The Illinois Answers Project’s “Strapped Down” series investigated the overuse, misuse and abuse of restraint chairs in county jails across Illinois.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Posted inInvestigating Responses
How three states are addressing the use and abuse of restraint chairs
The “Strapped Down” series investigated the use of restraint chairs in county jails. For the final stories in the series, we’re examining how three other states have addressed the use and misuse of restraint chairs.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A Mentally Ill Man Died After Being Restrained. His Family’s Advocacy Led to Statewide Changes in California.
The knock came around midnight.
The officers told Carty Holland that his son, Andrew, had died at the county jail.
“They didn’t tell me how he passed,” Holland said. “The ugliness of it came later on.”
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Iowa Jails Abused Restraint Chairs. A Watchdog Agency Intervened, Spurring Reform.
Two Iowa jails have made reforms after an ombudsman report found the facilities were restraining people with mental illnesses in chairs for long periods of time.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
This Pennsylvania County Banned Restraint Chairs at its Jail. Public Data Was Key.
Jason Porter takes comfort in knowing restraint chairs have been banned from Allegheny County Jail.
He was strapped down in the controversial device for six hours without food or water in 2020. His testimony bolstered by public data helped bring about a ban on restraint chairs at Allegheny County Jail.
Posted inFollow-Up
Gun Stolen From a Room Full of Chicago Cops Ended Up Being Used in a Series of Shootings
That’s what records obtained by the Illinois Answers Project and the Sun-Times found. The Glock handgun should have been destroyed after it was turned in to police at a buyback at St. Sabina Church in late 2023.
Posted inInvestigations
‘Where is the Glock?’ Gun Turned Over to Chicago Police Wound up in the Hands of a Teenager
The Chicago Police Department has used gun buybacks to get thousands of guns off the street, but at least two of them have resurfaced at crime scenes. In November, a 16-year-old boy was found with a Glock handgun that went missing after it was handed in at a buyback.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
Champaign County Jail Begins Tracking and Reporting Use of Restraint Chairs to the State for the First Time
Champaign County Jail updated the way it documents, tracks and reports use of restraint chairs after an Illinois Answers Project investigation raised questions about the facility’s record-keeping practices and failure to report incidents to a state oversight unit.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Many cameras. Little focus. Blurry results.
Chicago police bet big on pricey surveillance cameras. Two decades later, the devices do little to solve most crimes.
Posted inFollow-Up
Police Reports: School Officials Blocked Cops Access to Video Surveillance and Discouraged Witness From Cooperating After Fatal Shooting on Campus
The records, obtained by the Illinois Answers Project, provide greater detail on the clash between CPS and CPD at Juarez High School where four students had been shot, two fatally .
