Illinois prosecutor asks court to hold state human services agency in contempt over jail transfer delays
Illinois Times reported that Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright sought a civil contempt finding against the Department of Human Services over long delays in accepting jail inmates found unfit to stand trial. State law calls for transfer within 20 days, but roughly 150 people statewide were waiting in county jails and the average wait was 64 days. Four Sangamon County inmates had been waiting since early April.
DHS blamed pandemic-era staffing shortages and limited capacity. A deputy director acknowledged the agency's responsibility and said it had admitted 1,222 forensic patients since the governor's April 2020 executive order suspended the normal admission timelines. The sheriff said some inmates stayed five to six months, pushing a jail built for 314 to hold more than 350. Cook, Lake and Winnebago counties had also sought contempt rulings without success.
The Sangamon County effort described here was followed within weeks by a contempt ruling and a sheriffs' lawsuit.
Source: Inmates wait for mental health treatment — Illinois Times, by Dean Olsen
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