Case: United States v. Cook County

1:10-cv-02946 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: May 13, 2010

Closed Date: June 26, 2018

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Case Summary

On February 17, 2007, the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (DOJ), opened an investigation of the Cook County Jail, under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). In July 2007, the DOJ conducted on-site inspections of the jail, interviewing staff and inmates, and on August 3, 2007, the DOJ notified jail officials of potentially life-threatening deficiencies at the jail, including grossly unsanitary conditions and inadequate emergency key precautions, which the jail immediately began to improve. As DOJ continued to investigate, its lawyers found a series of serious problems with the jail. For example, in one case, an inmate left untreated for a gunshot wound developed sepsis and died. Another inmate's medical problems went untreated, causing him to eventually need an amputation. Just one dentist served 9,800 inmates, and he only dealt in extractions. Indeed, the investigators found that twenty-five percent of the dental procedures result in infection.

On July 11, 2008, the DOJ issued a 98-page findings letter detailing its conclusion that the jail was operating to deprive prisoners of their constitutional rights in many respects. The DOJ and the county then negotiated a settlement to the matter, and on May 13, 2010, DOJ filed its formal complaint and both parties filed a proposed settlement. On May 26, 2010, Judge Virginia M. Kendall issued an agreed order that addressed those problems and appointed four experts in the areas of Corrections, Medical, Mental Health, and Sanitation to monitor Defendants' compliance with the Order, who were to submit reports to the court on a semiannual basis. The proposed settlement contained comprehensive provisions on use of force, protection from harm, medical care, mental health care, sanitation, training, quality assurance/performance improvement, fire and life safety, and improved policies, procedures, and practices. The order would terminate when Defendants have achieved substantial compliance with each of the provisions of the Agreed Order and have maintained Substantial Compliance with the Agreed Order for a period of 18 months.

On May 27, 2010, the Defendants filed a motion for a Prisoner Release Order. In a previous case, Duran v. Sheriff Thomas Dart (case no. 74 C 2949), Judge Shadur had ordered a Prisoner Release Order on March 22, 1983. That order remained in effect over all the subsequent years. In addition to that order, Judge George M. Marovich, who succeeded Judge Shadur as the U.S. District Court Judge to whom this matter was assigned, entered a transfer order on November 14, 2003, permitting the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) to transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections all persons remanded to the CCDOC who had unexpired terms of imprisonment as a result of being released on a mandatory supervised release order ("Parole").

Despite having years to comply with the previous court orders, the CCDOC still had daily concerns whether a spike in arrests, or some other factor not under the CCDOC's control, would increase the number of inmates beyond the number of living units available. At the time, the daily population at CCDOC exceeded 90% of capacity. Therefore, the Defendants sought to continue the March 22, 1983 Prisoner Release Order entered by Judge Shadur and the November 14, 2003 Order entered by Judge Marovich pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(3)(C). Defendants asked that the Prisoner Release Order permit the Sheriff to release individuals in such numbers necessary to reduce and relieve overcrowding, thus allowing solutions to the identified constitutional deficiencies.

Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3626, even if the parties agree, such an order can be entered only by a three-judge district court after certain findings are entered by that court. The requisite findings include: an ongoing violation of constitutional rights, with crowding as the primary source of the constitutional deficiencies, and weighing of public safety concerns.

Pursuant to this statute, a three-judge court was convened. On January 11, 2011, Judge Richard A. Posner, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, and Judge Kendall denied the motion for entry of the proposed released order without prejudice, inviting the parties to submit a revised motion consistent with the discussion and directives in their opinion, plus evidence to support an estimate of the number of prisoners expected to be released if a revised order was approved. U.S. v. Cook County, Illinois, 761 F.Supp.2d 794 (N.D. Ill. 2011). The Defendant responded and the Plaintiffs agreed with the revised proposed order. On March 14, 2011, the three Judges stated that the revised proposed order complied with the directives in their opinion and was satisfactory with the exception of the provision stating that the Sheriff "may release detainees in order to reduce the population of CCJ to 85% of its available bed capacity," upon specified conditions. On March 29, 2011, the three Judges approved the modified released order that allowed the release on electronic monitoring of up to 1,500 pretrial detainees to prevent overcrowding and thus reduce the number of potential constitutional violations stemming from overcrowding at CCJ.

On June 13, 2011, Judge Kendall ordered that, by agreement of the parties, the Sheriff of Cook County was authorized to retain Patricia Hardyman, Ph.D. of the Criminal Justice Institute, Inc. in Middletown, Connecticut to consult with and aid the Sheriff in creating a classification system compliant with the Agreed Order entered on May 26, 2010.

The Court monitored the Defendants' compliance with the provisions of the order through reports of assigned monitors and the parties and periodic status conferences. The May 2017 monitoring report marked the first finding of achievement of substantial compliance with all areas of the order.

On May 18, 2017, the DOJ moved to dismiss the Sheriff from the case, finding that the Sheriff and the CCDOC had achieved and sustained substantial compliance with the requirements assigned to the Sheriff under the order. At a June 9, 2017 hearing, Judge Kendall granted a motion to dismiss the Sheriff and lifted formal oversight of the Cook County jail in that respect.

Because other provisions unrelated to the Sheriff still required 18 months of sustained compliance according to the order, limited twice-yearly monitoring continued. The November 2017 monitoring report found continued substantial compliance, marking 6 months of full substantial compliance. In that report, the monitor noted areas for improvement, particularly in regard to healthcare, and noted that in order to maintain substantial compliance regarding access to care, the County must address these areas prior to the next monitoring visit. The May 2018 report highlighted sustained substantial compliance with regards to medical and dental care.

The parties filed a Joint Motion to Dismiss the remaining sections of the agreed order on June 12, 2018. The parties agreed that Cook County achieved and maintained substantial compliance with all of the Agreed Order provisions for which it bore responsibility, and therefore found it appropriate to conclude the Agreed Order. Judge Kendall granted the motion on June 26, 2018. The case is now closed.

	Document
1:10-cv-02946	Docket [PACER]	June 12, 2018	June 12, 2018 Docket
1:10-cv-02946	Re: Cook County Jail Chicago, Illinois No Court	July 11, 2008	July 11, 2008 Findings Letter/Report
1 1:10-cv-02946	Complaint	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 Complaint
3-1 1:10-cv-02946	Agreed Order U.S. v. Cook County, Illinois	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 Order/Opinion
11 1:10-cv-02946	Notification of Docket Entry	May 26, 2010	May 26, 2010 Order/Opinion
23 1:10-cv-02946	Statement	Aug. 17, 2010	Aug. 17, 2010 Order/Opinion
61 1:10-cv-02946	Opinion of Three-Judge District Court	Jan. 11, 2011	Jan. 11, 2011 Order/Opinion
68 1:10-cv-02946	Order of Three-Judge District Court	March 14, 2011	March 14, 2011 Order/Opinion
70 1:10-cv-02946	Final Order of Three-Judge District Court	March 29, 2011	March 29, 2011 Order/Opinion
85 1:10-cv-02946	Agreed Order	June 13, 2011	June 13, 2011 Order/Opinion

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT filed by United States of America; (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B)(Johnson, Patrick) Modified on 5/13/2010 (kj, ). (Entered: 05/13/2010) 1 View on PACER 2 Exhibit View on PACER 3 Exhibit View on PACER	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 RECAP
2	CIVIL Cover Sheet (Johnson, Patrick) Modified on 5/13/2010 (kj, ). (Entered: 05/13/2010)	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
3	MOTION by Plaintiff United States of America for order entering agreed order (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(Johnson, Patrick) (Entered: 05/13/2010) 1 Exhibit View on PACER 2 Exhibit View on PACER	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
4	NOTICE of Motion by Patrick Walter Johnson for presentment of motion for order 3 before Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly on 5/27/2010 at 09:30 AM. (Johnson, Patrick) (Entered: 05/13/2010)	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
5	ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County, Illinois, Todd H. Stroger, Cook County Board President by Donald J. Pechous (Pechous, Donald) (Entered: 05/13/2010)	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
6	ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendant Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff by Daniel Francis Gallagher (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 05/13/2010)	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
7	ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendant Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff by Paul A OGrady (OGrady, Paul) (Entered: 05/13/2010)	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
	CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Nan R. Nolan. (nsf, )	May 13, 2010	May 13, 2010 PACER
8	ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County, Illinois, Todd H. Stroger, Cook County Board President by Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr (Driscoll, Patrick) (Entered: 05/14/2010)	May 14, 2010	May 14, 2010 PACER
9	EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ORDER: Case reassigned to the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall for all further proceedings. (See order for detail.) Signed by Executive Committee on 5/19/2010.(hp, ) (Entered: 05/21/2010)	May 19, 2010	May 19, 2010 PACER
10	ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff United States of America by Kerry Krentler Dean (Dean, Kerry) (Entered: 05/26/2010)	May 26, 2010	May 26, 2010 PACER
11	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall:MOTION by Plaintiff United States of America for order entering agreed order 3 is stricken. Mailed notice (tsa, ) (Entered: 05/26/2010)	May 26, 2010	May 26, 2010 PACER
12	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall: Enter Agreed Order. Mailed (vmj, ) (Entered: 05/27/2010)	May 26, 2010	May 26, 2010 PACER
13	AGREED ORDER Signed by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 5/26/2010.(vmj, ) (Entered: 05/27/2010)	May 26, 2010	May 26, 2010 RECAP
14	MOTION by Defendant Thomas Dart for Entry of a Prisoner Release Order (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B)(Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 05/27/2010) 2 Exhibit A View on PACER 3 Exhibit B View on PACER	May 27, 2010	May 27, 2010 PACER
15	NOTICE of Motion by Daniel Francis Gallagher for presentment of motion for miscellaneous relief 14 before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 6/3/2010 at 09:00 AM. (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 05/27/2010)	May 27, 2010	May 27, 2010 PACER
16	ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff United States of America by Corey M Sanders (Sanders, Corey) (Entered: 05/27/2010)	May 27, 2010	May 27, 2010 PACER
17	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall: Motion hearing held. Defendant Dart's motion for entry of a prisoner release order 14 is granted in part as outlined in open court.Advised in open court (jms, ) (Entered: 06/03/2010)	June 3, 2010	June 3, 2010 RECAP
18	MOTION by Defendant Thomas Dart to Modify the Court's Order of July 17, 2009 and Agreed Order entered on May 26, 2010 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B)(OGrady, Paul) (Entered: 07/02/2010) 2 Exhibit A View on PACER 3 Exhibit B View on PACER	July 2, 2010	July 2, 2010 PACER
19	NOTICE of Motion by Paul A OGrady for presentment of motion for miscellaneous relief 18 before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 7/8/2010 at 09:00 AM. (OGrady, Paul) (Entered: 07/02/2010)	July 2, 2010	July 2, 2010 PACER
20	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall: Hearing on Defendant Dart's motion to Modify the Court's Order of July 17, 2009 and Agreed Order entered on May 26, 2010 is stricken for failure to comply with Local Rule 5.2(f) and Judge Kendall's standing procedures.Mailed notice (jms, ) (Entered: 07/07/2010)	July 7, 2010	July 7, 2010 PACER
21	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall:The minute entry of 7/7/2010 is vacated. Hearing on defendant Dart's motion to modify this court's order of 7/17/2009 and agreed order entered on 5/26/2010 18 is set for 7/8/2010 at 09:00 AM.Mailed notice (jms, ) (Entered: 07/07/2010)	July 7, 2010	July 7, 2010 PACER
22	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall: Motion hearing held. MOTION by Defendant Thomas Dart to Modify the Court's Order of July 17, 2009 and Agreed Order entered on May 26, 2010 18 is granted to allow the Sheriff of Cook County to reclassify 59 Correctional officers into civilian position vacancies.Advised in open court (jms, ) (Entered: 07/08/2010)	July 8, 2010	July 8, 2010 PACER
23	WRITTEN Opinion Signed by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 8/17/2010.(tsa, ) (Entered: 08/17/2010)	Aug. 17, 2010	Aug. 17, 2010 RECAP
24	MOTION by Defendant Thomas Dart to Set a Pretrial Conference Instanter Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 16 (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 08/26/2010)	Aug. 26, 2010	Aug. 26, 2010 PACER
25	NOTICE of Motion by Daniel Francis Gallagher for presentment of motion for miscellaneous relief 24 before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 9/1/2010 at 09:00 AM. (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 08/26/2010)	Aug. 26, 2010	Aug. 26, 2010 PACER
26	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall:MOTION by Defendant Thomas Dart to Set a Pretrial Conference Instanter Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 16 24 is granted. Status hearing set for 9/10/2010 at 10:00 AM. Parties need not appear in court on 9/1/2010.Mailed notice (tsa, ) (Entered: 08/31/2010)	Aug. 31, 2010	Aug. 31, 2010 PACER
27	ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County, Illinois, Todd H Stroger by Colleen Bernadette Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh, Colleen) (Entered: 09/09/2010)	Sept. 9, 2010	Sept. 9, 2010 PACER
28	MINUTE entry before Honorable Virginia M. Kendall:Status hearing held on 9/10/2010.Advised in open court notice (tsa, ) (Entered: 09/13/2010)	Sept. 10, 2010	Sept. 10, 2010 PACER
29	Monitor Susan W. McCampbell's First Compliance Report by Thomas Dart (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 RECAP
30	NOTICE by Thomas Dart re other 29 - Monitor Susan W. McCampbell's First Compliance Report (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
31	Monitor Harry Grenawitzke's First Compliance Report by Thomas Dart (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 RECAP
32	NOTICE by Thomas Dart re other 31 - Monitor Harry Grenawitzke's First Compliance Report (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
33	Monitor Jeffrey L. Metzner, M.D.'s First Compliance Report by Thomas Dart (Attachments: # 1 Appendix I, # 2 Appendix II, # 3 Appendix III, # 4 Appendix IV, # 5 Appendix V, # 6 Appendix VI, # 7 Appendix VII, # 8 Appendix VIII, # 9 Appendix IX, # 10 Appendix X)(Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010) 1 Appendix I View on PACER 2 Appendix II View on PACER 3 Appendix III View on PACER 4 Appendix IV View on PACER 5 Appendix V View on PACER 6 Appendix VI View on PACER 7 Appendix VII View on PACER 8 Appendix VIII View on PACER 9 Appendix IX View on PACER 10 Appendix X View on PACER	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
34	NOTICE by Thomas Dart re other, 33 - Monitor Jeffrey L. Metzner, M.D.'s First Compliance Report (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
35	- Monitor Ronald Shansky, M.D.'s First Compliance Report by Thomas Dart (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
36	NOTICE by Thomas Dart re other 35 - Monitor Ronald Shansky, M.D.'s First Compliance Report (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
37	MEMORANDUM Memorandum Supporting Motion to Extend Prisoner Release Order (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C)(Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010) 1 Exhibit A View on PACER 2 Exhibit B View on PACER 3 Exhibit C View on PACER	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
38	NOTICE by Thomas Dart re memorandum in support of motion 37 (Gallagher, Daniel) (Entered: 09/24/2010)	Sept. 24, 2010	Sept. 24, 2010 PACER
39	STATEMENT in support of Sheriff's Motion to Extend Prisoner Release Order by Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County, Illinois, Todd H Stroger (Pechous, Donald) Modified on 10/6/2010 (vmj, ). (Entered: 09/28/2010)	Sept. 28, 2010	Sept. 28, 2010 PACER

Case: United States v. Cook County

1:10-cv-02946 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

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