Posted inIllinois Prisons
COVID-19 brings new challenges for Muslim inmates during Ramadan
Restrictions related to the COVID-19 outbreak have made observing Ramadan more difficult for Muslims in prisons and jails.
COVID-19
Posted inCourt Administration
Challenges arise as the courtroom goes virtual
In response to the coronavirus, the Cook County Circuit Court has moved most hearings online. The shift has meant technical difficulties and challenges for public access, especially in felony bond court.
Posted inArchive
Federal Court intervenes as the humanitarian crisis in Cook County Jail grows
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.
Posted inCriminal Courts
Coronavirus adds new fears for those on electronic monitoring
Going to the doctor or the grocery store can be nearly impossible when you are on house arrest.
Posted inParole and Clemency
Prisoner Review Board delays parole rehearing for two elderly inmates as COVID-19 spreads behind bars
After parole rehearings are requested for two men one vote short of winning parole, advocates fear relief may come too late.
Posted inIllinois Prisons
Elderly inmates are at high risk for coronavirus. Why are there so many of them in Illinois’s prisons?
Older inmates have mostly been left behind by criminal justice reforms. Now, after one inmate has already died from COVID-19, more than two thousand of them are at serious risk.
Posted inCook County Jail
Track the coronavirus cases inside Cook County jail
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Injustice Watch has been tracking the number of cases and the population inside the Cook County Jail.
Posted inCook County Jail
As coronavirus spreads in Cook County jail, 300 people have been released
Data shows people are still being booked into the jail, even as 17 detainees and four correctional officers have tested positive so far for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Posted inArchive
Corrections department defies judge’s order to test ‘likely innocent’ death row inmate for COVID-19
The order comes over a week after Walter Ogrod began showing symptoms associated with coronavirus.
Posted inCook County Jail
Activists demand courts release detainees amid COVID-19 concerns
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.