Several more county sheriffs are seeking to join Sangamon County’s ongoing court action over delays in transferring county jail inmates to suitable mental health treatment.
The county is asking for leave to file an amended complaint, which would add the sheriffs of Macon, McLean, and three other counties as plaintiffs in the case. A hearing on that request and on a request for a temporary restraining order against Governor JB Pritzker and the state Department of Human Services will be held on August 1st.
Meanwhile, for the third time in a week, DHS has been ordered to appear in a Sangamon County courtroom and show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court over the transfer delays. The latest order handed down Wednesday involves an inmate who was found mentally unfit to stand trial back in May and has been awaiting a transfer to the McFarland Mental Health Center ever since.
Two contempt hearings are set for late next week, with the third scheduled for August 1st, unless the inmates are transferred before then.
[An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the revised complaint sought to add Gov. Pritzker as a defendant. Pritzker had already been named as a defendant in an earlier court filing. WMAY apologizes for the error.]
