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Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Women’s Prison in Illinois
Loaded on Oct. 1, 2021
by Panagioti Tsolkas, Brian Dolinar
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2021, page 38
by Brian Dolinar and Panagioti Tsolkas
"I’ve been incarcerated since the age of 18, I grew up in the penal system,” shares Mishunda Davis. “I went from the Cook County jail, to Dwight prison, to Lincoln, and I have never seen as many condemned buildings as I’ve seen since arriving ...
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More from this issue:
- PREA: Tackling the Nightmare of Prison Rape, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Nebraska Supreme Court Holds Discretionary Function Exception Bars Lawsuit Over Prison’s Botched Response to Uprising
- Arizona Federal Court Rescinds Approval of Jensen Settlement; Sets Class Action Medical and Control Unit Case Against Arizona DOC for Trial, by Matthew Clarke
- $50,000 Settlement for Denial of Medical Care at Tribal Jail in Montana
- Protective Order Issued in Florida Solitary Confinement Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Georgia Enacts Massive Probation Reform Bill, by David Reutter
- Prison Staff Are Refusing Vaccines. Incarcerated People Are Paying the Price., by Joshua Manson, Erika Tyagi
- The States that Lead the Nation in COVID-19 Cases Are Hiding Their Prison Data, by Neal Marquez, Erika Tyagi, Sharon Dolovich
- Court Grants Class Certification for Illinois Prisoners in Restrictive Housing Lawsuit, by Keith Sanders
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of HRDC Postcard-Only Suit Against Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
- South Carolina Attorney General Issues Opinion That Information in State Prisoners’ Death Certificates Is Public Information, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Case Sues JPay Over Fee-Heavy “Release Card” Debit Cards
- Eleventh Circuit Holds No Qualified Immunity on Deliberate Indifference in Heat Exhaustion Case, by David Reutter
- Colorado Jail Blows Through $16 Million in COVID Relief Money, Has Outbreak Anyway, Settles ACLU Conditions Suit, by David Reutter
- Tennessee Department of Corrections Rebids $123 Million Health Care Contract After Corizon Accuses It and Centurion of Bid Rigging, by Matthew Clarke
- Death, Neglect and Despair in U.S. Tribal Jails, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Study Analyzes Deaths of Parole-Approved Texas Prisoners Awaiting Release, by Matthew Clarke
- File a CFPB Complaint for Unfair Money Transfer Fees
- Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Women’s Prison in Illinois, by Panagioti Tsolkas, Brian Dolinar
- Sacramento Sheriff Used Prisoner Welfare Fund for Trips, Salaries and Equipment, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Rules Prisoner Sex Offender has No Right to In-Person Visitation with His Minor Children, by Douglas Ankney
- Virginia Department of Corrections Confirms Visitation Not Primary Means of Contraband Introduction, by Kevin Bliss
- Seven Former GEO Employees Plead Guilty in Federal Texas Private Jail Bribery Scheme
- Indiana DOC Settles Class-Action Lawsuit Over Ban on Incoming Mail Except That in White Envelopes Using White, Lined Paper
- Supreme Court Reverses Qualified Immunity Dismissal of Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Local Pennsylvania Voters Ban Solitary Confinement and No-Knock Warrants, by David Reutter
- Absent Expert Medical Testimony, Deliberate Indifference Tough to Prove in Medical Cases, by David Reutter
- Erie County Sheriff Settles AG Lawsuit for Violating New York Reporting Directives, by Kevin Bliss
- California Slashes High Call Rates in Prisons and Jails, by Chuck Sharman
- Mailbox Rule Inapplicable to Prisoners Represented by Counsel
- Federal New York City Jail Made Infamous by Jeffrey Epstein Death Closed Due to Persistent Problems and Incompetence
- New Connecticut Law Eliminates Prison Gerrymandering
- $56 Million Settlement in CoreCivic Securities Violation Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Judge Orders COVID Emergency Release Procedures at Lompoc Federal Prison, by Jayson Hawkins
- Eleventh Circuit Grants Prisoner with Hep C Exception to PLRA Three Strikes Rule
- Washington DC Jail’s Suicide Proof “Safe Cell” Use Not Safe for Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- Iowa County Wants to Use COVID-19 Relief Money to Build New Jail, by Keith Sanders
- $1 Million Settlement in Georgia Prisoner’s Preventable Suicide Attempt and Death, by David Reutter
- Immigration Detention Contracts Cancelled in Georgia and Massachusetts, by Daniel A. Rosen
- $500,000 Settlement for California Jail Rape, Deputy Fired and Sentenced
- Pay-to-Play Lives in FEC Decision Not to Enforce Ban on Political Contributions by Boca Prison Contractor The GEO Group, by Dan Christensen
- News in Brief
More from Panagioti Tsolkas:
- Floridians Face Prison for Voting from Jail, Aug. 1, 2022
- Oregon Prison Superintendent Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving and Interfering With Arrest, Aug. 1, 2022
- ICE Continues to Abuse and Traumatize Under Biden. Immigrants Are Fighting Back., April 12, 2022
- Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Women’s Prison in Illinois, Oct. 1, 2021
- Florida Files Environmental Lawsuit Against Phosphate Company Pollution, Sept. 1, 2021
- Resisting a Prison Without End, Aug. 1, 2021
- Why you should want Sheriff Gualtieri out of office, Sept. 21, 2020
- Plans for a New Federal Prison on Coal Mine Site in Kentucky Withdrawn, Sept. 8, 2019
- “It Smelled Like Death”: Reports of Mold Contamination in Prisons and Jails, April 2, 2019
- Prisoners File Environmental Lawsuit Against Proposed Federal Prison in Kentucky, Jan. 8, 2019
More from Brian Dolinar:
- Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring, Jan. 1, 2023
- Prison Profiteer Is Using Sandra Bland’s Death to Sell Surveillance Technology, Sept. 30, 2022
- Louisiana Prisoners Used as Slave Labor During Hurricane Ida, Families Left in the Dark for Weeks, Nov. 1, 2021
- Eleven Guards Fired after Death at Houston Jail, Nov. 1, 2021
- Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Women’s Prison in Illinois, Oct. 1, 2021
- Prioritizing Incarcerated People for Vaccine Quickly Reduced COVID in IL Prisons, June 1, 2021
- New Surge of COVID Is Spreading “Like Wildfire” in Illinois Prisons, March 1, 2021
- Illinois Prison Phone Rates are Lowest Following Grassroots Activism, Aug. 6, 2019
- Profiting Off Mass Incarceration: Detroit Pistons Owner Buys Private Prison Phone Company, Oct. 10, 2017
- With General Inch in Charge, We Can Expect Further Militarization of the Prison System, Aug. 30, 2017
More from these topics:
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness, July 15, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Environmental Law, Plumbing, Sewage, Water.
- Bold New Orleans Escape Calls Attention to Poor Jail Conditions, July 15, 2025. Escapes, Conditions of Confinement, Toilets, Security Systems.
- Colorado Passes New Law to Expand Prisoner Visitation Rights, July 15, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Extended Family Visiting, Video Visitation.
- Washington’s Continuing Competency Crisis Strains Jails, June 1, 2025. Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Salvadoran President’s Dark Secret Allegedly Behind Deal to Hold Deported Migrants in “Mega” Prison, June 1, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Conditions of Confinement, Immigration.
- Italy Begins Conjugal Visits in Prison “Sex Rooms”, June 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement.
- Death Row Prisoners Challenge New Tennessee Single-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol, June 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Death Row, Method of Execution.
- French Prisons Targeted in Coordinated Attack, June 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General).
- Cruelty Is Now the Point for BOP, May 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.

