Read on Twitter
Tonight and all through the polar vortex weekend, Chicago Community Jail Support will be live tweeting our process and experiences on the ground outside Cook County Jail, especially highlighting what it’s like for folks being released into subzero windchill temps.
We hope this will give you a window into our work as well as an idea of the inhumane conditions with ill preparation folks are released into, no matter the weather. We will be using the hashtags #inhumaneCCJ and #ChiPolarVortex.
We’ll start by giving you a rundown on our work. We are a daily mutual aid project that has been active since May 30th, 2020. We initially gathered to support protesters following the first mass arrests during the chicago protests in the name of George Floyd.
Quickly, we realized how necessary it was for community members to aid those being released from Cook County Jail, whether or not they were involved in protest. County throws people onto the street every single day with no phone, money, or any other personal property.
This has always been a dangerous practice by the jail, but the danger only increases when the weather turns. County has released people into tornado warnings, thunderstorms, blizzards, and now freezing temperatures. #inhumaneCCJ #ChiPolarVortex
Some things to note about the way people are released and held in County during the cold: people are separated from their property (no phones, no keys, cash is converted to checks by the jail), and most people are released without a coat. #inhumaneCCJ #ChiPolarVortex
Upon being incarcerated in county, each person is only allowed “1 layer”, which means most people have to choose between a shirt, a hoodie, or a coat. And any “layer” that includes pull strings or anything seems “dangerous” is cut up/ destroyed by intake. #inhumaneCCJ
Then there’s the problem of folks being released in the clothes they were arrested in during the summer or even their pajamas and slippers if they were taken from their homes. This is what leads to people entering freezing conditions in tshirts, pajama pants, and sandals
The state does nothing to aid folks being released, no matter their conditions. Sometimes people don’t even receive their state mandated phone call and bus card. That’s where we come in. Chicago Community Jail Support helps bridge the gap from release to safety. #inhumaneCCJ
Everyday, we provide phone calls, coats, hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, drinks, snacks, PPE, sanitizer, safe rides home, and much more to those being released from Cook County Jail and their loved ones #inhumaneCCJ #ChiPolarVortex
Tonight, tomorrow, and beyond, we’ll be giving you live updates on the way people are released from county and how the jail constantly endangers Chicagoans and their families, especially in freezing temperatures. #inhumaneCCJ #ChiPolarVortex
We hope these tweets will give you a window into the work we do and encourage you to join us as well as shed light on how awful Cook County Jail is. Help us demand accountability from the jail and stop putting people and their families at risk #inhumaneCCJ #ChiPolarVortex
