By Lisa Donovan
Chicago Sun-Times
COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Cook County taxpayers will fork over $1 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by female jail inmates who claimed they were confined to their cells on weekends, sometimes for as long as 50 hours, nearly a decade ago.
The biggest chunk of change — $850,000 - won’t be going to the four women involved but to the attorneys who represented the plaintiffs in the 2003 civil rights suit.
That’s according to the settlement deal recommended by the state’s attorney’s office - whose attorneys must defend such cases - and approved by a vote of the Cook County Board during Tuesday’s meeting.
The women sued the sheriff’s office nine years ago, complaining they were subjected to unreasonable lockdowns at the jail while officers conducted monthly drug and security searches.
According to the lawsuit, the lockdowns would begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and lasted until Sunday afternoon. But the inmates argued there was no reason to keep them locked in their cells once officers had finished searching their tier for contraband.
The so-called non-emergency lockdowns were halted around the time of the suit, said Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for Sheriff Tom Dart. Michael Sheahan was the sheriff at the time of the lawsuit.
The settlement includes the $143,000 the federal court already awarded two women in the case, while another two women received $5,000 apiece under the deal.
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