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    Coronavirus

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    COVID-19 has disrupted the criminal justice system, forcing courts to dramatically scale back operations and spurring fears about the risk of outbreaks in prisons in jails. Check here for ongoing Injustice Watch coverage of the coronavirus crisis.

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

    By Max Lubbers | February 8, 2022

    As the number of Covid-19 cases at the Cook County Jail hit a record high in January, people detained there accused the jail of inadequate testing and quarantine measures, poor social distancing, and unsanitary conditions.

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

    By Adam M. Rhodes (The Chicago Reader) | January 7, 2022
    Chart showing 7% of prison staff have received Covid boosters, compared with 45% of incarcerated people

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

    In Little Village, an immigrant-led artists’ commune resists as developer seeks eviction

    By Alexandra Arriaga (Borderless Magazine) | February 24, 2021

    In the midst of a housing crisis that has left immigrant renters among the most vulnerable, a group of immigrant punk rock musicians are fighting to stay at a commercial building they’ve called home for years.

    Should incarcerated people get early access to Covid-19 vaccines? Illinois says ‘yes.’

    By Kiran Misra | January 20, 2021

    Illinois is one of a handful of U.S. states that will prioritize incarcerated people in the next phase of its rollout.

    Covid-19 hospitalizations at Illinois corrections department leave incarcerated peoples’ loved ones in the dark

    By Emma Lubitsch | December 17, 2020
    Cynthia McDonald

    Advocates say the pandemic has exacerbated a long-standing problem of Illinois prison officials failing to inform families when their loved ones fall ill.

    Chicago mayor’s ‘pandemic budget’ passes, but with the most opposition in 30 years

    By Grace Del Vecchio (City Bureau), Kelly Garcia, Corli Jay (City Bureau) and F. Amanda Tugade (City Bureau) | December 2, 2020

    After a historic budget season, 21 City Council members voted against the mayor’s proposed budget last week. City Bureau spoke with organizers and members of City Council about their plans moving forward.

    From prison, Rico Clark fights a murder conviction and COVID-19

    By Stender Von Oehsen and Milan Rivas | September 2, 2020

    Detectives on the 2006 case have been dogged by allegations of witness coercion and Clark’s trial attorney has since been disbarred.

    Illinois DCFS visitation ban may cause lasting harm

    By John Seasly | June 25, 2020
    Foster family

    Parents and advocates say a policy that banned in-person visits for three months in response to the coronavirus exemplifies a racist child welfare system that harms Black families.

    Illinois released white inmates at disproportionately high rates amid pandemic, report shows

    By Emily Hoerner and Carlos Ballesteros | June 17, 2020

    State prisons now hold an even larger proportion of Black and Latinx prisoners than before COVID-19 hit, according to a new analysis.

    Police violence, coronavirus and inequality stealing black lives

    By Susan Smith Richardson (Center for Public Integrity) | June 10, 2020

    “The police violence and the impact of the pandemic are two sides of the same coin,” writes Susan Smith Richardson, CEO of the Center for Public Integrity.

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