On March 11, 2018, the mother of a deceased prisoner at the Logan Correctional Center filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The plaintiff sued the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and Wexford Health Sources, a contractor for IDOC. Represented by the Uptown People’s Law Center and the Northside Transformative Justice Center, the plaintiff alleged that officials at the Logan Correctional Center subjected her daughter to cruel and unusual punishment and discriminated against her on the basis of her mental illnesses. The complaint alleged that the decedent was placed in solitary confinement as a punishment for her mental illness, that the prison failed to place her in an inpatient program despite actual knowledge of its necessity, and that the prison failed to provide her with reasonable accommodations. Such conduct, the plaintiff alleged, was in violation of the Eighth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act (RA). The case was assigned to Judge Sue Myerscough.

On June 4, 2018, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted for both the ADA and RA claims asserted in the complaint.

On August 6, 2018, Judge Myerscough denied the motion to dismiss in full, determining that the plaintiff's pleadings were sufficient to assert a cognizable claim under both laws.

As of December 22, 2018, the case is proceeding through discovery.

Hope Brinn - 12/22/2018


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