Knox County’s Sheriff has joined a lawsuit filed last month by Sangamon County’s Sheriff that accuses Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services for not complying with Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure, setting a 20-day period for transporting mentally ill inmates from county jails into state’s custody.
According to a release from Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin, Springfield-area attorney Dylan Grady was appointed as a special prosecutor to represent Sheriff David Clague.
Grady currently represents the sheriffs of the four other Illinois counties that have joined Sangamon and Knox in the lawsuit. Those other counties are Rock Island, Macon, Madison, and McLean.
In the amended lawsuit, the sheriffs allege that there have been substantial delays in the admission of defendants into DHS custody for court-ordered psychiatric treatment, with delays extending many months. These counties have incurred additional costs while holding defendants awaiting placement in DHS.
It is further alleged that the delay has endangered the safety of inmates and jail personnel and has reduced the likelihood of restoring unfit defendants to fitness within a year.
The amended lawsuit is in addition to the filing of three contempt petitions from Karlin against IDHS last week for the same problem.
Since the filing o the contempt petitions, one inmate has been transported to an IDHS hospital.
A hearing allowing the amended lawsuit that joins the five additional counties is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday, August 1, in Sangamon County.
