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SECOND PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE TO ITEM 14-0183
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF MODIFYING THE PRISONER RELEASE ORDER BEFORE THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
WHEREAS, the County is engaged in litigation before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in United States v. Cook County, Illinois; et al., Case No 10 CV 2946; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board President, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and the Cook County Sheriff are the named defendants ("Defendants") in this litigation and, as such, are obligated to comply with the "Agreed Order" entered in the case; and
WHEREAS, under this litigation on March 11, 2011 a three judge panel entered a Prisoner Release Order to take certain actions to avoid unconstitutional conditions of confinement attributable to overcrowding at the jail; and
WHEREAS, under the March 2011 Prisoner Release Order, the Cook County Sheriff was granted authority to release qualifying non-violent detainees onto electronic monitoring in consideration of public safety, the likelihood of a defendant appearing in court, and population levels at the Cook County Department of Corrections (hereinafter, "CCDOC"); and
WHEREAS, despite the Prisoner Release Order, the CCDOC was at or near capacity for most of 2013, its highest level in eight years, at an average cost of $143 a day per pre-trial detainee; and
WHEREAS, the current Prisoner Release Order has had limited impact on reducing the jail population; and
WHEREAS, the Defendants to the litigation, intend to present a "Parties' Joint Motion for Modification of the Prisoner Release Order" ("Joint Motion") requesting that the Prisoner Release Order be administered by the Offices of the President of the Cook County Board rather than the Sheriff, and further intend to seek the agreement of the Department of Justice ("DOJ") on behalf of the United States to the Joint Motion; and
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