Virtual Town Hall: Discussion on Ending Money Bail organized to educate the public on ending money bail, the Pretrial Fairness Act, and future steps.
#EndMoneyBail
Co-hosted by: Wayman AME Church Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington Normal Bloomington-Normal Chapter of NAACP Bloomington-Normal League of Women Voters Coalition to End Money Bond Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal Bloomington-Normal Democratic Socialists of America YWCA McLean County Not In Our Town Bloomington-Normal
Those wishing to sign up for ‘Decarcerate BloNo’ can email decarcerateblono@gmail.com. We’ve also got our next meeting for local folks like us to build connections, learn more about the implementation of the PFA, and determine our next steps for supporting our community until cash bail ends in 2023. Join us on Thursday, February 18, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Register here.
If you’d like to stay updated on and get involved in our work, sign up.
For more on police reform see here. For more on the Pretrial Fairness Act, see here.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Pretrial Fairness Act or how to join the fight to end money bail, should check out this Virtual Townhall scheduled for Saturday, January 16th, 2021. The virtual town hall will inform our community on the progress being made to end wealth based pretrial detention.
Join us in learning more about pretrial detention, the Pretrial Fairness Act, and what you can do to help end the unjust practice of money bond in Illinois.
Prior registration is required for this event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
I recently discovered that additional cases of COVID-19 in the McLean County Jail occurred back in late November. Since the story broke, there has been no announcements from the Sheriff’s office about whether there are any current cases, how often testing is occurring, and what’s being done to mitigate spread.
I am calling on the County Board to pass a resolution asking the Sheriff to report all COVID-19 cases in the jail promptly & accurately. This should be the bare minimum, but apparently it needs to be specified.
Because of the Illinois constitution, County Boards have very little actual authority over the Sheriff’s Office. This allows the Sheriff to operate with almost impunity. However, the board members have a duty to the tax-payers to be fiduciary shepherds for the jail; which they can’t do that if they don’t have the proper information. It’s time for them to prove they are concerned about a transparent & accountable government. While they cannot force the Sheriff to cooperate, a resolution requesting that information shows a clear message.
We should all be able to agree that transparency is key to effectively overcoming this pandemic. The people demand accurate and prompt information, especially regarding tax-payer funded liabilities like the jail. It is unfortunate the Sheriff has chosen to conceal & prevaricate on such an important issue.
Contact your county board members & ask them to pass a resolution seeking transparency & accountability at the jail. I encourage you to e-mail the County Administrator for public comments at both the McLean County Health Committee & Justice Committee.
Email public comment statements to County Administration at admin@mcleancountyil.gov. E-mailed Statements will be placed in the official minutes, even if the statement reads longer than the individual/group time limit (5 minutes for individuals or group spokesperson). All requests will be taken in the order in which they are received, and the total time allowed for public comment at Committee meetings per County Board rules is 30 minutes.
Two Peoria-area teens will likely be spending the rest of their lives in prison:
(Left) Zaveon Marks (circa 10-years-old); (right) Jermontay Brock
Zaveon Marks, 15, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the 2019 murder of 16-year old Zarious Fair. Zaveon was charged as an adult. Circuit Court Judge Katherine Gorman made the legal finding that the 15-year old was particularly depraved and beyond the possibility of rehabilitation.
“I hope you prove me wrong, Mr. Marks, and that you take advantage of the opportunities that you will have while in custody,” Judge Gorman said.
The next day, Jermontay Brock was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of two people at a Bradley University party in the summer of 2018. One of the victims, Nasjay Murry, grew up on the southside of Chicago, and chose Bradley University in Peoria because she thought she would be safe from the violence that plagued her neighborhood.
Both of these cases involved minors committing senseless acts of violence that ended in the tragic deaths of people. Both judges in these cases found the teens to be particularly depraved and therefore beyond the possibility of rehabilitation. This legal opinion is necessary in order to charge minors with anything over 40 years. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that life sentences for juveniles violated the 8th Amendment; and, the Illinois Supreme Court has found anything over 40 years is considered a life sentence and would not include juveniles except in cases where a legal finding is made that the juvenile is beyond the possibility of rehabilitation. However, both will be eligible for parole after 20 years.
Incarcerating juveniles for life is especially expensive. It costs $38,000 a year to incarcerate a person in Illinois. After the age of fifty, the cost typically doubles.1 If Zaveon Marks serves his full sentence he’ll be released at age 60, and will have cost the taxpayers $2,090,000. If Jermontay Brock serves his full sentence he’ll be in his mid-70s by the time of his release and will have cost taxpayers $3,268,000.
According to a FOIA I received yesterday, the number of inmates infected has risen to 5 as of August 6th, 2020.
“As of August 6th, we have… had 5 positive tests on inmates.”
When I first read this, I initially thought of all tests done on inmates five returned back positive. Of course, that is not what I asked for: I specifically requested the number of inmates who had tested positive, not the number of positive tests performed on inmates.
I contacted the jail FOIA officer, Mary Lou Allman, to clarify. She told me this is the information she received from medical staff so it must mean the numbers have risen to 5 inmates. Hopefully, this was a mistake but considering how lax Sheriff deputies and jail staff are about wearing masks, I wouldn’t doubt if the number continues to rise.
Furthermore, it confirms the jail did not start properly testing until the Pritzker administration required it in order to transfer inmates to IDOC.
The murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers has ignited a fresh, new wave of protests in support of Black Liberation across the country. In Central Illinois, like elsewhere, those organizing the events are not from older generations like Boomers and Xers, not even from Millenials, but from the Zoomer generation just now coming of age. The combination of no school during the last quarter of the school year, nearly 2 ½ months under quarantine restrictions, the economic depression during COVID-19, and the fact the police can’t stop messing with Black Lives EVEN during a global pandemic has caused an eruption of support for the liberation of Black Lives beyond what many of us expected to see.
Even before May 30th, 2020 Zoomers were already standing on the sidewalk along Veterans Parkway with signs supporting Black Lives. But, Saturday May 30th was a catalyst here in Bloomington-Normal. 24-year old Micah Denniston, posted on Facebook she was organizing a protest at the McLean County Jail in downtown Bloomington. Denniston, a woman of the Caucasian persuasion, was affected by Floyd’s death because “I am the mother of three mixed children. They are mixed with black,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to fear for my son’s life when he grows up. God forbid, he gets pulled over and the next thing you know he’s dead on the ground by a cop because they fear him for the color of his skin or they fear my boyfriend for the color of his skin or my brother next to me for the color of his skin. It’s not right.”
Micah Denniston, 24
She only thought about 15 people would show up. Instead, over a 150 people gathered near the jail next to the US Cellular Coliseum. Micah and her friends wanted to March around the jail. More experienced activists helped facilitate the goals of these Zoomers: blocking off traffic, documenting the scene, and negotiating with law enforcement.
Because the McLean County Jail is in the heart of downtown Bloomington, inmates can be seen from the streets. For many protesters there, it was their first time experiencing their voice reaching out in protest and making a connection of solidarity with another, especially individuals being isolated from society by the state. Even from across the street on a busy day, one can clearly hear inmates banging on their windows. The effect is poignant. Realizing that you can see from the street what the state hides behind architecture and that you can transgress the state’s forced isolation of inmates is a powerful feeling. At the same time, inmates who have been kept on 23-hour a day lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, received some much needed social interaction. These bridges being built through the walls of state authority are an important link activists for Black Liberation must continue to cultivate.
Another novelty found was Bloomington Police Officers, unprompted, offering to block of traffic so that protesters could take over the streets safely. For nearly thirty minutes, Black Liberation activists occupied East Street just outside the McLean County Law & Justice Center. Afterwards, the march of nearly 150 people took over the streets of downtown Bloomington in a spontaneous manner, picking and choosing its direction almost at random for nearly 3 miles as if hunting out the vestiges of white supremacy in the city. Even without a clear direction, police continued to block off traffic for the protesters. There is a clear distinction in the way police in BloNo have been reacting to BLM protests after the death of Floyd. Unlike many cities where the police are actively attacking peaceful protesters, police in McLean county are getting on one knee, saying “Black Lives Matter”, and hugging protesters in an alleged solidarity.
At the jail were many tense moments between protesters and sheriff’s deputies. There is a primal rage in the early protests after George Floyd. An absolute disgust at the injustice inherent in our policing and carceral institutions. There were about 3-4 sheriff’s deputies being confronted by protesters. The anger in the people wouldn’t allow for a satisfactory answer to congeal from the deputies, aside from ripping off their badge and joining the revolution. But, this anger is nevertheless righteous. So many people are sick of the abuse of state power by the police, the sense of helplessness when under the gaze of an officer. The three officers were between Scylla & Charybdis in front of the massive group. No answer was sufficient to calm them down, and any escalation would have put everyone in danger. Yet, those officers needed to feel that powerlessness for the protest to be effective. The entire confrontation only lasted about ten minutes and was finally diffused by a Sargent yelling “Black Lives Matter” with open arms & a smile. It was enough to distract the powder keg and relieve the mounting pressure.
[FULL DISCLOSURE: The author participated in this protest.]
On May Day, May 1st, Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal organized a car caravan action around the McLean County Jail calling for decarceration and to waive the costs of video visits/phone calls during COVID19 for inmates. BLM BloNo also released a contract between McLean County and the telecommunications system, IC Solutions, that shows they are profiting off of these video visits/phone calls, which of course happen more often now that in-person visits are shut down due to COVID19.
ACTION ITEM: Join BLM BloNo and Tell McLean Co: Stop Profiting From Jail Visits During Covid-19!
Check out: Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/BLMBlono/ E-mail — blacklivesmatterblono@gmail.com Contact your County Board representative and tell them they shouldn’t be making money just so people can stay in touch with their loved ones during the Coronavirus.
