Illinois Prison Healthcare Still Abysmal, Getting Worse in Some Areas, Monitor’s Report Finds
Four years after a settlement agreement that was meant to compel improvements, the Illinois Department of Corrections is still failing to provide adequate care for the state’s oldest and sickest prisoners.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 21, 2023
Report Details ‘Cruel’ and ‘Unconscionable’ Treatment of Patients in Illinois Prisons
A federal monitor says substandard healthcare persists—with horrific consequences—more than a decade after a lawsuit was supposed to compel changes.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 15, 2022
Illinois Prison Water Contamination Keeps Getting Worse
Water at 12 state prisons has tested positive for the bacteria this year.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 28, 2022
Illinois Advocates Call for Action After Prison Officials Mislead on Contaminated Water
Legionella bacteria was found in five Illinois prisons in March.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 07, 2022
Prisoners in Illinois Describe Dire Conditions Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
It took a prisoner’s death ‘just for them to pass out a single extra bar of soap,’ one incarcerated man said.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 07, 2020
Admissions to Illinois State Prisons Suspended, With Few Exceptions, Due to Coronavirus
Prisoners are “especially vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker wrote in his executive order.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 27, 2020
The Appeal Podcast: Substandard Healthcare in American Prisons
With Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge, a Type Investigations Ida B. Wells Fellow and Appeal contributor.
Adam H. Johnson Jan 16, 2020
Why Prisoners Get The Doctors No One Else Wants
Even after a major class action suit required Illinois to revamp its prison healthcare system, doctors whose alleged neglect resulted in major injury or death still remain on the prison system payroll.
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge Nov 08, 2019
Illinois Department of Corrections Revises Book Ban Policy
Earlier this year, Danville prison removed about 200 books, many of which dealt with race issues. But the new rules don’t go far enough, says one advocate.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 04, 2019
Illinois Loosened Ankle-Monitor Restrictions, But Advocates Say It’s Too Soon To Celebrate
A Prisoner Review Board memo released in July requires a minimum of 12 hours of movement with ankle monitors, but some people say they’re still being given far less.
Kira Lerner Oct 18, 2019
‘No Shower, Wearing Diapers, Laying There For So Long’
Lawsuits that challenge mental healthcare and medical care for incarcerated people advance in Illinois.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 05, 2018