This story was originally published in The Appeal.
The first case of COVID-19 among prisoners was confirmed on March 23. A week later, 134 detainees were sick. On March 27, Dart held a press conference touting “single-celling” for almost all prisoners and saying reports of lack of access to soap were “lies.” Meanwhile, the head of the jail’s medical division (which is under the purview of Cook County’s Health and Hospitals System and not the sheriff’s office), Dr. Connie Mennella, said the division was “testing every person who is symptomatic,” but the severity of the outbreak grew precipitously. That same day the union representing healthcare workers at the jail called for a “drastic” reduction of the jail population.
Affidavits from 13 prisoners filed in the federal lawsuit describe similar conditions in men’s divisions of the jail: units where people are still held in dorms or two to a cell; no proper social distancing or cleaning of shared showers, toilets, and tables; a lack of access to testing, even for those who had acute symptoms or had contacts with others who tested positive. Prisoners have reported a total shutdown in non-COVID-related medical services: diabetics can’t get blood sugar checked, chemotherapy appointments have been canceled, other requests for medical care go unanswered. South Side Weekly‘s recent publication of six interviews with people in the jail’s Residential Treatment Unit offered a similar picture.
Ioan Lela, also in Division 11, was mid-trial for 2016 murder and home invasion charges when the pandemic lockdown began. He said he had COVID-like symptoms for two weeks but wasn’t able to get a test. He’s representing himself in court and said the pandemic has made it even harder for a pro se defendant like him to have a fair hearing.
Lela said the release of the video seemed to be a calculated public relations move on Dart’s part as the sheriff was facing increased criticism for his handling of the virus outbreak. “Tom Dart is quick to release a video when it benefits them.”
