McHenry Times

An Illinois Northern District Judge held the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) in contempt for not complying with the court’s order to improve the quality of health care for incarcerated inmates.

“When will (Gov. J.B. Pritzker) be held accountable for the widespread failings of high-level members of his Administration,” Sen. Donald DeWitte (R-West Dundee) wrote on Facebook. “Yet another agency under Gov. Pritzker’s control is in the news for failing to protect and properly care for the people in their charge.”

Reason magazine reported that IDOC didn’t meet the court’s order asking the agency to heed advice from health experts. Reason added the agency was slow to diagnose cancer among inmates, it provided inadequate dental care, and accused it of “poor treatment of dementia patients.”

The ACLU reported an evaluation found individuals with bed sores “because the staff did not turn them in bed,” staff leaving wheelchair-bound inmates sitting in their waste, and staff neglecting to give food to inmates.

The judge's contempt citation found that the IDOC had failed to make agreed-upon health-related improvements, Audacy reported.  Three different class action settlements led to a 2018 consent decree through which IDOC was supposed to implement an improved health care plan, but the department never made those changes.  

WCIA reported Pritzker said addressing the lack of health care is a collaborative effort, not exclusive to IDOC.   

“Republicans haven’t voted for any of the funding that’s necessary for us to be able to improve the providing of health care within our prison system,” Pritzker said to WCIA. “So they don’t have a leg to stand on.”

The contempt order follows other cases of neglect found in state agencies.

In May, an Illinois auditor general released a report related to the 2020 COVID outbreak at LaSalle Veterans' Home which led to the deaths of 36 residents, according to Illinois Newsroom. After the November 2020 outbreak, the Illinois legislature passed a resolution calling for Auditor General Frank Mautino’s office to perform an audit. Although that audit placed little blame on the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the more recent report found more fault with the agency.

IDPH officials neglected to visit LaSalle Veterans' Home for two weeks after the outbreak was first reported, according to The Pantagraph. During the onsite visit, officials discovered a lack of personal protective equipment such as face masks, and ineffective hand sanitizer being used. According to the auditor general's report, IDPH “did not identify and respond to the seriousness of the outbreak.”

More recently, lawmakers grilled Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith over the deaths of children under the agency's oversight, and other issues that have plagued the child welfare department, CBS News reported.

DCFS is responsible for around 20,000 children and operates with an annual budget of $1.5 billion. Nine children who were supposed to be on DCFS's watch have died since December, and Smith has been issued 12 contempt of court citations since the beginning of 2022.

Audits have uncovered other problems. Of the children who have been victims of abuse or neglect related to substance abuse, 48% did not have their cases sent to state attorneys for review. Out of all the children in DCFS's care, 88% are missing dental exams, 18% are missing physical exams, 14% have missed vision screenings, and 56% have missed hearing screenings. Smith asserted that Pritzker continues to express confidence in his leadership.