Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Human Services and McLean County’s Sheriff’s Office is about to do the same. They’re in the works of obtaining multiple offices in the state to sue Governor JB Pritzker and Grace Hou for violating state law, allegedly.
A state law regarding the transport of inmates into the department’s custody.
Section 104-17 of the Illinois Criminal Code sets a 20-day period for when the IDHS is supposed to accept jail inmates who are unfit to stand trial into its custody or who are guilty by reason of insanity.
“They just have a lot more resources. A lot of times the mental health inmates don’t realize they need their medications and we can’t force medications,” said Sheriff Jon Sandage. “A state facility can force medications.”
Right now the jail has nursing staff 12 hours a day, some of the inmates need medications “as needed” and there isn’t a whole lot the Correctional officers can do because they’re no qualified to issue medications.
There are seven state-run psychiatric facilities, and Campbell said that throughout the state, more than 100 inmates found unfit to stand trial are awaiting transport.
Currently there are 13 mental health inmates in McLean County jail who are awaiting transfer.
“Since Governor Pritzker’s issuance of Executive Order 20-24 and continuing through the present, DHS staff has routinely violated the 20-day placement mandate under the unambiguous language of Section 104-17 resulting in unlawful and indeterminate delays of months before admission into a DHS facility and receipt of psychiatric treatment for individuals found ‘unfit to stand trial,'” the lawsuit says.
Hou was found in contempt.
“The state needs to follow the law. When a judge finds them in contempt, the Governor then turns around and writes an Executive Order, taking out the language that held him in contempt…if that’s not authoritarianism at it’s best…I don’t know what it is,” said Sandage.
Sandage said the county is eating unnecessary monetary costs.
“It’s not just monetary costs, it is the cost of our correctional officers well being as well,” said Sandage. “We have had to put in place a Cell Extrication and Response Team [CERT] to help remove mental health inmates from their cells. We have had COs get hurt, inmates get hurt…so we have put together a tactical response team together to keep both side from getting hurt.”
The jail had folks on staff who had restraint training and they used their training to train others.
Sandage said he’s been talking with the States Attorney Don Knapp and most likely the county Sheriff’s Office will join other Sheriff’s offices around the state and will hire outside counsel take on a “Class Action-Type” lawsuit.
Sharon Chung can been seen smiling with the Governor in the photo below. Chung has questioned the Sheriff’s ability to run the jail in several emails obtained by Cities.
Photo courtesy to Sharon Chung Facebook page. Chung is running as a Democrat
In an email to Karla Bailey Smith. “I don’t know what to do going forward, I just hope that Mr. Lane will be a better sheriff and that he can reverse some of this damage that Sandage has done in the past years. I’m just concerned what else Sandage will try to get away with in the last few months of his term,” wrote Chung.
Chung is running against Scott Preston in November.
Suicide is the leading cause of death in correctional facilities, and multiple studies indicate as many as half of all inmate suicides are committed by the estimated 15 % to 20% of inmates with serious mental illness.
In an email to Cassy Taylor, County Administrator
“I received some mail from an inmate who told me some concerning information. This inmate receives a certain medication for their mental health. This medication is supposed to be time-released, but the staff crushes the medicine or empties the capsules and administers the medication to the inmate in this fashion. I would like to know if there is any medical reason as to why they choose to do it this way, because it seems like that could be dangerous or at the least, renders the medication ineffective,” wrote Chung.
Taylor replied, “I have checked with Suzanne and it is indeed a policy of the jail. It is completed for safety and security for any mental health med that can be opened or crushed . It is outlined in the inmate handbook. It is due to previous situations with inmates stockpiling meds and abusing the drug or attempting suicide with the meds,” wrote Taylor.
