This story is published on thetriibe.com in partnership with Free Spirit Media’s experimental “learning newsroom” program, The Real Chi.

COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on one of Chicago’s most vulnerable congregate populations: jail and prison detainees. At least 153 inmates and 147 staffers in Illinois state prisons are currently diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) website. At Cook County Jail on April 25, officials reported 165 correctional officers, 37 other Cook County Sheriff’s employees and 229 detainees have tested positive for COVID-19 — including 18 detainees who are currently being treated at local hospitals. This doesn’t account for the 232 detainees who are no longer positive and are being monitored in a recovery facility at the jail.

As of Saturday (April 25), the Cook County Sheriff’s Office reported the deaths of six jail detainees as a result of COVID-19. The deaths include 59-year-old Jeffrey Pendleton, the first Chicago inmate to die of the virus. His family has since filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Tom Dart, believing the treatment of their loved one was inhumane and in violation of the 14th Amendment. Pendleton died while shackled to a bed at Stroger Hospital, where he was on ventilator during a six-day battle with COVID-19.

Since the stay at home order went into effect in March, many activists, jail detainees, prison inmates and their families have been fighting for better protection and safety inside correctional facilities. The biggest question has been: how do we keep them safe in a place where social distancing is nearly impossible. 

Many activists and families have been calling on government officials including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Sheriff Dart, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and others to release detainees and inmates.

“It’s clear that a thorough rethinking of our prison system — and much else about our country and its numerous racial and economic disparities — will need to take place if we want to successfully put this catastrophic pandemic behind us,” Armanda Shackelford said during a virtual press conference on April 9. Her son is a Jon Burge torture survivor who is experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms while currently incarcerated at at Stateville Correctional Center. Burge was a Chicago Police Department (CPD) detective and commander who was accused, but never convicted of torturing more than 200 criminal suspects for a 20-year period, up to 1991, in order to force confessions from them.

“But for now,” Shackelford continued, “The urgent priority must be removing as many prisoners as possible, especially elderly people and those with underlying conditions or compromised immune systems.”

On Monday (April 27), a federal judge ruled that Sheriff Dart must implement social distancing protocols for incarcerated people at Cook County Jail. According to the Chicago Community Bond Fund, the order requires that incarcerated people at Cook County Jail can no longer share cells and that most forms of dormitory-style housing must end. 

Also, Sheriff Dart must acquire the necessary materials needed to test inmates, provide soap and hand sanitizer to all inmates and distribute sanitation material to inmates and staff to regularly clean surfaces. Face masks must be provided, as well. 

We spoke to community organizations and activists, in addition to detainees, during an April 9 virtual press conference with Parole Illinois, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about mass incarceration and extreme-sentencing policies to get a better understanding of the situation impacting prison and jails in Illinois.