Public defender wants low-risk inmates released to lessen potential of outbreak
Ald. Lopez calls on fellow aldermen, mayor to forfeit some pay to buy supplies for first-responders; city officials promise quick action on small-business loans
Fallout from the ongoing coronavirus crisis has taken over the city as efforts continued Friday to stop its spread.
The Cook County public defender petitioned to have hundreds of inmates released from the Cook County Jail because of the risk posed by the coronavirus infection.
The motion seeks to have a review of the status of inmates in several broad categories, including those with medical conditions, pregnant women, nonviolent offenders and those who are eligible for probation — making possibly hundreds of defendants eligible for release from among the approximately 5,600 inmates housed at the sprawling Cook County Jail complex.
The motion is set for a hearing Monday before Chief Criminal Courts Judge LeRoy K. Martin.
The move by the public defender’s office, which represents indigent defendants who make up the vast majority of the jail population, comes after prosecutors and jail officials quietly agreed to release some hundred low-risk inmates this week after intensive review of their cases by prosecutors, Public Defender Amy Campanelli said.
“In eight days of meetings, with people in my office working on this full time, we’ve gotten a hundred people out,” Campanelli said. “That’s not enough. There are too many people in the jail who don’t belong there even before. There are people there now that absolutely should be home with their families.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said he spoke with President Donald Trump on Thursday night to ask for COVID-19 testing of more than 2 million incarcerated people in the United States.
During the conversation, which took place by phone, Jackson also urged Trump to consider seeking the release of people who are under pretrial detention for nonviolent offenses — should they test negative for the virus.
Jackson asked Trump to ensure measures for appropriate distancing be put in place for anyone who tests positive.
“He said he’d take it under serious consideration and he’s very concerned about it and that he’ll get back to me, and I believe that he will,” Jackson told the Chicago Sun Times Friday.
Meanwhile, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s most outspoken City Council critics, said Chicago’s 53 elected officials — including Lightfoot — should forfeit their pay for 15 days to generate $374,642 to purchase protective gear and other supplies for first-responders on the frontlines on the war against the coronavirus.
Lopez argued that in a crisis like this, “Every dollar matters.” He wants to redirect the savings to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications to purchase supplies for police officers, firefighters, nurses and other firstresponders.
“It would show the city that the elected officials are willing to make a sacrifice to help put as much money into the kitty as possible to get the resources on the street that people need,” Lopez told the Sun-Times.
It wasn’t clear if there was any City Council support for Lopez’s idea. But one of Lightfoot’s efforts that has already taken shape is a $100 million loan fund that more than 300 owners of small businesses have expressed interest in. City officials said Friday they will begin distributing money in early April.
The Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund will issue low-interest loans of up to $50,000 to employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loans are designed to help businesses with cash flow for rent and payroll and are part of Lightfoot’s general program for economic relief, which includes extending until April 30 the due date for business-related tax payments.
The fund will start accepting applications March 31 and will begin approvals within a few days, officials said. “We’re going to get the money out the door in short order,” said Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor for economic development.
Officials cited a study by JPMorgan Chase showing the average small business in Chicago has only 28 days of cash on hand. Government-ordered shutdowns in Illinois and Chicago, culminating in a stayat-home order Friday, have caused an instant stop in revenue for many businesses.
City officials said in a poor community such as Englewood, small businesses often have enough money to carry them just a few days.
Eligible loan recipients must have fewer than 50 employees. Jennie Huang Bennett, chief financial officer for the city, said loan terms are being finalized. Interest rates, she said, “will be lower than market terms are.”
The fund represents a reappropriation of $50 million allocated to the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund, which was started by former city Treasurer Kurt Summers Jr. but has been inactive. Chaired by current Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, the fund will be administered by registered Community Development Financial Institutions that will provide application screening, credit underwriting, loan disbursements and servicing.
Recipients must show at least a 25% revenue decline attributable to the pandemic. While strict standards will apply, officials promised the application process will be streamlined.