The Illinois Fraternal of Police Corrections Lodge 263 is calling for the removal of Illinois Department of Corrections Director Latoya Hughes after accounts of violence and murder within the IDOC turned out to be true. FOP Corrections Lodge President Scot Ward says the acting director has lost control of her department and that proper safety and security procedures have not been implemented to ensure the safety of inmates and staff.
Ward pointed to the Hill Correctional Center as an example, where an inmate murdered another inmate with a shank made form a bed spring, and just two days later an inmate took another inmate hostage in segregation. According to a press release from the FOP Corrections Lodge 263, incidents of drug use and/or staff being assaulted have been reported in just the last few months throughout the IDOC. An officer at Western correctional center contracted Hepatitis C after they were attacked with feces.
Ward says there have also been examples of violence on top of a lack of proper safety procedures at Shawnee and Menard Correctional centers in recent months. “Shawnee, September 27th was another inmate on inmate issue. An inmate used a chord to strangle his cellmate. What I find interesting about that particular case is that was a minimum security facility,” Ward says. “Move on down to Menard, they had 21 shanks recovered. Multiple fights going on for weeks with minimal staff. And there is no real lock down procedures being done, meaning when these happen, and you’re talking about a homicide, you’re not locking the facility down for any length of time to do a thorough investigation.”
Ward says these are systemic issue adding that failed policy and weak leadership is putting the lives of correctional officers at higher risk. Ward says the IDOC needs qualified leadership, but that leadership can’t fix problems if legislators don’t give them room to do so. “Will that individual be able to do the job without being told what to do by someone else. Meaning the Governor’s office. That usually stems from some sort of special interest group that is normally not law enforcement friendly,” Ward added.
The Illinois FOP Corrections Lodge is also calling for mandatory transparency and reporting, increased staffing levels, safety resources and officer wellness support.