The United States’ Attorney’s office announced today announced the resolution of a long-standing lawsuit against the Cook County Sheriff’s Office that sought to remedy a series of constitutional rights violations.
A year-long investigation beginning in 2007 found systematic violations of inmates’ rights in which correctional officers used excessive force, inmates were not adequately protected from one another, a lack of medical and mental health care and inadequate fire safety and sanitation.
Sheriff Tom Dart agreed in March to institute a number of oversight provisions, effectively freeing the sheriff’s department from the so-called Harrington and Duran decrees that monitored overcrowding and mental health of inmates. As part of today's agreement, an additional 600 officers will be hired.
The resolution also includes the filing of a new federal lawsuit that sets guidelines for continued monitoring of conditions at the jail.
The suit, filed today, addresses changes in the jail's use of force policies, and also seeks to provide inmates with more protective measures, better medical and mental health care, safety provisions and employee training. Four independent monitors will oversee the changes.
The lawsuit follows the dismissal of the Harrington and Duran cases.
“We are pleased that with the cooperation of Sheriff Dart and the County, we have achieved a rigorous, comprehensive agreement that will remedy the unconstitutional conditions that were found at the Cook County Jail,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, United States attorney for Illinois’ Northern District. “Inmates are entitled to conditions of confinement that pass constitutional muster.”
The investigation, which concluded in 2008, found multiple instances of preventable inmate deaths and amputations, as well as “inappropriate and excessive” use of force by corrections officers, even when inmates showed no threat.
“Any changes and reforms that Cook County institutes needs to protect the safety and security of the inmates and officers,” says John Maki, coordinating director of the John Howard Association, a local corrections watchdog group. “The spirit of these changes are right on, but it will depend on the follow through.”