Illinois judge holds state human services agency in contempt, fines it $100 a day over unfit inmate's wait
Illinois Times reported that Sangamon County Circuit Judge Adam Giganti held the state in civil contempt for failing to transfer an inmate to a Department of Human Services facility within the 20-day statutory window after he was declared unfit on April 7. The judge saw no merit in DHS's arguments and set a $100 daily fine until admission, which happened June 30 at McFarland Mental Health Center.
Sheriff Jack Campbell separately sued DHS and the Pritzker administration, challenging the April 2020 executive order that suspended automatic admissions from county jails and gave the DHS secretary discretion over placements. DHS said about 150 people were awaiting placement statewide. Sangamon County said it spent more than $35,000 housing 11 defendants past the grace period, and the state's attorney filed contempt complaints for five more.
The ruling was one of the first court sanctions in Illinois over the unfit-inmate backlog and put the pandemic-era admissions order under direct legal challenge.
Source: No room at mental health facilities — Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
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