Supreme Court Rejects Sheriff's Attempt To Sue Governor, IDOC

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Supreme Court denied a request by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to sue Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Correction to force the state to accept more inmates from Cook County Jail.

Dart filed a motion Sept. 20 accusing the Pritzker's administration of a "refusal to do its job." He asked the justices to allow the county to file a petition seeking a judge's order for the state to increase its intake of prisoners sentenced to state prison.

According to the sheriff's filing, more than 500 people detained at the jail are awaiting transfer to state facilities, which is costing Cook County taxpayers and putting a strain on staffing.

But IDOC representatives said the state is scheduling transfers of inmates from Cook County for every day on which there is space available at the reception center in Statesville.

All unvaccinated inmates must be quarantined, and fewer than half of inmates who arrived in July and August were vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an IDOC spokesperson. If the prisoners had been vaccinated, the state could have accepted more transfers, the spokesperson said.

Dart's attorney argued that all state inmates are quarantined and tested prior to being transferred, such that any threat of spreading coronavirus via increased prisoner transfers is "minimal."

On Thursday, the Supreme Court denied Dark's motion for leave to file a petition for a writ of mandamus, according to the court's clerk.

According to the sheriff's office, inmates awaiting transfer to state prison constitute about 10 percent of the jail's population but have been responsible for more than 40 percent of fights and other infractions over the past year.

Related: Sheriff Sues Governor Over Refusal To Transfer Prison Inmates