Despite a Positive Yelp! Rating, Avoid Cook County Jail

Cook County Department of Corrections has, to put it mildly, a colorful history. According to Yelp!, it's a pretty fine place. It has two profiles, due to naming variations, but the reviews average to about four out of five stars.

Some of the highlights include a full description of the booking process, along with some truly insightful advice from a repeat visitor, to complaints about the quality of the cuisine.

But it's not always sunny in the Cook County Department of Corrections.

The reviewers, obviously, didn't have a chance to sample the more exotic cuisine. A couple of years ago, there was a hubbub over "Nutraloaf," the bland orange culinary puree made from meat, vegetables, and other important nutrients. It contains everything the body needs in a baked puree soufflé.

A Chicago food critic reviewed it at Cook County and described it as "disturbing" and "flavorless". To paraphrase the critic, the food, which is often used as punishment, was unusual, yet probably not cruel. However, another case in the Seventh Circuit is still debating the matter, so that could change.

Some of the reviews complained of violence, which led to a Google dig that unearthed a stinging Justice Department report about some of the abhorrent conditions at Cook County in 2008. The report cited incidents of violence against inmates, inadequate supervision that allowed inmate on inmate violence, and a smattering of health and welfare violations. There's even mention of a "preventable amputation."

We're not only talking about violence among long-term prisoners; this included violence against pre-trial detainees who hadn't even been convicted of a crime. These were people awaiting trial, some of whom were probably innocent, who were subjected to life-threatening conditions and what may have amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

The summary of the report said that corrections officials must take reasonable steps to guarantee inmates' safety and provide humane conditions of confinement. Humane conditions require that a corrections system takes reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of the inmates and satisfy inmates' basic needs, such as their need for medical care, food, clothing, and shelter. Pre-trial detainees are extended the same rights.

For those who are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, the remedy is to file a Section 1983 lawsuit for violation of their constitutional rights. However, these suits are often chalked up to inmates having too much time on their hands, especially if the inmate is not represented by counsel.

At the time the Justice Department report came out, Cook County DOC was found to be dangerously deficient in many areas, though officials were working to improve conditions. Still, it's a place that should be avoided at all legal costs. If you are arrested, you'll want to make bail if possible, and seek the counsel of an attorney as soon as possible.

Related Resources:



Find a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)

Cruel and Unusual Punishment (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)

Court: Teen's Sentence "Cruel and Unusual" (FindLaw's Common Law Blog)

Jail Overcrowding Means No Room For DUI Offenders (FindLaw's Los Angeles DUI Blog)


The Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog

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