END BOOK BANS & MAIL CENSORSHIP at COOK COUNTY JAIL Midwest Books to Prisoners NO LIBRARY AT COOK COUNTY JAIL! Nope -not even a law library. Our FOIA requests show they spent a total of $0 this year on Books and Law Library materials! « CCJFAILED American Library Association’s “Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions”: “Day, evening and weekend hours to provide at least five (5) hours per inmate per week in a professionally staffed library” with “greater of 5000 titles or 15 ttles per inmate up to maximum of 2,500 inmate” « CCJ FAILED UN Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules): “Every prison shall have a library for the use of all categories of prisoners, adequately stocked with both recreational and instructional books, and prisoners shall be encouraged to make full use of it.” « CCJEAILED CILIP Prison Library Group standards: “Aproperly designed and equipped prison library will provide a warm and welcoming space where prisoners can feel safe... All prisoners should have weekly timetabled access to the library ... access to the full range of resources” « CCJ FAILED PEN America’s “best practices” for tablets: “E-readers are often costly and should be offered free of charge” “Access to digital books must not be revoked as a disciplinary measure” “Access to e-readers must never justify reductions in access to physical books and other physical literary materials ... Books ordered through or donated by prison book organizations and outside book, vendors must also remain accessible or available” CC]J Captives Speak Out on Censorship Despite Illinois being the first state to “ban book bans”, the largest book ban continues behind bars. We sent surveys out to ask people how they feel about censorship in CCJ? “Censorship policies are vague, not properly applied, or applied by the whim of ‘whoever is looking at the items. There are no proper standards across the board. Education is poor. There are not enough activities to keep busy.” - Anonymous, o “Prisons censor the materials we can get as a form of control and punishment to keep us uninformed and ignorant. The less we know, the more they can ‘manipulate us and abuse us.” - Anonymous, CCJ “We don’t get to have books from the law library. We fll out a form to get a copy of what she wants us to have on whatever we request. So f it's 30 pages, she ‘might give us 5. - Anonymous, CCJ “1'm writing my 7th chapter of my book, but they won’t let me make copies so T can send out” - Anonymous, CCJ “I have had blank cards and holiday cards blocked because they stopped allowing them in .. after a shake down, I noticed that my book "Unlocking the Dream vision" was missing once and I had to replace it. I never found out what happenedtoit.” - Anonymous, CCJ “Economic Books, Legal Mail, Education Material. Confiscated for suspicion of drug trafficking.” - Anonymous, CCJ “48 Laws of Power. It was blocked /confiscated and I had to destroy it or send it ‘home. The reason it was taken was because prison officials don't want us as prisoners to broaden our knowledge or be educated on things.” - Anonymous, o “I.am an avid reader, so I've had several dozen books and other materials blocked or confiscated. Most recently, I had a graphic novel blocked: I grieved it ‘and won, but never received the book. Denying me my book after the Director ‘approved me to have it felt like they wanted to send me a message, that no ‘matter what, Menard can do as they please, they can break the law and get away withit.” - Anonymous, Menard IDOC “Let This Radicalize You” by Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes Banned from CCJ for being "otherwise detrimental to security, good order, rehabilitation, or discipline or might be detrimental to mental health". “The virus had spread through the jal, infecting more than 350 people. On April 23,2020, the New York Times reported that Cook County Jail has become the “nation’s largest-known source of coronavirus infections”... “So many people [in Little Village] had family members who were incarcerated at the time,” Pino told us. “People were fighting desperately to make sure that their family ‘members survived, and some of them didn’t due to the country’s negligence and complex lack of care for people in the jail as community members”. “[Stevie] Wilson also stressed that reading is a subversive act in prison, and passing around large numbers of books might resultin the confiscation of those texts,in addition to harassment or punishment of those circulating them. Zines can also be shared in a more clandestine manner. “If I went to the yard and tried to give out ten books, Iwouldn’t make it. But if I have ten zines there, I can give them out, you see? S0 part of it lso is knowing the inside of here because, remember this much: learned prisoners are an affront to the [prison-industrial complex].” Legal Newsletter Dozens at CCJ receive our regular legal internet newsletter: this issue was rejected because it contained a Truthout printout "How Do We Prevent Gun Violence Without Police" by Cristian Farias, due to a small depiction of a gun. “Yetacloser look at some of these awards shows that not all conceptions of gun violence prevention are created equal — with some localities using the funding to boost police programs and yet others relying on a combination of law enforcement and academic research to do the work. Roca Inc., a DO awardee, runsa violence intervention model that has gained prominence in Massachusetts and Baltimore; i relies on “relentless” outreach and case ‘management to effect behavioral change among a carefully selected cohort of young people. Roca s quite open about its work with police and probation departments to ensure that program participants — who range from 16 to 24, years old and often have had contact with the eriminal legal system — stay on the straight and narrow. Meanwhile, groups like the Newark Community Street ‘Team, another DOJ award recipient, expressly note that they only interact with law enforcement “so that we can intervene and mediate in disputes,” but that they otherwise do not share information about their work with the police. “We believe that arrest and incarceration representa failure of many systems that ledto the person becoming a criminal and we believe that the prison syste{m] is aform of torture that causes greater harm,” reads the group’s website.” ""Black August: Origins, History and Significance" zine rejected from Cook County Jail: no checkbox indicating any perceived security risk, they just "CAN NOT" with the double underline emphasizing white supremacist censorship “Most standard history books tend to either play down or ignore New African resistance as a factor in the destruction in the slave economy. On the other hand, when one understands New Africans are still an oppressed nation, the reason for such deception becomes clear. Black August contends that not only was such resistance a factor in the destruction of the slave economy, but New African resistance to slavery continues to inspire New African resistance to national oppression. Herbert Aptheker (the author of “American Negro Slave Revolts”) recounts the personal remark of one New African involved in the civil rights struggle: “From personal experience I can testify that American Negro Slave Revolts made a tremendous impact on those of us in the civil rights and Black Liberation movement. It was the single most effective antidote to the poisonous ideals that blacks had nota history of struggle or that such struggle took the form of non-violent protest. Understanding people like Denmark Vessey, Nat Turner, William Lloyd Garrison etc. provided us with that link to our past that few ever thought existed.” - Doc Holliday Midwest Books Community Zine 2023 Our zine features submissions from incarcerated artists and authors, including several people at Cook County Jail: we've sent hundreds to people incarcerated there, but they've begun to repeatedly reject it for “nudity”, “pictures showing ‘gang signs/weapons/moneyliquor/drugs or individuals in other correctional facilities”, and “otherwise detrimental to security, good order, rehabilitation, or discipline or might be detrimental to mental health”" “In the twenty years that I have been a captive of the IDOC, the corrupt administration pretty much censors any literature that they know could have a beneficial effect on the way we think or act. The policies they use to enforce these censorships are 5o vague, it is impossible to combat them. Anything that promotes unity, free thinking, personal development, or ‘non-mainstream literature can easily be turned around by them simply saying there is a marker or high- lighter mark in it it has a sticker or tape onit, there is a white-out on it or a many of the other fabricated excuse they want.... They know the pen is mightier than the sword. Even though they hold the sword to our neck, our eyes are opened as we read books about ‘our past, our heroes, our future.” - Dennis Rogers, Jr. A zine about Palestine is censored because of a drawing of a resistance fighter with a gun. Meanwhile CPD trains with Israli Occupation Forces A magazine is rejected because of a cartoon pirate holdinga gun. ‘The article itself is about frivolous silly laws, such as insulting a pirate. RN O SR D717 e o7 CoNTRAAND & AP E— — I — Used book. inappropriate reading material Sherbourne County, MN: baning politial books, mispellng “ancarchy” Missouri DOC say tha donated books” s onsiersd “contrabands despieofiil plicy slowiog lcoming publctions from “bon e publihers” FCI Hasehon, WV: o incoming publications” sfcion ‘which oxinaelyrquirs 3 dgnature by The Warden and llows possbilcy of ppeals by both prksanerand pulblher. Juse wrot i sharpie,“KTS nom profc nauchoized”.Same fox FC1 Beskley, o in WY, going ke vebod o the eecton stamps ‘Cook County Jail baniog Nukonl Geographic ‘Magain or“nudiy” becase f sclnific and e depition ofbuman evluton FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS “This i ot thtthe ollowing poblcation Tl Black Liberuan nd te Aboltion of the Priso Industisl Complx Which wa recsived o th flowing date From: Mt kst Pisoners 1121 1. Meettes Ave. PIE 460 Chicage, I G022 5 DAMOUNDED g v b e Iepamens L e o e e W G e A T o an ¥ i i ot that the fllowin publcain: ke Prosram of he iack Amtonery Prison Pedersion Florida banning Black Liberation literature CENSORSHIP NOTIFICATION Northeast Correctional Center [ e 1 provides information on how t obtan prohibited publications o provides information on how o Order unauthorized iems o coteaband, Missour censoring the PARC National Resource Diecory, ['So0tn kot Daparimant of Careclons Ascmert 7 Wk Carsspondince R Nots Sarr Paicy Pioase rter 1o BOC bosey 15.0:3 | Disuton: puvte oo Conespondance CORRESPONDENCE REJECTION NOTICE-SENDER To._Midwest books to prisoners Sander Descrption ofrjeced lamicorrespondence: 1 book creator: owned heroes comic book Issue § ‘depicting iolance with Deogie being shot in the fead T e corospondones o conab o S s a5 e o e ey 0 T coespondanc it it At ay e e, g, ey, cprsioalmerorands South Dakota State Penitentiary hating on graphic novels Cook County Jail rejecting a Call of Duty book for ‘weapons”. Game Informers are explicitly banned LLINOIS DEPARTENT OF CORRECTIONS. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED ITEMS Prckneie Corecions Cane 0 et Mok e sl gt o osher ey rar. | o s e e e o iy | “* ok 5 e e = Weekly Wrap-up o Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution = Warden Jon Noble == Deputy Warden Michael Gierach =) Aprl 30, 2021 Population: 1110 TP, oo trom the Warden begins ‘with a Harrit Tubman quote and ends with a blanket ban on all books sent from us B advised, Go Viral Volume 46 s notalwed naccodance with DAI 306,00 50 Pamography ~Nudty ‘Commerialy Pubished Mataril As o 47721 1o DA Securty Cia has eviawe th am an e matanal e how denid and has been aced on the DAI Dnied Pubkadon L e posied 1 1bray B¢ i s 1t 15 over changng and i fems rcawed s st roviw Nowe Efecive immerdatey pr the DAY Securty Chil we wil 10 e accaping bk rom it Bccs e Freaners OTICE 4D REFORT OF ACTION TAKEN ON CORRSSFONDENCE | M Books o Pisceers Basic Wiring & Plumbing Bock [ l peonciii INRRRMMISRININ 521ned from Indiana DOC s Prokibited e - 2 Books - Basc Wirng, & Bsic Pumbiag not allowed er polcy: Lo L e e s — iy Teooms Bt [P oee. e e U.S. DERARTMENT OF usrrce SIS at FCI Memphis ban the censarship zine and survey for “information that SRS contains violent extremism type behavior” RE: Midwest Books o Prisoners - Campaign Againt Prison Censrship and Book Danming Dear Midwest Books o Prisomes: G Dpartnent o Coection e eviews i st 0 Mlipe Offendr whe s ey T oW o i el e on he cchod v i o in e i e aston o he () e e vou may et an e el i o Zine and survey also mass rejected at Potasi B ebiueotwpsoce MODOC: “can be used to instill violence or [ PRt TWRWRRIRRY hatred. Jason Lerwis similarly rejected our last Community Zine several times DAl Dt Dot ofConscions S — S aDie P P — . Sefeson iy, MO 65102 FAX Number: (579 $26-4254 - SERETVOUMENRER : Campaign Against Prison g» _,égl, Censorship and Book e T Banned in IDOC: “Resistance Behind Bars” by Victoria Law “'m stumped. I don’t actually know how a child’s paper swan threatens the safety and security of the prison. “Why can’tshe get origami?” my daughter repeats “Idunno. ‘Cuz its prison,” mumble and turn back to my own paper, Less than two minutes later, she has taped the edges of the paper together to form a pentagon. She has writtena short note on the front. Proudly she hands it to me. “ don’t think she can get things that have tape,” I say, handing it back to her. Her smile disappears and I contemplate including it anyway, even f it means the entire envelope will be returned. My daughter finds scissors and cuts everything except the front of the pentagon, which she hands to me. “There,” she says. Our five-minute exchange reminds me of why we need to aim for a world without prisons and s senseless rules and restrictions, a world in which no small child has to comprehend why she cannot send a simple folded girafe to her mother’s friend. Or why her own mother cannot receive her homemade Valentine’s Day card because she drew itin crayon.3 “Or why her mother has to spend her birthday—and every other day~—locked far away from her. ‘But while striving for that world, we need to also reach in, make contact with those who have been isolated by prison walls and societal indifference and listen to those who are speaking out, like many of the women who have shared their stories within this book. Because abolishing prisons will not happen tomorrow, next week or even next year, we need to break through these barriers, communicate, work with and support women who are in resistance today.” s Do o oo, WAL RETURNSUP. ¥ Menad ComctnalCeter e o i md el e m . T TEN NOT \ 0 S i e e o s e s bt T e s e e, o, et A S Tt A1 ot Qosti sbis (O Tu py qb; PN 2% RETURN TO SENDER — NAVE 410400 NOT WA 1O D #] NCARRECT 10 | TED — CORRESPONTE. = NOT, 4 / For years, Illinois DOC prisons were perhaps the least restrictive we regularly sent to, one of the only states that allow hardcover books - but now they appear to be jumping on the “content-neutral” censorship bandwagon. Menard had always been vicious on incoming mail - a new scanning pilot program, so many petty rejections. Last year they tried banning our ‘group altogether saying we weren’t an “authorized publisher”. In May 2024, IDOC quietly posted on their website “no hardback books”- with no published policies or procedures. Menard now rejects all hardcovers; it’s not clear if other prisons will follow, but we have to stop it. This is a fight we are determined to win -the book bans end here in Illinois! Notice §f Unauthorized Item(s) Not Permitted incts Rver Comoctional Crter D12 COLCQ, wser M SIE] T e — A A i oo o D oSt Sty o o, ot St i 9.t oo [T —-——— [ ————— @, omw Loaiha: - ooklek [s——— R —— O Waeatmons o 7 YOU DO NOT RESPOND T TS NOTICE WITIN 3QAYS, THE ITEMS WL BE DESTROYED. [ — e i3 5 RErORRED 75 SEADER AL 6.5 SToeRHaE 2% [EIp N ———— \ O om L s s 0 e,y ot ks i 57 i g 1 erdnc i DR 50120 o ST A “We The People” legal primer booklet - rejected ostensibly because of a “foreign substance that cannot be determined (oily or unusual stains) The Lingering Mail Banning Threat At CCJ: A Predatory Tool Of Surveillance and Profit that Must Be Stopped In recent months, Administrators at Cook County Jail have escalated their repressive campaign against free speech and due process rights by enforcing extreme limitations on the amounts of information and reading materials our ‘community members locked inside can have in their possession. Attorneys are ‘now prohibited from bringing in any papers whatsoever during legal visits, denying people access to the evidence they need to fight their case. Guards are going cel to cell stealing people’s reading materials enforcing a harsh 3 book limit while cracking down in the mailroom with an increase of petty rejections for books with “stains”, “saturation”, “crinkled pages”, etc. There are no libraries at CCJ and no budget for books or legal materials, but they're pumping ‘millions into restrictive tablets with expensive “email” functionality. These alarm bells demonstrate how they're following the shameful nationwide trend of censorship, privatization and digitization. In February 2023, Sheriff Tom Dart worked with WGN9 to release a five minute copaganda video showing mail guards inspecting stacks of letters, blaming mail ‘and books for the rise in overdose deaths. Beginning with the headline “it’s a ‘new war on drugs inside Cook County Jail”, it's more of the same failed fear and ‘misinfo pushing criminalization and restrictions when what is actually needed is resources, treatment, and freedom. In the video, Tom Dart pledged that “we will ‘never get rid of mail altogether”, but they are already doing way too much: it's bad enough you already can’t get newspapers or hardcover books, and the petty rejections are only increasing In many jails and prisons where tablets are introduced with alternative electronic messaging and visits, prison systems end up terminating physical mail and visits: but this is Chicago, and we aren’t going for that here without a fight. Action needs to be taken to defend this ongoing destruction of rights, and prevent CC] from a blanket ban on physical mail or books. “3 Book Rule “and Massive Book Shakedowns: After the Kroger v. Dart lawsuit challenging the 3-book rule was denied by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last April, CCJ administrators wasted no time in enforcing this draconian limit by going cell to cell to steal “extra” books. Many legal books have been confiscated or destroyed, as well as other personal possessions such as family photos and artwork. Supposedly religious books aren’t counted towards the limit, and people in Division 6 were told legal books don’t count as well. But this is all subject to the personal whims of whatever guard wants to enforce and interpret the rules, with no safeguards protecting legal books and no due process to appeal the confiscation or to send the materials home. The Koger lawsuit was not justa challenge of the 3-book limitation itself, but also the handling of the confiscated books: guards tossed Koger’s books without options to send home or choose ‘which books they took. CC] intentionally repeated this disrespect during the recent shakedowns. Part of the punishment is psychological - they want people to feel the fear and uncertainty that at any given moment, books or anything else you might have can be arbitrarily stolen. But it also prevents people who often spend months or years in pretrial confinement from preparing a legal defense against one of the most corrupt police and court systems in the country. How does taking away one's reading materials contribute to the "safety and security” or “legitimate penological interests"? Cook County Sheriff says forget ‘what you heard about education and rehabilitation they argued in Court that that books “can be used to set fires, as weapons or makeshift body armor, hide contraband, send coded messages between inmates, jam cell doors or locks, cover windows, clog toilets and ventilation systems, cluttering and tripping hazards, and cause disputes between inmates over books”. These restrictions violate constitutional rights, have no reasonable penological interest, and fail basic standards of common sense and human decency. Nevertheless, the Courts always seem to find away to twist legal interpretations ‘when it suits the ends of the prison system. The four factor test of Turner . Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) to determine whether a prison restriction should be allowed to override constitutional rights 1. Whether there is “valid, rational connection” between the regulation and the legitimate ‘governmentalinterest used to justify 2 Whether there are alternative means for the prisoner o exercise the right atissue; 3. The impact that the desired accommodation will have on guards, other inmates, and prison resources ; 4 The presence or absence of “ready alternatives,” where the presence of ready alternatives make it more lkely that aegulation is unreasonable, while the absence make it ess likely that the regulation is unreasonable. CCJ did not ban religious materials because that would be an infringement on a person's religious rights, fought in cases like Cooper v. Pate, 378 US. 546 (1964), Cruzv. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972), and Sostre v. McGinnis. A prison regulation that infringes on inmates' constitutional rights therefore is valid only if it is "reasonably related to legitimate penological interests." Turner, 482 USS. at 88, 107 S.Ct. 2254. "[A] regulation cannot be sustained where the logical connection between the regulation and the asserted goal is 50 remote as to render the policy arbitrary or irrational.” Id. at 89, 107 S.CE. 2254 What s the valid rationality of the book policy when religious books can be unlimited but other materials are severely constricted? Do we have to declare a new religion that worships the law so individuals can have materials to prepare their cases? Are there alternative means to receive enough reading materials in CCJ? Absolutely not. Our recent FOIA request shows that there was $0 spending on library and law library reading materials at Cook County Jail in the year 2022, All books were sent in "by donation", so from family members and groups like ours. s for access to the “law library”, you have to fill out a request form specifying your query, and hope that a few weeks later the five pages of printouts you get backwill be enough to prepare your case. ‘The irrational stripping away of the possessions of community members locked up has caused a huge divide amongst guards and the people they harm. Reading ‘materials encourage a healthier environment and book programs like Midwest Books To Prisoners give indigent people inside the ability to obtain reading ‘materials free of charge, removing some financial burden put on the individuals detained in CCJ as well as the burden put on their families who are trying to help ‘maintain the mental health of people living in uninhabitable living conditions. ‘The Digitization Creep: After just a few months of CC] distributing over 3000 tablets, they enabled the GTL “Telmate Getting Out” app with electronic “email” functionality. When these prison profiteers come around, often physical mail ‘and visits are phased out and replaced with these heavily restricted, and expensive texting services. Smart Communications, Securus, TextBehind, Pigeonly, Global Tel-Link and ‘more: the lucrative business of mail scanning is spreading rampantly often without constitutional considerations, congressional oversight, or public ‘comment. It happened in half the state prison systems, several federal prisons, and hundreds of local jails. Authorities claim these outsourced mail security services are necessary to prevent drugs from being sent in, but are unable to show evidence it works (ie reports after five years of SmartCommunications digitizing the entire PA DOC’s ‘mail, drugs still proliferate). ‘While people need unrestricted access to technology and the internet, this ain’t it All kinds of problems with these tablets replacing physical mail. The costs: they're nickel and diming the incarcerated for basic text and phone services that ‘would otherwise be nearly free if it weren’t run by profiteering contractors. The quality is trash: margins clipped, pages out of order, limits on quantity or sizes, etc. Unlike physical mail, if you ever get transferred to another institution you ‘may lose all your mail stored on the tablets. Availability is also an issue, equipment breaks, is often unavailable during lockdowns, and access can be revoked for discipline as if communication is a privilege not a right. Expanding the Panopticon: There are other selling points that make it attractive to prison administrators: surveillance and data collection - not only storingall communications in searchable databases for police, but they also spy on contacts they correspond with - expanding the carceral panopticon not only to those captive in their dungeons, but to the rest of us in the so-called free world! CIDNET, a "communications company" similar to Securus, Smart Communications, and GTL, describes themselves as "a social platform, an investigative monitoring tool, and a communications infrastructure, depending onwho youare". In CIDNETS 2021 catalog, they advertise their "features " for staff as revenue and monitoring: “Mail cues are monetized by many of our clients, and they can be a ignificant source of additional funding for your facility. Monitoring tools: The Cidnet Intelligence Suite is a treasure trove of tools that help facilties solve more cases and prevent future crimes. These tools are designed to continuously monitor large ‘amounts of inmate communications data, so corrections staff don’t have to. Time previously spent randomly monitoring inmate communications will ransition to time spent analyzing actionable intelligence that the system provides. Smart Communications highlighting their surveillance capabilities: "authorized staff with the ability to monitor and review all electronic messages and attachments sent through the system, except those items that are deemed privileged under law (.. attorneyjclient confidentiality). We will maintain a record of ll electronic messages sent through the Smartinmate system for a period of seven years from the time the message was sent. Smartinmate has many built-in investigative features that make the system an invaluable intelligence-gathering, crime solving and powerful crime prevention tool. For ‘example, Smartinmate can automatically monitor and send instant notifications ‘when messages containing investigator-defined keywords or names are transmitted, or inmates being shadowed under investigation send o receive messages or connect with a new public user. Furthermore, Smartinmate messages are ully keyword searchable. Keywords are highlighted in the search results to allow investigators to quickly locate content of interest. Smartinmate also collects statistics, data and information on public users in the community that are in communication with inmates at your agency. Information such as connected inmates, phone numbers, IP-addresses, email addresses, credit card and bank information, GPS locations, devices used and more’ GTLis also spying on people who dare use their app to communicate with loved ones: “Call 1Q application will alert you via emailif peron utter a specific phrase or mentions a certain topic during a calL.. Calls with greater fluctuation in sentiment or emotion can lead investigators to calls where the inmate or called party shows signs of stress... Location IQ uses powerful and accurate Carrier Tower and GPS location based services to access a called party’s location using GPS, offering both latitude/longitude coordinates and proximity to the given facility...” Rather than stopping the flow of contraband, these prison administrators are conspiring with third party profiteers to monitor, censor, slow and obstruct the ‘mail, narrowing the form and content of communications allowed to only these dystopian corporate sandboxes. Instead of addressing the root causes of addiction, poverty and criminalization, they're accusing the entire planet of being a criminal entity trying to smuggle drugs into prison, blaming mail, books and everyone else except for the people profiting from the cycle of incarceration. We're not going for it! Sheriff Tom Dart, leave the mail alone! ey Ebvph.qmu-um-nm.:.m | e S ) L e S vyt 4 Tt e e gt i S e | e st iy S ST, S e S 0 T vt e e st e o o |« Wi iy i e et o s e .........:fl Pty ot el €CJ Rejects Bulk Mailing of Information on Pretrial Fairness Act and Demands to Stop the Loss of Life at CCJ Now that the Pretrial Fairness Act is in effect, people who have been held at Cook County Jail and throughout Illinois for simply being unable to afford the cash bail are now entitled to new hearings to reconsider their continued incarceration pendingtrial. People often spend years pretrial without having access to attorneys or a proper law library. To make sure people at CCJ knew their full rights, we sent zines to 200 of our people there with information on: (1) the complete IL Supreme Court transcript finding that the PFA and abolishing cash bailis in fact constitutional: (2) PFA Implementation Taskforce flowcharts for applicability to people detained prior to PFA; (3) An article “Stopping the Loss of Life in Cook County Jail”, including coalition demands to improve conditions; (4) An article by Hybachi LeMar ‘Uninhabitable Living Conditions in Division 5”. CCJ has not delivered the zine or issued any rejection slip - blatant censorship without even the pretense of providing justification or allowing grievances or appeals. IPs utterly reprehensible that CCJ would deliberately withhold information that could set people free and save lives. Stop g the Loss of Life i Cook County Jail Since January 1st, 14 people have died while incarcerated in Cook County Jail. We mourn the loss of these lives and our hearls go out to their families. As community organizations. representing thousands of Cook County residents, we are concerned that the Cook County Sherifs Office has been unabie to keep the people in their custody safe and that their response to the loss of ives has been to cover up these deaths and implement punitive measures that have further worsened the quality of e of people incarcerated in the jail We are caling for all Cook County stakeholders to work together to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the jal and for the Sherif’s Office to meet the following demands without retaliation against those courageous enough to bring attention to the jails lfe-threatening mishandiing of resources. Toll yourionds, tamiy, and ovet nes on the outido to W] Sign Th Petion in supportof these domands - more. 3o nformaton st EndiloneyBonors O fo petion Life-saving care, particularly regarding overdose, must be available and provided for everyone incarcerated in Cook County Jail. . No procedures or protocol should delay the ‘administration of Naloxone by officers or people incarcerated in Cook County Jail b Every incarcerated individual and staff person should be trained and required to use Naloxone in the event of a suspected overdose. . Naloxone and test strips for adulterants are evidence-based harm reduction tools ‘and should be freely available without consequence. Incarcerated people should have free access to paper and the Sheriff's Office ‘should cease undue confiscation of paper materials. Access to educational materials, programming, and libraries should be universal Cook County Jail. . End the paper ban. Stop preventing lawyers, program faciitators, and visitors from bringing paper into the jal b People should have access to all kinds of reading material, including legal documents, books, and paper on which to write and draw. . Tablets should not be the only access people have to books, documents, and educational materials. . Books and mail should not be rejected without verified proof that each specific ejected item contains illegal substances. . Anyitems rejected by the jail without verified proof that the item contains contraband should be returned to the sender rather than confiscated by the il f. Al divisions should have functioning and freely accessible libraries. Those libraries should have the same diverse collection of materials as ouside libaries. . Funding for ibrary services come out of the Sheriff's existing budget, which has continued to grow substantially even as the number of people incarcerated in ‘Cook County Jail has sharply decreased in recent years. Al incarcerated people should have access to medical services and public health measures to ensure that they are able to meet their most basic physical ‘and mental health needs. a. Incarcerated people must have consistent access to healthy meals and clean drinking water. b, Soap, frequent laundry, fresh and nutritious food, and other basic necessities should be provided at no cost. . Medical services, including substance use disorder and mental health treatment, should be provided effciently, with care, and without risk of retribution. Cook County Jail's facilities should be high-quality, comfortable, and sanitary. . Spaces where incarcerated peaple live should be held to the same workplace safety heating and cooling standards as OSHA and tenant requiremens. b, Spaces should be free of environmental hazards including mold, pests and particulate matter. . Improving the faciles inside Cook County Jail should come out of the Sherifs existing budget which has continued to grow substantially even as the number of people incarcerated in Cook County Jail has sharply decreased in recent years. People incarcerated in Cook County Jail should have greater life-saving contact with the non-incarcerated community. . Virtual visitation cannot replace in person contact with loved ones, fath leaders, o lawyers. b In person visits should be accessible and the default option and virual visits should be used to increase accessibilty to community contact and not be used s a tool of surveillance and exploitation. ©. People who express concerns about their mental health should be given evidence-based care and contact with loved ones rather than forced into further isolation within the facilty. The Cook County Sheriff's Office should be transparent and accountable to the public about all policies, processes, and conditions happening inside the jail. . The Sheriffs Office should promptly and privately notify families anytime ‘someone dies in custody. b, The Sheriff should publicly announce every death in custody by posting information in a ceniral location on the Sheriffs Office website. Information about the cause of death should be shared as soon as available. These ‘announcements should center the dignity of the individual who has died. . Cook County Jail should be regularly and independently audited and inspected for conditions. Detailed reports should be released pubiicly. Uninhabitable Living Condif ns At CCJ Division 5 by Hybachi LeMar “Revolutionary gretings, “The following are clear violations of our rights, privileges, and services according to the Cook County Department of Corrections Handbook. Lack of access to a clean and sanitary living environment: the foundational structure of Cook County Jail i falling apart. Water floods by leaking through the cracked perimeters which connect the walls 1o the floors. Water comes into the cells when it rains. as well as from cell to cell, and also drips from cell vents onto the tolet beneath them on occasion due 1o plumbing and other maintenance issues. We're subjected to leaking toiets, plaster and paint peeling and faling off the walls. Black mold in the unit washroom, partcular here in Division 5, a division that was ‘condemned over five years and was reopened amidst the pandemic. Cell vents that haven't been cleaned for months, possibly even years, and darkened by fith. Bad water that dries the skin Infestations of nats and ants in our cells and in the food that we're served. Infestations of water bugs and roaches - a dead roach was just found on its back on the dayroom dining table this very minute s violations were being written. Dead, dying, and living roaches and water bugs infest the shower area and units in general, including the corrdors leading to the cell blocks. Lack of access to disinfectant to clean our living environment. Shower areas unable to be cleaned on a regular basis. No change of inens for weeks. Denial of mental health assistance despite requests for detainees mentioning suicide to correctional staff. Lack of immediate and adequate medical attention. Lack of ‘access to grievance forms for days on end. Unknown black substances repeatedy being discharged from cell sinks, knobs and faucets. No soap accessible on the units. Food with mold, rotten are often served for breakfast. No privacy curtains for doors for the dayroom tolets, which are infected with water bugs, roaches and nats, as well as the bolder stench of nat-idden urinals attached to the walls. Unclean tablets and telephones due to lack of disinfectant. Spiders that hang from webs and ceiling comers of our cells we can'treach with a broom cause none are provided except for ‘cel cleaning day'. Many prisoners in here have rashes and show each other insect bites, wondering where they came from. We eat bread that comes from loaves in the kitchen that are eaten through by mice — instead of throwing the loaves away, the authorites in Cook County Jail kitchen ensure only the biten bread from the violated bag is tossed out. Concerning our basic rights on larger procedures: The Cook County DOC handbook clearly states: “The CCDOC provides you a clean uniform twice per week, fresh linen once per week, and a clean blanket once per month. In addition, laundry service for clothing purchased on commissary is regularly provided". We're currenty being denied ALL of these basic ights, and have been for months. When we're able, we only have access to one clean shirt and one pair of clean pants per week, with the only pants size offered to us is size 4X, equivalent to about the. size 52 waist. We haven't received any clean blankets for months, with the exception about two days ago, following the demonstration outside of Caok County Jail, which is ‘acknowledged as “victory blankets” We don't have access to a clean laundry service for clothes purchased on ‘commissary at al. In fact, when we resort to using our sheets as clothes-lines in our cells, they are routinely ripped down by corrections staff, depriving us of the ability to o our laundry ourselves, and are threatened with disciplinary sanctions if our sheets are ripped as clothes lines. We're never allowed to exchange our towels for clean ones. Our requests to have them washed by the “laundry service" is always adamantly denied. Many people confined at Cook County Jai, thousands out of the approximately. 10,000 people inside these walls are wearing walking shoes that are 3.5 sizes larger or smaller than our actual foot sizes. At the time of this message, only sizes 8 and 14 are being given to peaple coming in through intake upon reception by the ‘administration. We're only allowed 3 books per person We're not prewarned of atiomey visits, which leads to an inabily 1o prepare as effectively as we could if we were given at least a five minute warning. Last of access to our case summary which show what charges we been charged with — many of us don'tknow the charges we're charged with before arriving in court, be it zoom or in person, making fighting our cases feel like going into a boxing ring biindfolded We're subjected to obscene commissary prices ~ for example, one square pack of ramen noodles costs $1.02 ~ the price of five at the Family Dollar. We're deprived ‘access to contact visits, despite the fact that the COVID pandemic is obviously nota word of concern at Cook County Jail, being that face masks aren't offered in the unit we're confined on in Division 5, and when asked, we've been told, “We don'tgive out masks anymore’ by corrections staff. Hand sanitizer is not provided on the uni, or commissary, or at al Lack of access to recreation, as well as the law library o legally defend ourselves as effectively as we could if we had such access. No posting of new rules in the unit, nor memos concerning new rules that we end up getting “punished" for breaking. We're subjected o group punishment, typicaly a 24 hour lockdown on the unt, regardiess if its a single person charged with a minor misconduct. ‘The health care request forms we il out and hand in to medical and mental health assistance go unanswered despite the filing out of several requests. Prisoners are told to sign for inmate handbooks that we don't receive after we're processed. Retaliations for writien requests. Our basic rights for grooming and hygiene supplies are also being violated. On page. 18 of the CCDOC handbook, it clearly articulates that “an individual will be issued razors and allow us to shave at certain times'. Here in Division 5 we haven' had ‘access 1o a razor for months, neither do we have mirrors to observe with our eyes. how our faces physically look like. Appearing before judges unshaved is an unnecessary reality, that we, particularly on Division 5 think on a professional basis, and is not a reflection of our character as a human being who want to make the best impression in general as well as before the courts. ‘These inhumane conditions and violations are our basic rights, and we want everyone fighting against human rights violations to know. 3. The CCDOC information handbook for individuals n custody states in Chapter 3 Notice of Rights Under Arrest, in no ambiguous terms, that “every Sherif, every Police or other persons who is in charge of any jail,police station, or other criminal proceedings, be posted every room other than cels of such buildings where persons e held in custody, in in conspicuous places ~ | repeat, in conspicuous place, where itmay be read and seen by persons in custody, a poster printed in large containing a verbatim copy in the English language of the provisions in Section 103-2 103-3' Section 103-2 ust lsted particularly emphasizes: "A. being taken into custody, every person shall have the right o remain silent. B. no unlawful means of any kind shall be. used to obtain a statement, admission, or confession from any person in custody. C. Persons i custody shall be treated humanely and provided with proper food, shelter, ‘and the required medical treatment without unreasonable delay ifthe need for treatment is apparer None of these rights are posted anywhere on Division § 1-A. 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While tablets offer unprecedented access to loved ones and outside allies, they have also been used to curtail paper literature under specious claims that mailis the primary conduit of contraband Content on tablets is also highly limited-with titles largely in the public domain whose copyright has lapsed because they were published in the nineteenth century. Despite obtaining these works for free, many prisons and jais charge incarcerated people to access this content. This inaccessible and outdated reading material is used to justify the denial of paper lterature, including health and legal news San Francisco Public Library recently extended their catalog to local jails. This Prison Banned Books Week we are calling for public library catalogs to be made available on all prison and jailtablets Library content is for community use and detained and incarcerated people are part of our communities. We are asking tablet companies to partner with our already funded library systems to extend access to ALL our community members. Demand Department of Corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Sheriffs ensure that people held in carceral facilities have equal access to both paper literature and tablets. Reading should not be restricted. PrisonBannedBooksWeek.org 2023 RISON BANNED BOOKS WEEK 20 TAKE ACTION Tell your lectad officials to protect froe exprassion and end carceral cantorship. Send a lotter today at = PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2023 Did you know that a book can be banned from WEEK 2023 PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEE! They re all banned in Texas prisons. Did you know Florida prisons ban over 22,000 books and incarcerated people in Missouri can't get books as gifts? This #PrisonBannedBooksWeek, your legislators to support legislation that increases access to literature and learning in prisons. #BooksNotBans ! 2013 PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEEK SUN TZ0 Why is 8 5th Century BC text banned o elsoa? ‘Apparantly It a threat to security. WEEK 2023 PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEE! Prison RAMEN ‘recipe contsin o banned book in prisons n America.