Lawsuit Alleges Widespread Abuse, Lack of Basic Services in Illinois Juvenile Detention Center

A federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois against the state’s Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center claims that the center violated youths’ constitutional rights by subjecting them to excessive forms of restraint and seclusion while denying them adequate education and mental health services, Molly Parker reports for Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica. A review of hundreds of pages of state audits, law enforcement records, a federal lawsuit, and reports by oversight and advocacy bodies point to troubling conditions inside many of the state’s 16 juvenile detention centers. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who is representing the chief judge and other senior facility staff sued in federal court, denied the allegations of poor care leveled against the Franklin County facility.