CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Decarceration advocates are calling for outside oversight at the Cook County Jail to curb COVID cases there.
Live Free Chicago Executive Director Ciera Bates-Chamberlain said former jail detainees told the group there’s not enough soap, hand sanitizer, mask-wearing or social distancing.
She said COVID has exacerbated conditions at the jail that she characterizes as inhumane.
Bates-Chamberlain said they want an independent committee to monitor and report on jail conditions.
"They currently have to be inspected by IDOC, but those reports are not transparent, so they are not shared with the community; and then again, how can IDOC inspect Cook County Jail? It's almost like two jails inspecting themselves," she said.
Last week, Sheriff Tom Dart’s Office said eight out of more than 5,600 detainees have COVID and all those tested positive during intake, as part of the 1,500 tests run at the jail each week.
The office cited a study from Yale and Stanford that found their measures exceed public health recommendations and prevented thousands of infections in the first three months of the outbreak.
The sheriff's office also pointed out that while numbers are on the rise in Chicago and Cook County, the jail’s numbers are lower than the surrounding community.
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