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Alleged hunger strike begins at Menard

Posted September 22, 2015 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

A group of roughly 30 people staged a "noise-in" at Menard Correctional Center in Chester on Wednesday.

The protest was intended to be part of an event that coincided with the start of an alleged hunger strike by inmates housed in the Administrative Detention (AD) unit of the maximum-security facility.

A protester on scene, Matthew (who declined to give his last name), said an unnamed lawyer - who was said to be in contact with the prisoners - emailed individuals involved in prisoner solidarity groups.

The Herald Tribune was provided a copy of the email, which contains a list of core prisoner demands. The email states that AD inmates are hunger striking due to, in part, no written reasons or information on the reasoning behind their continued placement in AD.

"There was no specific organization at all there," Matthew said of the rally. "It was organized in the sense that people told other people what was going to be happening at the time."

Matthew also explained the decision behind a noise-in.

"The idea is to create as much racket and noise as possible to let the prisoners hear that there are people who support them and think they are worthy of being considered as people," he said. "We support their hunger strike and their demands."

Prisoner core demands are as follows and were said to have been compiled by attorney Alice Lynd as a result of letters from prisoners in AD that were received during this month:

• An end to long-term solitary confinement.

• Minimum due process at AD review hearings by providing inmates with written reasons for the committee's decision for continued placement in AD and for inmates to be allowed to grieve all adverse decisions.

• More access to outside recreation.

• Meaningful educational programs to be implemented "to encourage our mental stability, rehabilitation and social development for the sake of ourselves and the community that we will one day return to."

• More access to visiting privileges.

"For most of our families, traveling to Menard is like traveling to another state," the email said. "Considering the distance, 2-hour visits behind plexiglass is insufficient. We should be allowed 5 or 6 hours.

"Moreover, our family members, including inmates, should be provided the human dignity and decency to purchase food items and refreshments from vending machines after traveling such great distances. This would benefit one's social development, as well as benefit (the) prison staff environment."

The email called for the public's help by calling Menard CC Warden Kim Butler, Illinois Department of Corrections Director John Baldwin and Gov. Bruce Rauner.

"We will stay on (hunger strike) as long as possible in order to hopefully bring some change to our conditions," the email said. "We thank you for any kind of support you can give us."

The email also makes reference to another hunger strike at Menard that occurred in January and February of 2014 and reportedly involved around 25 inmates. The email claims that the "hunger strikers" in that incident were later sent to other prisons in California, Virginia, West Virginia and New Mexico.

The email does not state how many inmates plan to participate in the newest strike.

"Most of it went along according to plan," Matthew said of Wednesday's protest. "Correctional officers gave us problems for parking on state property, which was ironic as we blocked traffic way worse on the shuffle than if they would have let us park there."

In an email to the Herald Tribune, IDOC spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said the agency had no comment on the rally.

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