Illinois Prisoner Succumbs to Heat Wave
The death of Illinois prisoner Michael Broadway, 51, during a heatwave on June 19, 2024, has focused attention on squalid conditions at Stateville Correctional Center. Windows remained unopened and no working fan was provided at the un-air-conditioned lockup, according to family attorney Terah Tollner.
But problems at the century-old prison extend beyond absent ventilation to include visible mold, rodent infestations and unsanitary drinking water, according to testimony before state lawmakers considering a $900 million prison renovation and replacement plan proposed in May 2024 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).
“[Y]ou (can’t) drink the water from the sink, that water comes out brown or (gray),” said fellow prisoner Abdul Malik Muhammad.
On the day Broadway died, temperatures rose to 91 degrees Fahrenheit, according to another prisoner, Anthony Ehlers. A fan outside the cell was inoperable. Windows were closed and locked, some even boarded up, according to Muhammad.
“We all have been [complaining] about the heat, it’s very hot without any form of ventilation … all the fans is broke,” he said.
Broadway, sentenced to a 75-year term in 2006 for a fatal gang-related shooting, was part of small group of 16 prisoners who received Northwestern University degrees in 2023. Studies in sociology helped him chart the conditions that led to his incarceration: Economic collapse of his neighborhood after its traditional heavy industries declined in the 1970s, leaving behind a food desert and underfunded public schools that contributed to declining health and rising crime, which in turn led to over-policing and even more criminal prosecutions.
Sources: Chicago Tribune, WTTW
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