(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A federal judge has found the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) in contempt of court for failing to make systemic health care improvements following a lawsuit more than a decade ago.
Judge Jorge Alonso entered the contempt order last week. Alonso found the IDOC never finished implementing a health care plan in response to three different class action settlements.
IDOC has had more than three years to develop a comprehensive health care plan as outlined in a 2018 consent decree.
Attorneys with Uptown People’s Law Center said a court monitor found the IDOC made virtually none of the required improvements. They said the lack of action amounted to “elder abuse.”
The report found older inmates were left sitting in their own waste, developed bed sores, and had cancer symptoms ignored.
Uptown People’s Law Center Executive Director Alan Mills said, “If this was a private nursing home, the treatment would have triggered a state investigation, and the home would immediately be shut down.”
WBBM has reached out to the IDOC for comment.
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