Five more Illinois sheriffs join suit over delayed transfers of inmates found unfit for trial
Illinois Times reported that sheriffs from Madison, McLean, Macon, Knox and Rock Island counties joined Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell's suit on July 21, 2022, naming Gov. J.B. Pritzker and DHS Secretary Grace Hou. They challenge delays in moving jail inmates found unfit into state psychiatric facilities, which state law says should happen in about 20 days.
The counties listed their waiting inmates: nine in Sangamon, 19 in Madison, eight in McLean, three in Macon, two in Knox and five in Rock Island. Sangamon County documented $90,254 in unreimbursed costs for 2020, about $87,000 for 2021 and $71,100 through mid-2022 for housing unfit inmates beyond the legal timeframe. The state asked the court to dismiss the case, and a hearing was set for August 3.
The expansion turned a single-county dispute into a multi-county challenge to the state's handling of the competency waitlist.
Source: More sheriffs join DHS lawsuit — Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
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