'Urine And Feces Festering' In Jail Was Inhumane: Lawsuit

WAUKEGAN, IL — A lawsuit was filed in federal court this week accusing the Lake County sheriff's office of civil rights violations when it turned off the water to the county jail last month for repair work.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court Monday against Lake County, Sheriff Mark Curran, Corrections Chief Dave Wathen and unnamed guards and supervisors on behalf of five inmates of Lake County Jail. Alleging that the occupants of the jail were subjected to inhumane conditions for the more than two days the water was turned off, the suit asks for class action certification for the inmates.

The suit said the sheriff's office should reasonably have known that turning off the water and only allowing detainees to have five bottles of water a day would lead to unsanitary conditions.

The inmates were not allowed to flush their toilets and, as a result, they were held in cells "with urine and feces festering for prolonged period[s] of times," according to the complaint.

The waste "produced a distinct, putrid aroma that caused inmates to become sick, sleep deprived, and agitated," as well as attracting insects, it alleges.

The inmates say they were never informed that the water was going to be turned off. According to the suit, as a result of the water shutoff from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, pre-trial detainees at the jail "were deprived of the necessary amount of drinking water" to stay hydrated and meet basic health and medical needs.

They also allegedly "suffered from a variety of ailments, including but not limited to, dehydration, migraine headaches, sickness, dizziness, constipation, and general malaise."

The county's chief of corrections noted all detainees were given with bottled water throughout the outage.

“We have not been served with a lawsuit, however, Lake County Facilities upgraded a water system at the Lake County Jail," Wathen said. "During the planned water upgrade to our facilities, inmates were provided with bottled water for drinking and personal hygiene.”

Guards handed out two bottles of water per shift for a total of six each day, county officials have previously said.

At a Lake County board meeting last month, officials said they could have done a better job communicating about the shutdown but said notification was provided to the inmates.

"At no time, to my knowledge, was anyone denied water," said President Aaron Lawler.

No formal complaints about the shutdown had been received by the sheriff's office as of that meeting, according to Undersheriff David Hare.

» More: 'No One Was Denied Water' At Lake County Jail During Outage

» Read the complete complaint filed Dec. 4:

_{Top photo: Lake County Jail | Google Street View}