Earlier this spring, community pressure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic led the number of people incarcerated in Cook County Jail to drop by more than 1,500 people. On May 9th, it reached the lowest point in decades when 4,031 people were inside the jail, down from 5,588 people on March 17th. As this depopulation was happening, however, more than 500 incarcerated people tested positive for COVID-19 and seven people died. Since then, the number of people incarcerated in the jail has quietly been climbing back up as the number of people incarcerated in their homes on electronic monitoring has also ballooned. On Monday, August 17th, the number of people in Cook County Jail passed 5,000 again.

At the same time, there remain more than 3,000 people incarcerated in their homes on house arrest with electronic monitoring. Due to the nearly 1,000 person increase in the number of people on EM during COVID-19, there are now more people on electronic house arrest than at any time in the history of Cook County. Combined with the people in jail, there are significantly more people in the Sheriff’s custody (8,347 people in total) of the county than at this time last year (8,147 people in total) or in 2018 (8,237 people in total). Simply put, for the first time since 2015, the number of people under Cook County’s correctional control is moving in the wrong direction.

Across the country, people are calling into question the role that policing and incarceration play in our society. In response, courts, police departments, and many elected officials are doubling down on law-and-order tactics that have failed to keep our communities safe. This increase in pretrial incarceration would be unacceptable in normal times, but is especially unconscionable at this moment. We are still in the midst of a pandemic that could cause immense harm if another outbreak occurs inside the jail, where particularly vulnerable people are subject to a particularly dangerous environment.

The Cook County criminal courts and Sheriff’s Office have taken advantage of this crisis to expand house arrest with electronic monitoring. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people incarcerated in their homes on ankle shackles has increased by nearly 1,000 people. Under normal circumstances, many of these individuals would have been eligible for release without conditions had they had the money to pay a bond. Electronic monitoring is not a replacement for the unconstitutional wealth-based bond system; it is simply another form of pretrial incarceration. The court’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be justification for the expansion of electronic monitoring, resulting in even more people being caged in their own homes. As we work to ensure no one is incarcerated in jail because they can’t afford to pay a money bond, we must also make sure that electronic monitoring programs are not expanded. 

Several years ago, Cook County took steps to dramatically reduce the number of people incarcerated in the jail due to unaffordable money bonds. Those measures, implemented in response to our organizing efforts, reduced the number of people in the jail on any given day by more than 1,500 people. These reforms saved lives during the initial wave of COVID-19 at Cook County Jail. They have also helped ensure that thousands of people have been able to enjoy their right to pretrial freedom and avoid losing their homes, jobs, or even custody of their children. We must never allow judges to roll back these historic reforms, but especially not during a time when incarceration in Cook County Jail risks exposure to a life-threatening illness with inadequate medical care. 

Across the country, young Black people and their allies have been taking to the streets to make clear that their lives matter. The actions of Cook County judges are in direct contradiction with the demands of these young people and the Black Lives Matter movement. Cook County must not only ensure that its current back-sliding on bond reforms is stopped, but must continue to further reduce the number of people incarcerated while awaiting trial.

Please call and email the State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx and demand she take steps to dramatically lower the number of people in jail in response to COVID-19. Below is contact information and a script to use:

Phone number: (312) 603-1880

Email: statesattorney@cookcountyil.gov

Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _________. I’m calling to demand that the Cook County State’s Attorney Office take steps to dramatically lower the number of people in jail. It is unacceptable that the number of people in jail is going up This means declining to prosecute most cases, not filing new violations of bond or probation conditions, and instructing line prosecutors to support release of people currently detained pretrial in Cook County Jail in bond hearings.