Progress Illinois

This summer, U.S. District Court Judge G. Patrick Murphy delivered a significant but overlooked court decision ordering the Illinois Department of Corrections to give inmates at the state's only supermax prison, Tamms Correctional Center, greater due process rights. But the judge didn't stop there. In his scathing ruling, Murphy also called into question some of the fundamental practices employed at Tamms. The treatment methods, he argued, often constitute "virtual sensory deprivation" and the "psychic toll" exacted by prolonged stretches of solitary confinement leads to lasting mental illness.

It's an assessment verified by officials at the John Howard Association, which conducted a monitoring tour of Tamms earlier this month. Nearly all states operate a supermax prison and "conditions vary widely" between the facilities, the prison watchdog acknowledges. In Illinois, "inmates live almost entirely alone in a universe of gray." From the report:

Tamms operates under a regime of sensory deprivation and social isolation. The monochrome environment, the limits on human contact, the inability to perceive nature, in some cases the loss of personal property and the taste of food, even the limitations on showers, are all forms of sensory deprivation. Prolonged sensory deprivation and social isolation can lead to extreme psychological distress and injury.

Many of the reforms former Department of Corrections chief Michael Randle proposed upon entering office, it should be noted, have been implemented. Inmates are now informed of their estimated length of stay and can take GED classes, changes that have created what the John Howard Association calls "beneficial effects." But there's no assurance they will be kept in place. After Randle was dismissed for his role in the overblown MGT Push controversy, his successor -- Gladyse Taylor -- agreed to challenge Murphy's due process ruling. It's a move that surely rattled criminal justice reformers statewide.

Earlier this summer, a federal judge penned a scathing decision questioning some of the fundamental practices employed at Illinois' infamous Tamms Correctional Center. Most practically, the judge ordered that the Illinois Department of Correction must give inmates at the supermax institution greater due process rights. Here's how we described the ruling in July:

Analyzing a lawsuit filed in 2000 on behalf of dozens of inmates at Illinois' only "supermax" prison, U.S. District Court Judge G. Patrick Murphy decreed that the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) must offer a prisoner the option to challenge his transfer into the facility (which uses solitary confinement extensively) during a formal review hearing. Each inmate must be given notice of the hearing 48 hours in advance and all inmates currently in custody there will be first in line to participate.

This morning, the award-winning journalist George Pawlaczyk reported for the Belleville News-Democrat that the state would challenge Murphy's ruling. This is a blow for criminal justice reformers, who had hoped DOC would abide by the decision specifically because it did not differ greatly from one of the proposals included in former director Michael Randle's 10-point reform plan. And since the appeal could take two years, no firm policy will be put into place for some time.

Mayor Richard Daley isn't the only Illinois official who recently announced his resignation. Last Thursday, Illinois Department of Corrections director Michael Randle said he will step down from his post at the end of the month to pursue a new opportunity in Ohio. While the news was buried before Labor Day and overshadowed this week by the Daley bombshell, it will still have some significance politically this fall. Randle carried the blame for the MGT Push early release controversy, a program for which Gov. Pat Quinn is still receiving heavy criticism.

On the policy side, criminal justice reformers in and out of government are apoplectic over the departure of Randle, who made a big splash early in his tenure by outlining a well-regarded 10-point reform plan for the infamous Tamms Correctional Center. Like the Sun-Times editorial board, they were giddy over the direction in which he was taking the department, calling him in an open letter to Gov. Quinn "the first true reformer the IDOC has had in a generation." "My sources inside DOC say Randle ran the agency in a professional, critical, and progressive way,"  added Northwestern University professor Stephen F. Eisenman. Eisenman and his colleagues are hopeful that Gladyse Taylor, who is taking over for Randle, will not abandon his Tamms' efforts or challenge a meaningful court ruling about the due process rights of Tamms' prisoners that was handed down in July. If she doesn't uphold Randle's commitments, you can bet those advocates will make their concerns known.

A hearty congratulations to George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer of the Belleville News-Democrat. The two reporters were just awarded a prestigious Polk Award for their six-month series on the conditions at Tamms Correction Center. We've previously highlighted their reporting here, as well as the reforms the Department of Corrections has proposed as a result of the investigation. The prize is well deserved!