Illinois inmates want mental health reform in prisons, not money, attorneys say

Illinois inmates sue over mental health care, say punishment replaces treatment

Nineteen inmates sue Illinois prisons—not for money, but for mental health reform.

CHICAGO - Nineteen Illinois inmates have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the state’s prison system substitutes punishment for treatment when it comes to mental health.

What we know:

The lawsuit, filed with the help of the Uptown People’s Law Center, claims the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) relies on isolation, violence and discipline in place of actual mental health care. The plaintiffs are not seeking money—they want reforms that would shift the system toward treatment.

According to the filing, nearly 44% of people in IDOC custody are on the mental health caseload, and about a third of those individuals have a serious mental illness.

As of late 2024, only 67 of the 175 state-budgeted mental health provider positions were filled, the suit states.

"What we are seeing is a mental health treatment system that is not a treatment system," said Jessica Gingold, a civil rights attorney with Equip for Equality. "It’s a check-the-box. People aren’t actually getting individual treatment, getting therapy, getting individualized psychiatric care."

The backstory:

The current case builds on Rasho v. Walker, a previous class-action lawsuit that resulted in a consent decree and outside monitoring of prison mental health care. That court oversight ended in July 2022. Since then, attorneys say progress has unraveled.

"We worked with the department and with a court monitor on that to get compliance, to ensure that, you know, the department was providing constitutional mental health care to the incarcerated population," said Nicole Schult, also with Uptown People’s Law Center. "Unfortunately, that broke down in July of 2022."

What the lawsuit alleges:

The suit outlines incidents of people setting fires in their cells, including self-immolation, while correctional staff allegedly stood by. It also challenges "crisis watch," a practice where people with suicidal thoughts are stripped naked, placed in suicide smocks and left in empty cells. Attorneys argue this is more punishment than care.

The suit further claims that prison lockdowns—sometimes lasting days or weeks—confine individuals to their cells without access to programs, fresh air or phone calls, conditions that can worsen or even cause mental illness.

"The majority of our clients are experiencing little indignities and greater indignity that build up over time that lead to those kind of most extreme things," Gingold said.

What's next:

The plaintiffs want a judge to declare the prison system’s mental health care unconstitutional and order changes.

IDOC has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.