The Northern Reception Center in Crest Hill is the point of entry for most prisoners into the Illinois Department of Corrections prison system. Approximately 1,000 prisoners are held there at a time, and they stay for months before being transferred elsewhere.
Hundreds of prisoners have reported appalling conditions at the prison to us, including infestations of rats, mice, flies, and cockroaches; plumbing that frequently spills raw sewage into cells, communal showers, and even the kitchen; and under-cooked, spoiled and insufficient amounts of food. Additionally, drinking water is brown, often smells like sewage, and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) testing reveals it has over eight times the maximum contaminant level for lead. Since November 2021, prisoners have not been given any yard time, meaning they essentially spend all hours of the day, every day, in their squalid cells.
In February 2022 we filed a class action lawsuit for injunctive relief to address these awful living conditions.
We are unable to respond to individual calls regarding conditions at the Northern Reception Center (NRC), but if your loved one is currently being held, or was held at NRC any time after January 1, 2020 please fill out this survey.
Attorneys: Alan Mills, Nicole Schult (Uptown People's Law Center), Terri Mascherin, Benjamin Bradford, Alexander Cottingham, Lindsey Lusk, Emily Merrifield, Garrett Salzman, Steven Tinetti, Arianne Wilt, Vincent Wu (Jenner & Block)
Date Filed: February 17, 2022
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Judge: Judge Robert M. Dow Jr.
Status: Active
Case Number: 1:22-cv-00888
