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Federal Court Orders Social Distancing at Cook County Jail and Continued Protections for Incarcerated People During Pandemic

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Preliminary Testing Shows Jail Coronavirus Hotspot Far From Under Control Read the ruling and declarations filed on behalf of incarcerated people CHICAGO – A federal judge today ordered Sheriff Thomas Dart to implement social distancing measures for people incarcerated in Cook County Jail. With few exceptions, Judge Matthew Kennelly’s order dictates that people incarcerated in… Read More

Federal Court to Hold Hearing on Adequacy of Cook County Jail’s Social Distancing Measures

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Today, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois will hear arguments on whether or not precautions being taken by Cook County Jail are constitutionally adequate. Attorneys representing people incarcerated in Cook County Jail will argue that social distancing is essential to protect the health of people incarcerated in the jail and constitutionally required.… Read More

Suit Filed Against Bureaucratic Incompetence Preventing On-Time Release of Inmates Amidst Pandemic

Lovey & Lovey Civil Rights Law Firm

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NEW ORLEANS, LA. – A lawsuit filed today against the head of the Louisiana Department of Corrections, Secretary James LeBlanc, seeks justice and rightful compensation for thousands of Louisianans unlawfully held in prisons and jails well past their legal release dates, due only to bureaucratic incompetence. Secretary LeBlanc–who has known for years that the Department… Read More

Little Village Residents File Federal Class Action Lawsuit Over Toxic Dust Cloud

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Suit charges environmental racism: Dangerous demolitions like this do not happen in predominantly white neighborhoods on the north side of Chicago An unofficial Spanish translation of the lawsuit is available here. CHICAGO – Little Village neighborhood residents today filed a federal class action lawsuit against the developers and other companies responsible for the botched demolition… Read More

Facebook & LinkedIn Sued for Unlawful Eavesdropping on Zoom Communications

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Facebook and LinkedIn Unlawfully Intercepted Zoom Users’ Communications to Boost Their Bottom Lines; Zoom Unlawfully Shared Users’ Data LOS ANGELES – Facebook and LinkedIn surreptiously eavesdropped on Zoom users’ electronic communications with Zoom, gathering users’ personal information in order to increase their revenues, according to a 17-count class action lawsuit filed in federal court today. … Read More

1000s of Elderly & Medically Vulnerable Prisoners to Remain Behind Bars as Judge Refuses to Issue Emergency Order

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Illinois prisoners are left vulnerable to COVID-19 and unable to safely shelter in place; litigation will continue to fight for their lives CHICAGO, IL (April 11, 2020) – Yesterday evening a federal judge refused an emergency request by attorneys in a class action case, Money v. Pritzker, which demanded that state officials speed the critical… Read More

Federal Court Affirms Government’s Responsibility to Protect Incarcerated People from COVID-19

Cook County Jail NYT

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Judge Kennelly rules that Sheriff Dart must implement policies ensuring sanitation, testing, social distancing at intake and the distribution of personal protective equipment A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois today ordered Sheriff Thomas Dart to implement additional social distancing and sanitary measures Cook County Jail as part of his constitutional obligation to… Read More

Federal Lawsuit Demands Release of People from Cook County Jail to Prevent Coronavirus Deaths

Cook County Jail Covid-10 infections

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You can find a copy of the lawsuit here. CHICAGO — Late last week in alliance with the Chicago Community Bond Fund, civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy, Civil Rights Corps, and the MacArthur Justice Center filed an emergency class-action lawsuit against Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, asking for the immediate release of medically… Read More

Swiftly Release Prisoners Most Vulnerable to Pandemic

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Class Action Suit vs. Gov. Pritzker & IDOC Livestream of today’s press conference can be viewed here. In response to the swiftly spreading coronavirus epidemic in Illinois’ prisons, a consortium of the area’s leading civil rights attorneys and community advocates today filed three cases seeking release of prisoners: a federal class action suit against the… Read More