CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A federal judge ordered Monday that Sheriff Thomas Dart implement social distancing measures for people incarcerated in Cook County Jail.
With few exceptions, Judge Matthew Kennelly's order dictates that people incarcerated in the jail can no longer be housed in the same cell with another person and that most dormitory housing must be stopped. The order also extended its earlier orders requiring the sheriff to ensure sanitation, testing, social distancing at intake and the distribution of personal protective equipment to a preliminary injunction.
"Sheriff Dart has been saying this lawsuit is a waste of time and never should have been in court. Today that position was rejected by Judge Kennelly, as he extended the Temporary Restraining Order and barred dormitory housing and double celling, with narrow exceptions, throughout the jail," said Locke Bowman of MacArthur Justice Center. "The Court order proves that a judicial injunction was absolutely necessary to protect detainees' lives."
As the court recognized in its order, Cook County Jail continues to be one of the nation's largest single-site jails and has been identified as the single biggest coronavirus hotspot in the United States.
In the last several weeks, six people have died in Cook County Jail from COVID-19, and 461 people incarcerated in the jail have tested positive for COVID-19. If Sheriff's staff are included, nearly 824 people associated with Cook County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19.
Earlier this month, Chicago Community Bond Fund, civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy, Civil Rights Corps, and the MacArthur Justice Center filed an emergency class-action lawsuit against the Cook County Sheriff's Office seeking the immediate release of medically vulnerable people from Cook County Jail in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.The outbreak is far from under control.
"The Sheriff has only tested 664 people – approximately 15 percent of the current jail population. That means there is significant under testing at the jail, and a very high positive rate. Today's Court Order requires the Sheriff to carry out a policy of prompt coronavirus testing of all detainees who exhibit COVID symptoms and people who have been exposed to the virus, where medically appropriate," said Alexa Van Brunt of the MacArthur Justice Center. "The Court ordered the Sheriff to obtain sufficient testing materials - so testing decisions are made based on people's health, not the availability of testing materials."
Loevy & Loevy said they intend to continue to closely monitor the sheriff's compliance with the court's orders and to fight for the constitutional rights of the people detained in the jail.
The sheriff's office said it will comply with the court's decision.
"The health and safety of the staff and detainees at the jail will continue to the be the highest priority of the Sheriff's Office," a statement said.
