Back in May, the Tribune ran a puzzling editorial criticizing State Rep. Julie Hamos' bill (HB 2633) to reform the Tamms Correctional Center in downstate Illinois. While acknowledging the harsh treatment of inmates there, the paper misread key sections of the bill, falsely asserting that it would limit terms at Tamms to one year "in almost all cases." We criticized the piece the following day, but no retraction was ever issued. Today, the Tamms Year Ten organization asked the paper to do just that.

Holding two "stone tablets," which contained their inscribed  list of "Ten Corrections," the group of prison reformers marched outside the paper's Tribune Tower headquarters this afternoon. From a press release:

They say the editorial misrepresented the criteria for placement in Tamms, the significance of an Ohio Supreme Court case, and falsely claimed that Tamms had curbed gang violence. The editorial also presented a misleading summary of pending legislation, and neglected to address two central issues, the cruelty of placing mentally ill prisoners in the supermax and the harm of long-term isolation.

According to member Nadia Pittendrigh, the organization called the Trib numerous times seeking an opportunity to discuss the editorial and Hamos' bill. "Unfortunately," she says, "they didn't take us up on it."

The group's emphasis on mental health is especially timely. On June 23, Robert Foor, a 33-year old Tamms inmate who had been held in solitary confinement for more than 10 years, was found dead in his cell. Two weeks earlier, he had filed a grievance with the Illinois Department of Corrections seeking a transfer out of Tamms, complaining that officials had withheld medications as well as therapy since March 9. He committed no violent crimes while in free society, but his experience in prison worsened his mental issues, as Illinois Times explains:

In the supermax, Foor became so violent that he was sent to the security wing three times, according to his own grievance. He also became more mentally ill, mutilating himself by cutting and biting, and attempting to hang himself.

Tamms Year Ten member Mary L. Johnson, whose son is currently incarcerated at Tamms, verified the devastating effects of solitary confinement on the inmates.  "It just breaks you down," she told me, "physically, mentally, and emotionally."

Hopefully, meaningful changes are on the way. Gov. Pat Quinn recently appointed Michael Randle to head the state corrections department and assigned him to promptly review conditions at Tamms. Illinois legislators and representatives from Tamms Year Ten will meet with Randle later this month. While they are excited for the opportunity, the activists will almost certainly return to Hamos' bill if they aren't convinced their reform agenda is being taken seriously.