony murder conviction.

    Illinois changed its controversial 'felony murder rule.' Here's who the reform left behind.

    Camera footage released by the city from the scene of a botched 2012 burglary that left one suspect dead and two others seriously wounded.

    Chicago may finally pay $1 million to estate of man cops killed in botched burglary

    Cook County Jail begins demolishing vacant dormitories to make way for recreational space

    SAFE-T Act

    There’s no ‘Purge Law’: Debunking right-wing propaganda about the SAFE-T Act

    By Carlos Ballesteros | September 15, 2022

    Myths, half-truths, and obvious falsehoods about the SAFE-T Act have spread like wildfire. Injustice Watch breaks down and fact-checks some of the most egregious claims.

    Prisons and Jails
    Johnny Pippins in a graduation gown overlayed on an excerpt from his clemency petition and his signature

    To attend a Ph.D. program, he needs Gov. Pritzker’s help getting out of prison

    By Charlotte West (Open Campus) | July 18, 2022

    Johnny Pippins has already finished a master’s degree while in prison. Now he’s asking Illinois’ governor to grant him clemency to continue his education.

    Prisons and Jails

    The Illinois Department of Corrections misled the public on Legionella outbreak at several prisons

    By Grace Asiegbu | April 12, 2022

    In a press release last month, officials said Legionella had been found in two prisons, but records show it had actually been found at five.

    Prisons and Jails

    Covid-19 again hits Illinois prisons, exacerbating long-standing failures in medical and mental health care

    By Daniel C. Vock (Better Government Association) | February 7, 2022

    Despite dramatically reduced prison populations, officials continue to face problems containing the virus because of lagging vaccine rates of prison staff.

    Commentary
    A person stands in front of a barbed-wire fence outside the Cook County Jail. They are holding a sign, which obscures their face, which reads

    Where is the urgency to decarcerate the Cook County Jail?

    By Briana Payton (Chicago Community Bond Fund) | January 14, 2022

    While the Cook County Jail experiences its worst Covid outbreak yet, county officials drag their feet on steps that could save lives.

    Chart showing 7% of prison staff have received Covid boosters, compared with 45% of incarcerated people
    Coronavirus

    Most Illinois prison staff haven’t gotten Covid-19 boosters

    By Adam M. Rhodes (The Chicago Reader) | January 7, 2022

    Fewer than one in ten prison staffers have received a booster, even as Covid-19 cases spike in correctional facilities across the state.

    Prisons and Jails
    A group of people holding signs protesting the water quality at Stateville prison

    A water crisis decades in the making has come to a head at a prison just outside Chicago

    By Grace Asiegbu | December 16, 2021

    Men inside Stateville prison say the water is discolored and murky and smells like sewage. Officials say the water is safe to drink, but they’ve been bringing in water from outside.

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    Our Mission

    Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality.

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