Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/cook-county-jail/page/2/)
Seven of the 10 Chicago police districts with the most mental health-related 911 calls were in predominately African-American or Latino neighborhoods on the South and West sides where services for people living with mental illness are few.
As first responders to emergency calls, police play a critical role in determining whether people living with mental illness receive treatment or go to jail. But too few Chicago police officers are trained to handle these mental health crisis calls.
This map is a snapshot of home addresses, by ZIP code, of Cook County Jail detainees who self-identified as living with mental illness on Jan. 29, 2015.
In March, Anthony Hill, an Air Force veteran who served in Afghanistan, was shot and killed by a police officer in suburban Atlanta. Neighbors called police when an unarmed Hill was seen wandering around his apartment complex naked. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Hill’s death is one example of a recent deadly encounter between police and people living with mental illness. Shootings in Dallas and Milwaukee also have made national news and sparked calls for better police training.
Alex Bailey has cycled in and out of Cook County Jail his entire adulthood. His life shows how mental illness has been criminalized, especially for black men.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez says her office is going to prosecute fewer low-level drug cases and steer more people to treatment. But with state budget cuts for substance abuse treatment programs on the horizon and persistent racial disparities in drug-related arrests, advocates question whether the new policy can be effective.
The prevailing view is that incarceration costs big bucks. But on the flip side, many businesses make money.
A jail with a dubious record of Taser use is being used as a timeout for Cook County detainees. According to recent lawsuits, some inmates at the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, Ill., are being shocked with Tasers as a first, not last, resort.