Coronavirus
Illinois released white inmates at disproportionately high rates amid pandemic, report shows
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State prisons now hold an even larger proportion of Black and Latinx prisoners than before COVID-19 hit, according to a new analysis.
Commentary
Police violence, coronavirus and inequality stealing black lives
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“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.
Commentary
‘I didn’t envision being released in a pandemic’
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Curtis Ferdinand dreamt of freedom for 24 years. But he never imagined getting out of prison at a time like this, amid a public health crisis and unrest.
Commentary
Open letter to Chicago’s top cop: COVID-19 police ‘surge’ terrorizing West Side black communities
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Organizer Richard Wallace says the police department is using force to make black residents follow stay-at-home orders, “regardless of the circumstance.”
Commentary
Federal Court intervenes as the humanitarian crisis in Cook County Jail grows
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The federal judge’s order didn’t go as far as some civil rights advocates had hoped. The ongoing work of pushing for structural change to the criminal justice system must continue.
Cook County Circuit Court
Activists demand courts release detainees amid COVID-19 concerns
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In an open letter to Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, reform advocates are demanding the release of as many detainees as possible in order to mitigate risks related to the new coronavirus.
Commentary
Illinois must show compassion when coronavirus hits our elderly prison population
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Advocates for incarcerated people are calling on Illinois correctional officials to protect the state’s older prison population from COVID-19 disease.