Jerome Combs Detention Center’s Chief of Corrections, Chad Kolitwenzew, was sued for a federal conditions of confinement claim in which the plaintiff claimed that the facility was insufficient because it lacked outdoor recreation time and windows, supplies of soap and toilet paper would exhaust, and he contracted COVID-19 because of purportedly insufficient protocols.

Chief Kolitwenzew was represented by Hervas, Condon & Bersani attorneys Michael W. Condon and Christian E. Ketter. Condon and Ketter argued on summary judgment that Chief Kolitwenzew was not personally involved in Plaintiff’s allegations, that the JCDC facility was sufficient under constitutional requirements, and JCDC’s response to COVID-19 satisfied the legal standard of objective reasonableness.

In favor of the defendants, on behalf of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Judge Colin S. Bruce ruled that the conditions alleged did not rise to a level that was objectively unreasonable, and Chief Kolitwenzew was not personally involved in Plaintiff’s allegations. The Court reasoned that the exhaustion of hygienic supplies were merely temporary and did not rise to a constitutional violation. It noted that the JCDC has windows, and the fact that Plaintiff could not see out them did not amount to a violation. The Court also acknowledged that JCDC had a wealth of COVID-19 safety precautions and sufficient out-of-cell opportunities for Plaintiff. The Court acknowledged that CDC Guidelines did not establish a constitutional right of guaranteed COVID-protocols during the Pandemic. The Court further noted that while Plaintiff believed he contracted the coronavirus, no medical evidence supported his claim.