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IDOC sued over alleged mistreatment of prisoners with disabilities
A new lawsuit alleges the Illinois Department of Corrections violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by leaving almost two dozen men with disabilities behind when it shut down Stateville Correctional Center in 2024.
CHICAGO - A newly filed lawsuit accuses the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) of abandoning 21 disabled prisoners at the now-shuttered Stateville Correctional Center, despite transferring the rest of the facility’s population to safer locations.
What we know:
The lawsuit, filed by Equip for Equality and the law firm Much, claims that after IDOC closed Stateville in 2024 due to unsafe living conditions, it failed to move individuals with disabilities, leaving them in the prison’s deteriorating infirmary—or hospital.
Those left behind allegedly faced extreme isolation, unsanitary conditions, and a lack of access to medical care, legal resources, and rehabilitation programs.
The suit alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, arguing IDOC discriminated against these individuals by keeping them in substandard conditions solely because of their disabilities.
Some inmates reportedly spent nearly 24 hours a day in their cells, were denied educational and mental health services, and lacked access to proper nutrition and hygiene.
"In the two weeks following the case filing, IDOC moved some of the men to other prisons, but nine men remain," Much said in a press release on their website.
Much attorneys also claim that in Jan. 2025, one of the 21 men died after prison staff allegedly ignored his medical needs for hours.
What they're saying:
"These individuals have been abandoned," Amanda Antholt, Managing Attorney at Equip for Equality, said in a press release. "They are locked in their cells for up to 24 hours a day, denied access to recreation, education, and even clean drinking water. They call this setting an "infirmary," but it is not safe or medically appropriate, and the individual’s chronic medical conditions are actually being worsened there. Yet, IDOC refuses to move them."
"IDOC’s failure to relocate these individuals is not just inhumane, it is illegal," said Steve Blonder of Much. "Stateville was closed because it was deemed unfit for human habitation, yet these men – who have disabilities and critical medical needs – are still being forced to live in conditions that are degrading, unsanitary, and dangerous. This case is about ensuring that Illinois upholds its responsibility to treat all incarcerated individuals with basic human dignity."
What's next:
The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring IDOC to transfer the individuals to safer and more suitable housing. It also calls for broader reforms to ensure IDOC complies with federal disability rights laws in the future.
IDOC has not yet responded to the allegations.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by Equip for Equality and the law firm Much. Their lawsuit against IDOC was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.