Lawmakers consider independent oversight of state prisons

Sun-Times file SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard The Illinois Department of Corrections might have to start answering to an independent watchdog. The state corrections department has long been dogged by accusations of substandard medical care, intolerable living conditions and a lack of transparency. In its defense, department officials have pointed to several internal accountability measures that monitor the state’s detention facilities and try to improve conditions. But some state lawmakers say that’s not enough. A bill before the Illinois General Assembly would create an “independent corrections ombudsperson” responsible for monitoring and inspecting state detention facilities; investigating unresolved complaints from people incarcerated, their loved ones and prison staff; collecting and analyzing data on deaths, assaults, lockdowns and staff vacancies; and releasing reports to the public detailing their findings. “The need for this oversight is clear,” state Rep. Kevin John Olickal, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor, said during a Tuesday committee hearing about the legislation. “Under our current system, we are relying on IDOC to investigate complaints about IDOC. We are asking the department to hold itself accountable, and that is not a sufficient hurdle.” Among the issues advocates and lawmakers say needs more oversight is how health care is delivered in state facilities. A Chicago Sun-Times investigation into healthcare conditions within state prisons found the state’s critically understaffed facilities struggle to deliver proper correctional medicine to the tens of thousands of incarcerated people in their care. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., each have an ombudsperson overseeing their corrections departments. Illinois established one to oversee the state Department of Juvenile Justice in 2014. “It’s time we bring the same level of accountability to our adult correctional facilities,” Olickal said. “I recognize that IDOC faces significant challenges, particularly when it comes to staffing and resources, but these operational deficiencies cannot excuse failures to uphold constitutional protections or ensure basic safety.” Also at Tuesday’s hearing before the Illinois House Restorative Justice & Public Safety Committee were prison reform advocates, out-of-state experts on prison oversight and IDOC’s director, along with three department leaders. Jennifer Vollen-Katz is director of the John Howard Association, the state’s only independent prison oversight organization. At the hearing, she shared how her organization is allowed into the state’s detention facilities to gather information and shed light on what’s happening in state prisons. “However, there’s a lot that we cannot do,” Vollen-Katz said. “We are unable to investigate. We are unable to show up unannounced. Have access 24/7. We lack the mandate that allows for robust oversight that can make an even bigger difference in our prison system, both for the people who are incarcerated and the people who work inside our facilities.” An independent oversight system would give incarcerated people a meaningful way to have their concerns addressed beyond the current internal grievance process, said Byron Merriwether with Restore Justice. “A grievance is the only way for an individual and IDOC to address their problems when they’re being mistreated by staff,” Merriweather said. “But this process is ineffective due to the grievance being thrown away, ignored or not being investigated.” Later during the hearing, IDOC Director Latoya Hughes said her department has plenty of oversight. She brought along the department’s chief inspector, chief of compliance and chief of investigations to make her point. “Oversight is important,” Hughes said. “An additional oversight entity is not necessary when IDOC is subject to already extensive, multilayered oversight from independent external entities, the courts, federal regulatory requirements and our own internal compliance functions.” She said a state ombudsperson office would draw resources away from those existing oversight functions. Instead, she called for more support to go directly to IDOC. SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Kaitlin Washburn Chicago Sun-Times News reporter Next Up In News Peoples Gas customers to get bill credits in settlement over surcharges from pipe-replacement program Chicago police sergeant dies after being found unresponsive at Northwest Side station Illinois hemp ban delayed but only for some businesses Burnham Prize winners seek to make State Street great again Feds question 'Broadview 6' judge's authority as clash over top prosecutor's testimony inches closer Amazon drone delivery center in Markham set for takeoff