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217 Today: Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law

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A year-and-a-half since the Coleman Act went into effect, an investigation by Injustice Watch and WBEZ found far fewer prisoners have been released under the law than expected.
  • Photo: Verónica Martínez / Injustice Watch

Friday, Sept. 1, 2023

Today’s headlines:

  • The Fighting Illini football team opens the season at Memorial Stadium this Saturday against the Toledo Rockets.
  • New legislation aimed at bringing homelessness to “functional zero” is being implemented in Illinois – and Champaign County is no different.
  • Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’s plan to cut down wait times at driver’s services facilities has officially started.
  • Illinois hasn’t allowed rent control since the late 90’s – but an idea in Springfield could change that.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll learn about how some dying and disabled Illinois prisoners are still behind bars despite a new medical release law.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting contributed by Colin Hislope, Mae Antar, Mawa Iqbal, Alex Degman, Shannon Heffernan and Carlos Ballesteros.

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Stephanie Mosqueda

Stephanie Mosqueda is a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with minors in Spanish and public relations. She is the 217 Today producer and a reporter for the Illinois Student Newsroom.